Blog #14: The Importance of Financial Literacy
By: Ikenna Onyegbule
At some point in our lives, we all want to be financially stable and have a guaranteed source of income. The most important question is how will you keep your finances in good standing?
Financial literacy is a topic that many people are not informed about and don’t know how important it is. Not being financially literate can lead you into credit card debt, bad credit score, etc. I believe that this should be taught in all high schools, right before the students graduate. Schools overall do a poor job of incorporating this into their curriculum but I was lucky enough to be taught it in 10th grade because my school required it. Schools should add more informative subjects like this in their curriculum rather than subjects that have no benefits in the future.
Financial Literacy will teach you an array of things you literally need to know for the future such as writing a check/ reading a check, reading tax forms, how to maintain good credit, how to begin an emergency fund, and the list goes on. All these things are a must know for the future so we should all have knowledge on it, you can buy books and take online courses to broaden your understanding. If you learn all this information you can start to build wealth for the future, get ahead in life, and be able to do whatever you want with your time and money.
So what's your take on financial literacy and how much do you know?
Great topic, Ikenna. You tap into a very important criticism of the American education system (including colleges), and that is lack of focus on financial literacy and basic understanding of credit, banking, filing taxes, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis aspect of our lives is universal and so significant. It's strange that we refuse to incorporate it into primary, secondary--even higher learning! Unless you're studying economics or finance, you get little preparation in this area at the college level. Glad to hear you are thinking about this issue, as it is such a significant part of all of our futures.
When it comes to personal wealth-building and finance in general, the sooner you start saving--the better. Even if you do not have a steady stream of income as a student, it's important to understand the fundamentals and what you need to do to set yourself up for success.
Understanding financial literacy seems very important to help us with our financing in our lives. Learning to maintain budgets, debt, investing, etc seem very vital to us.
ReplyDeleteI believe that financial literacy is a great topic to learn about and should be provided to all high school as well as college students. I do remember completing an assignment about financial literacy in my New Student Seminar class last semester. It showed me all the types of loans, interest rates, financial aids, budgets, goals, and ways to save money. There is some information I do not know about financial literacy that I need to look into for the benefit of myself.
ReplyDelete-Natalie Munoz
I agree with your statement that financial literacy should be taught to students in high school before they graduate because of the great importance it will have on our lives in the future. I also believe its important to brush on the topic in collage as well like my new student seminar class last semester offered us some insight into on loans, financial aid, and way to save money and budget as a college student. I still believe if you are not taught you should go out and try to research on your own because that information is essential to your life in the future.
ReplyDeleteI do not know much about financial literacy like the part of how to do taxes, it almost feels daunting. But I do know what its like to have a credit and a debit card. I've had a debit card since I was a sophomore in high school because I started to work in the summer, and my senior year of high school I got my first credit card. Personally, having a credit card is daunting, because I want to make sure that I make my payments on time and that I have enough money. But it gives you a good sense of responsibility and timing. Any knowledge on taxes, forms, stocks, I do not know what to do and it is scary.
ReplyDeleteI took a financial literacy class in high school, and unlike all the unnecessary classes we had to take within those four years, I actually retained some knowledge from this class. There's a lot more to finances than I thought and it's really interesting to learn about. I'd say this is important for everyone to look into.
ReplyDelete-Brianna Torres
I completely agree with you I think we should start writing this in like six grade off through High School, and not just as a one-off class for credit. I actually retained some information from this class and I was allowed to invest in some stocks in cryptocurrency that actually, profit.
ReplyDelete-Oluwakemi Akanle
DeleteI completely agree with you that financial literacy should be taught to many more students. In my high school, it was a graduation requirement for me to take financial literacy and I really do think that it introduced me to so many concepts that everyone should know for their future. I definitely think that I need to learn more about it since it is so important to understand the topic covered in financial literacy.
ReplyDelete-Olivia Reina
I completely agree that financial literacy needs to be taught to more people not just students, you hear about people suddenly inheriting large sums of money then losing it all in a short period of time. The ability to manage money is the key to having a successful future in my opinion, I took a financial literacy class in high school and it definitely opened my eyes to how the world of finance/money actually works.
ReplyDelete- Saul Arias