twentyhood.

College Sophomore Fixes Personal Finance Crisis … or Does He?

Mon 24 Nov 2008 – 11.31

Zac Bissonnette, a sophomore at UMass Amhearst and columnist for WalletPOP.com, has proposed a simple solution on how to fix the financial problems faced by our nation.

In this case, he tackles personal finance, as opposed to institutionalised banking and large-scale industrial money-mongering. Since those companies are run by people, perhaps the principles are transferrable. How to fix personal finance and instill responsibility with credit cards, for example? Teach finance in High School.

The high school I attended, however, like most other public schools, had no financial literacy program in place. As I wrote in an op-ed piece when I was a student there, the failure of the schools to teach kids about money has done more to perpetuate the status quo than any lobbyist in Washington could ever dream of.

However, I disagree with this notion. I feel, perhaps too traditionally, that finance matters should be taught at home, by parents. My view may be skewed by the fact that I was raised by a Jewish mother, but I feel very strongly that my own savvy in managing my own finances goes back to the days when I received an allowance, had to complete chores, and worked for minimum wage. My parents showed me that money is important, and that I could only buy nice things for myself if I made a difficult decisions to save instead of spend. When I received my first credit card at 18, no one had to lecture me on how not to drown in debt, I already knew the simple maxim of living within my own means and paying off the balance each month.

Are high school students ready to learn life-long lessons on personal finance? Will dealing with abstract dollars in textbooks have the same impact as real-world money earned at a crappy after-school or summer job? Methinks it will not. Nothing teaches you the value of a dollar more than waking up early, working a hard day in the sun, and then getting disrespected when that paycheck arrives. Ever scrub a toilet? That helps too.

So rather than mandating high school students drop Latin for Personal Finance, why not give them less homework and ask them to get a part-time job. They might even learn something on the job.

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posted by Scott in education,personal finance.