Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Financial literacy introduction essay
Financial literacy introduction essay
Strengths and weaknesses of financial literacy
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Financial literacy introduction essay
Financial literacy is an important life skill, and it is imperative to make it a required component of the K12 curriculum. Courses within the typical high school often veer toward standard curriculum and do not focus exclusively on financial enlightenment or success. Teenagers are at their most vulnerable when first acquiring an initial paycheck, today’s society is constantly bombarding our youth with junk productions that encourage us to waste revenue; consequently, this causes a stiff increase in financial irresponsibility. Educational institutions have one simple task; instruct the next generation in practical knowledge such as mathematics or reading. Despite being a skill considered most vital within our society, financial literacy isn't …show more content…
It is alarming that the average consumer struggles to manage their finances, whether that be from a lack knowledge, or better spending habits. Not only did I learn about these subjects in greater intimate detail, but I also even learned what financial scandals can cause for an otherwise pristine company (such as the Elron energy company scandal). Some might ask why is it that financial literacy be considered required within todays K12 curriculum; the answer is really quite simple: it’s everywhere. Financial responsibility is something not taught to our aging youth, and yet it is something that will be plastered on their lives for the majority of their living …show more content…
Speaking plainly about my own experience, not only was I able to visualize how I was able to put my life on the fast track by learning everything my class had to offer, I reaped the sweet rewards that came with being recognized as a top 20th percentile student in the financial literacy exam that every student participated in. Being in any high-class standard has a way of making a person feel good about themselves, and it showed me that any average joe could learn this stuff if they put the time and effort into doing so. Some may argue that making financial literacy part of a required curriculum may clog an already convoluted formula, or that cuts may be needed to other courses as a result. I refute these by bringing attention to a very crucial point; it is the duty of our academic institutions to impart wisdom on the next generation so that they may be able to become contributing adults to society as a whole, by holding back on such an important life skill we are essentially crippling future generations and making our own machine run less
Once high school ends, most students progress to college after a year or two from graduation. Due to all of the expenses for textbooks and etc., the student might realize that they don’t comprehend what to conserve or spend their money on to get through their years of college which will leave them clueless on what to do next. With situations like this that might occur, all high school students should take a financial literacy class as part of the mandatory course in order to get a diploma. With a numerous amount of students not having enough knowledge about how to manage their money carefully, presumably they’ll have trouble living their life as an adult. Taking a financial literacy class would help students stay out of debt, they’ll be prepared for their future, and they would recognize the discrepancies between wants and needs.
In schools where financial literacy courses are foreign, for example, students as well as teachers may find themselves lost and confused. In Document A, 64% of teachers K-12 reported being unprepared or “not-well qualified” to teach finance. These problems have been outspoken by several critics, such as in Document B, where Burns cites that high schoolers that took a semester-long personal-finance course tested worse than those who did not, and that some feel math or statistics would be much more useful than finance. It’s hard to refute evidence such as this, but subjects can be changed, revamped. Much like we add new things to history when events occur, or science when research proves a new theory, we can improve financial literacy by how the world economy moves. In the digital age of commerce, we can adapt and change our system, much like Thaler in Document C advises, promoting In-time education when needed, simple rules of thumb to create everyday knowledge, and user-friendly support on the Internet to digitalize finance. In an age where you can know the time, temperature, and weather of London at any moment, from anywhere around the world, why should we not be able to ask how to save, when to save, where to save, or whether we're overpaying on a house or car? Those who deem studies on present financial literacy evidence of it being useless and a waste of money must understand that the subject is not set in stone. We will experiment, shift, change, and one day, we will find the right
The general statement made by Lauren E.Willis in her work, “Should College Students Be Prepared to Take a Course in Personal Finance? No: Courses Will Miss the Real Issues”, is that personal-finance courses are ineffective in helping the students making wise decisions. More specifically, Willis argues that the information that students receive from courses is actually stereotyped and misleading, instead, federal regulations, and personal decision and experience are the fundamental solution in how to be financially success. She writes, “What’s more, even experts disagree about the right investment and retirement-savings strategies. Financial offerings change too quickly for regulators to keep up, never mind educators.”
The source that would be most likely to students researching new approaches to increasing people’s financial literacy would be “Financial Literacy, Beyond the Classroom” by Richard H. Thaler. In this article, the author describes various ways to assist people with financial responsibilities. For instance, Thaler says after explaining that courses in a classroom would not work, “Because learning decays quickly, it’s best to provide assistance just before a decision is made.” Also, he later states that “another approach is to offer simple rules of thumb to help people cope.” Whereas the other two articles suggested only adding financial literacy courses to schools or completely refuting the idea of financial literacy classes, this article states
As young people begin their transition into university life there is reason to suggest that the lack of financial literacy provided through public or private education has caused an increase in debt for the demographic. However, credit card debt is not a new social issue and does not find its origin with college students. Debt among Americans has steadily grown as more people rely on credit cards. These habits have provided an example to younger generations, which has shaped how money is managed. Given that money is often viewed as promoting security, status, and power many issues arise over debt specifically related to newer spenders.
Making improvements on our financial literacy results in a wave of impacts on our economy and the financial health in our society because of responisble behiavior with our finances. These modifications to our behavior are neccesary because it let's us address primary cultural problems, for example over-credits on your purchases, mortgages possibly resulting in debt, dealing with expectations on inflation and also planning on your retirement.
I am currently enrolled in a principles of finance class at Christian Bollwage finance academy. I am writing to you today to explain to you that financial literacy is important to everyone. Everyone millionaires and people who make minimum wage kids and adults. This helps a lot of people with money without financial education. There are many reasons why financial education is important.
The first source says that financial education is a good thing and that we need more states that teach it. As a quote states “While more states are beginning to require some sort of personal finance instruction, there aren’t enough that do”. It talks about how many states there are that have financial education and then the many states that don’t. There is also teachers that don’t teach finance but still work it into their lessons. They talk about building budgets, expenses, and investing money which is all stuff that younger people need to know how to do before they get older. Another major thing you have to include is your needs versus your wants that makes a big difference in finance. Teachers then see a difference in the students when they teach them
One might say there is a strong argument for the requirement of financial literacy for students in America. Americans continue to have increased balances on their credit cards as well as show a continued increase in bankruptcy filings according to statistics. Even the “baby boomer” generation is no longer exempt from financial hardships, as their generation has recently taken the title of “Fastest Growing Bankruptcy Demographic” from the 25 – 34 year olds (Linfield, 2011). Would it not make sense to say that Americans need to learn how to budget and borrow more wisely? Would not the best place to start be in schools? Well, the answer to that question is not a simple one.
Some schools have little money and few teachers and Matthew Yale said, “[T]he Department of Education’s next step is to work with districts and teachers and help them find the money they need” (Bernard 6). It will take parents to start this movement (Bernard 7) because parents have to be willing to give up more money so that their children know what to do with their money. Financial literacy courses can potentially make students overconfident about their skills and make them do even worse (Burns 8). Harvard Business School performed a study where it was concluded that financial literacy courses “weren’t effective in changing people’s financial decisions” (Burns 10). Thaler stated “A new paper by three business school professors … uses a technique called meta-analysis looking at results from 168 scientific studies of effects to teach people to be financially astute, or at least less clueless. The authors’ conclusions are clear: over all, financial education is laudable, but not particularly helpful” (13). The shows that financial literacy courses are good but they are not helping the youth as of now, so the right combination has not been found to teach the youth how to control their
The students who learned financial literacy will use credit cards more effectively compare to the students who have no knowledge about financial literacy. Dr. Carl Anderson and Dr. Karen Card’s, “Effective Practices of Financial Education for College Students: Students' Perceptions of Credit Card Use and Financial Responsibility” strongly encourage schools to promote financial education courses. Dr. Anderson and Dr. Card’s article are reliable and believable. They included different perspectives from various credible sources and performed a well-conducted study to make the claim concrete. In a similar way, Leslie Richardson’s, “Colleges and High Schools Offer Some Counseling for Credit Card Using Students" also emphasizes the importance of financial education for college students, however, the article appeals more to audiences’ emotion than providing a well-constructed support to the claim. Therefore, Dr. Anderson and Dr. Card’s article concluded the issue much more thoroughly and
One way our school could accomplish the goal of financial literacy education is creating a set class for high school students towards the end of their high school career. Offering classes in a curriculum that is set helps kids become better prepared for the real world. They receive a better understanding of what it is like having a great deal of responsibility, without the overwhelming of stress that comes with it since the class would be set in a classroom. According to the article written by Laura Langemo from Fox6 entitled “MPS Eighth-Graders Get a Lesson in Financial Literacy”, the Milwaukee Public School District Superintendent Gregory Thornton states, “We need [students] to be ready financially. We need them to be ready to step into the world and be able to actually navigate and manage money.” Students should feel confident after graduating that they will be capable of receiving such a great sense of responsibility. Teaching students about financial literacy at an older age throughout high school will allow them to be ready for their lives ahead. According to this article, many of the students were surprised with how bills amass in such a rapid pace. Similarly, the article from the Sandpiper by Edie Ellison includes information about being able to offer high school students classes in
Financial literacy classes should be more prevalent in public school systems across America.
In a study conducted to see the difference between students in schools with personal financial education and the ones that did not live in a “mandate state,” Bernheim, Garrett, and Maki found in 2001 that there was more of a positive effect on the students that had financial education. It reflected in their saving rates and net worth by the time they were 35-49, or their peak earning years. (Fox,
Americans tend to depend on other people to help them with managing their money or making decisions without thinking about learning information to do it themselves. As we grow into adulthood, we often fall into a place where we do not have knowledge to get them out of certain situations. Educating students about their personal finances hasn’t been a concern for people in recent