Discussion time.
Will it benefit the students in this generation to take this class? I know many people like me who graduated in high school wanted to know the difference between debit card and credit card. I’m currently taking a personal finance class at my college this semester.
In my school it is a graduation requirement. I was unaware that this was not the case in other places.
I feel like it should be. In my school, it’s rare to find a kid who has a clue what the world is like fiscally, and how that affects them and their finances. I feel like I’m well-versed in regards to personal finances, but I also had the drive to find information about it and have knowledgable family members. One day in my painting class, kids were asking my teacher about mortgages, loans, and the like. A personal finance class would very well be a better forum for questions like that.
It is a requirement in our state and IMHO a gigantic waste of time and schedule blocker. Many kids take it online over the summer which mine unfortunately refused to do and now regrets it. Lots of busy work, and time spent renting fake apartments and buying fake stuff but you can’t do things like sublet, which you can in real life… sigh…
It is one of those things that if you have to be taught it you will just ignore it anyway. One exception might be learning about amortized interest for student loans but parents should teach them that.
It is a requirement at the high school I attended. I actually had it as my first class during first period in my first semester of high school! Crazy, I think that set the tone for me financially throughout 
haha but yes it is a requirement in many places and in some unfortunately it is not. Which it should be mandatory throughout. It is a great class to learn about all that financial stuff but unfortunately with the Education system being flawed its hard to comprehend all that from long ago. My friend was not going to do Personal Finance if it wasn’t a requirement cause he was afraid he’d have to do hard math in that 
Oh brother, its supposed to help you financially in the future.
It may make sense to have a requirement, but allow fulfilling it by exam, so that students who learn the material on their own need not waste their time taking the class.
That would be similar to a swimming requirement when I went to high school. At the beginning of (required) PE in 9th grade, students had to take a swimming test. Students who did not pass the swimming test had to take swimming for their PE, while students who passed the swimming test could choose other activities for their PE.
Was he afraid of the exponential functions that may be used when calculating compound interest?
Not a fan of the idea.
For college credit or a fun course for enrichment? (don’t think my kids’ colleges offered anything close to such a course.)
grad requirement here, 2.5 credit online course.
BUT
it is taken the summer between 8th and 9th grade. it details mortgages and life insurance and things like that (i dont recall any investing strategies at all) things that no kid of that age can truly grasp. most kids just get through it as quickly as they can, and probably retain nothing.
it would be much more effective if it was taken much later in the high school career and spent more time on day to day basics first and introduce the more advanced topics after they’ve mastered that stuff.
i’m not sure how one would find the time to have a mandatory in person full year class—if it were up to me, i’d do it yearly like health and only require 2 quarters a year on gym instead of 3, but i’m probably in the minority.
i do think its important.
Dave Ramsey, “Total Money Makeover” author, has several different programs suitable for teens and graduates.
I do think it should be required–or maybe you could test out like someone mentioned. Way too many parents are financially ignorant themselves to be able to pass the knowledge on to their children.
I actually think a good program would be a good idea - I’d be fine if they allowed passing an exam to substitute for taking a full course. My recent college graduate agrees. When faced with W-4 forms and 403bs and all the rest he found himself coming to us regularly for advice. They actually covered a fair amount of finance in “Home and Careers” in 8th grade, but it was far too early. No one learns to balance a check book when they are years from having one, much less worries about mortgages and what percent of your income can go to rent, or since we’re on CC - what’s an affordable student loan.
Do you really need a class to teach you the difference between a credit card and a debit card? What’s wrong with wikipedia?
It is not a course at our HS but it is something that H and I taught our kids throughout their lives. We discussed responsible spending habits as well as the need to track personal finances. I would rather teach this at home rather than have the school do it as we could instill our personal values about appropriate spending, saving money etc. Neither kid had an issue.
Totally agree. This should be required for all HS and College students. Financial literacy is needed by all.
Here in Florida the kids are required to take an online course prior to highschool graduation. I’ve noticed that Florida Virtual School offers a Dave Ramsey course for high school students. The reviews of it that I’ve seen have been quite good. I may have my high schooler take this one.
Should be required for all 50 year olds.
Cannot tell you the dumb financial decision making I see every day- by people who have been earning a living for over 25 years and still don’t know the bare basics about budgeting, retirement planning, managing debt.
It could be a requirement, but only if it was an online course. I think my kids knew enough about personal finance, and would not have wanted them wasting time in a semester class on it.
Youngest D’s college recently had some evening seminars about money management, renting apartments, investing, 401k’s, etc, which she was discussing with me over winter break.
If more people were financially literate, even in the most basic way, it would be great. I remember being taught how to write a check – even something as simple as that, we all had to learn at one point or another. My D17 chose to take Financial Algebra, which sounds fancy but could be renamed How to Adult. Her school makes it fun, though, and it’s light (to make up for the fact that students who opt for it are foregoing taking something similarly fun/light like graphic design or studio art). She said it’s a pretty full class, 14 kids. That tells me that there’s a desire for this kind of knowledge.
Or students who want to cruise in a “light” class.
Bingo. That is the reality for teenagers, and which is why I am not a fan of the course. Moreover, do we really have any credential teachers in “personal finance” that could teach the course well?
Son’s HS had the requirement but it could be tested out of. Could check out the book and read it. Or- could check out the book at mom’s insistence and probably never open it but still pass the test for son. It would have been a shame to waste a class hour every day being bored instead of taking another class. Every teen should learn the ins and outs of the basics- check writing (paper and electronic), bill paying, taxes…