Financial Literacy: Setting Teens and Young Adults on The Right Path!

Today, August 14, 2021 is National Financial Awareness Day and I felt compelled to write this article for anyone who has a passion for educating teens and young adults.

In my humble opinion personal finance should be taught in high school and possibly even middle school. Here's the 4 why’s behind my thought:

1) Financial literacy is knowledge! Knowledge is power! Having a basic understanding of spending, borrowing, credit card and loan interest is essential to establishing and maintaining healthy finances.

2) Teens have a limited understanding of basic finance. Take credit cards for example; while enticing, they come with a price commonly known as "interest rate." We must teach our students that credit cards are not free cash.

3) We keep hearing times have changed and they have regarding how we prepare for our financial future. For example, retirement pensions are few and for the most part have been replaced with 401K plans. Then there are the Gig workers (independent contractors) who are responsible for their own retirement and healthcare. Planning for the future begins with understanding your personal finances.

4) The importance of creating a positive attitude around finances is about making smart decisions. Building healthy financial habits early can be passed on to future generations.

I found the following researched information to be of great interest:

Students in the following (21) states are taught personal finance coursework in high school as a requirement for receiving a diploma: “Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia,” according to moneyrates.com

There is still work to be done for the following (29) states to jump on board and make room to offer a required personal finance course for high school students: “Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming,” according to moneyrates.com

A thought to ponder: Why isn’t every state on board with financial literacy?

We need to teach our teens and young adults the importance of being financially literate.?The education they can receive will help them to understand, establish and protect their credit. There may be bumps along the way in the learning process, because after all teens and young adults are human. The key is to learn and plan as much as possible to avoid a credit crisis.

Financial literacy ranks high in my mind alongside Chemistry, Math, History, English, Physical Education and Art.

Brenda Dupré is a marketing and project management professional and a published author of: “How Do I Learn About Credit,” available on Amazon. She is passionate about social justice, an advocate for change and a champion for diversity. All opinions are her own.