The new trimester started at high school today, and my teen is taking Personal Financial Responsibility. I’m pretty excited about it, and I wish more schools offered a similar elective. Even while we have tried to teach our kids frugality and financial responsibility, we’re just Mom and Dad. What do we know?
Learning the same lessons and skills in an actual class — for a grade? — will hopefully have more impact on her. I want her to have the skills to properly develop a spending plan. I want her to understand the true implications of choosing credit. I want her to have an awareness of personal finance and what it means for her long term.
Now that I’ve looked at the syllabus, I think this course will help, if for no other reason than to open a dialogue on terms she can understand. I’ve already given her one of my favorite personal finance books to look over and share with her teacher. I think Enjoy Your Money fits right into his plans for this course. The objectives for her class include:
- To identify various forms of income and analyze factors that affect income as part of a career decision
- To develop and evaluate a spending/savings plan
- To evaluate savings and investment options to meet short and long-term goals
- To explain services provided by financial deposit insitutations to transfer funds
- To analyze factors that affect the choice fo credit, the cost of credit, and the legal aspects of using credit
- To identify choices available to consumers for protections against risk and financial loss
- To create an awareness of the varied career opportunities in the financial field
- To provide an atmosphere in which the student can relate personal financial experiences and philosphies
- To develop critical thinking skills
Her teacher has also opened the door for guest speakers, so I think I will pitch something on frugality. I think learning about responsible spending is just as important as income, investment, and finance. If you could speak to a personal finance class at the high school level, what you would want to share?
What other objectives and skills would you add to their lessons?
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I believe that’s the best thing one can do for his or her child. Most financial problems are brought about by poor spending and inability to manage your finances. With proper management and living in owns budget most of the financial crisis can be avoided. Other skills that can be impacted is how to budget your finances because poor budgeting leads to poor financial management.
This makes me so happy (and so bummed that my high school didn’t offer it)! So many kids don’t hear this information at home, so not only does it give them a chance to start off on the right foot, it also has the possibility of encouraging dialogue and fostering some changes at home. If I had one piece of advice I’d share to a class like this, it would be to tell them that it doesn’t take a huge 6-figure income to live well now AND save for the future. You just have to be the boss of your income and tell each and every penny where to go. We don’t make a ton of money, and yet we live in a nice neighborhood, take fun vacations every other year, and save for college and retirement. We just pay attention to where our money goes on a daily basis. Budgeting will change your life in the best way possible.
So awesome! So encouraging to see a school understand the importance of teaching financial responsibility, and the impact it can have on our nation. High fives, high school!
And of course, you HAVE to guest speak!
What a great class! I wish I would have had a class like this in high school or college. I would give a great speech on all the thigns I’ve learned NOT to do – through personal experience!
This is excellent. Its a course that will certainly teach and shape the kids for better…its a course that even or most adults could do with! In a way I do wish I’d enjoyed such an experience, who knows, maybe I would be singing a totally different financial tune 🙂