Financial Education is Absent in Many Schools…Why?
In schools across the country, students learn the basics: English, math, science,
social studies and most likely a world language. While these subjects are important to influencing well-rounded individuals,
a major subject is missing from this list. This subject is personal finance, an essential subject matter for all adults regardless
of his or her vocation. Personal finance includes the basics of how to manage money including savings and loans, the role of
credit cards, household budgeting and financing. Most adults have never taken a class on financial literacy and learn through
trial and error. When it comes to financial matters, errors or mistakes can often stay with someone for a huge portion of their
life: problems like missing mortgage payments and losing one’s house to foreclosure or overextending credit card spending and declaring
bankruptcy, to name a few examples. Knowledge of basic personal finance can help adults increase financial stability in their
own lives. Learning proper spending and saving habits from a young age can help form habits that will benefit adults for a lifetime. Schools should educate students about proper personal financial decision-making in order to form proper habits as adults to minimize
financial distress and increase household stability via preparation for times of scarcity.
Temptation to get off on the wrong
financial foot can start early in adult life. College campuses are breeding grounds for starting down the wrong financial path,
when a student has barely entered adulthood and is fresh out of high school. As mentioned on HelpSaveMyDollars.com’s recent
interview on WABC-TV (click here to watch that interview), credit card companies frequently set up tents and booths to sign up
fresh recruits for their credit cards. Most students do not fully understand the consequences or responsibility required with
a credit card. Many students understand the use of a credit card to be a vehicle to spend beyond their means and only be obligated
for a small monthly payment. The likelihood of incurring significant debt is high, with many students becoming overwhelmed by
the time they graduate. If not already under water with insurmountable debt, many will at least be starting out adulthood with
the wrong type of spending habits. These types of spending habits often continue into adulthood. If students are armed
with financial knowledge in high school, they would have more savvy to resist signing up for a credit card, or at least understand
that it is not an outlet for frivolous spending beyond one’s financial boundaries. Instead of leaving college students and adults
to figure things out through trial and error, there needs to be adequate financial education in high schools. This curriculum
should not only teach kids about personal finance, but instill in them the importance of saving money. High school is the ideal
place to lay a foundation for proper knowledge of personal finance not just to start forming better habits early-on, but because poor
credit use can start early in adulthood.
HelpSaveMyDollars.com is a great place for teens and adults to learn about money and
become better savers!
Back to School Savings
Tips on how to afford school supplies, clothing and everything else for back to school
The time of year
kids dread most – going back to school. The parents may also dread this time of year due to the fact that all of the school
supplies and items kids need for school can be very expensive! No worries though, HelpSaveMyDollars.com has compiled some tips
to survive the costly back to school times.
1. Buy in Bulk – If you are buying school supplies for more than one child,
this can save you lots of money. Items are generally cheaper when you buy more of them. For example, a store might have
a special, “Buy 3 notebooks and get 2 free”.
2. Buy Generic – There are several household brand names when it comes
to notebooks, pencils and school supplies. Do yourself a favor and only buy generic items, which are usually 10-30% cheaper
than brand name items.
3. Buy Less – Sometimes the school supply lists that schools give to the parents are excessive. Carefully review what is on the list, but anything that seems ridiculous or redundant, don’t buy. For example, the list may
require “markers, crayons and colored pencils”. How about buying either markers or crayons or colored pencils instead of all
of them? (We’re in a recession!)
4. Recycle – If you have left over folders or notebooks from last year that you
bought (even if they’re slightly used), why not use those instead of having to buy new items? Re-use the book bag you used last
year if it’s in reasonable condition.
5. NO Store Credit Cards – Stores will want you to open up their own credit cards
and in turn, they’ll take 10% or 15% off every purchase you make at that store. Sounds good, right? Wrong! These credit cards have extremely high interest rates and may be littered with hidden fees. Plus, credit card bureaus don’t
like to see many department store credit cards on your credit report since they are pretty easy to open up. When you have department
store credit cards, the credit card companies then wonder why you wouldn’t open up a regular credit card (if you don’t already have
one).
6. Use Coupons – Office supplies stores and even clothing stores usually run coupons and sales around this time of
year for back to school items. Always check a store’s circular for the best deals.
7. Bargain! – As mentioned inHelpSaveMyDollars.com’s section, Bargaining 101, always ask the seller for a lower price! The worst the seller can say is “No”. Also, go online and compare prices of items from store to store. If an item in one store is cheaper than the same exact item
in another store, ask the more expensive store if they’ll match the price of the cheaper store – don’t overpay.
These are some
tips to ease the pain of the great expense of going back to school. For more tips on how to save money, read HelpSaveMyDollars.com’s The
20 Laws of Saving Money.
© 2010 HelpSaveMyDollars.com All Rights Reserved.
It's Now or Never
Why Learning About Money Now is Crucial for the Future
It’s never too early to learn about money. Parents should start teaching their kids about money at whatever age they think is right. Think about the causes of
the current recession we are in now: greed, lack of foresight, dearth of knowledge and irresponsible behavior. Current college
students and teens today will be making financial decisions in 5 to 10 years when they have a job and are forced to support themselves,
in most cases. If, when the time comes that they need to make their own financial decisions, and they are totally clueless as
to what a credit score is, how mortgages work, how credit cards work and how to pay off their student loans, then we’re going to have
another economic recession. That is why college students and teens need to learn about money now. The current college
students and teens have the power to prevent a future economic recession down the line in the future if they would take the time to
get interested in personal finance now. That is what HelpSaveMyDollars.com is trying to do.
Many schools throughout
the country do not offer financial education classes, or if they do, they are not mandatory classes. Again, if the youth today
are not financially savvy, they are bound to make mistakes in the future. For teens and college students, here are a few simple
ways on how you can begin to take an interest in personal finance now:
1. Read HelpSaveMyDollars.com – If you’re reading
this article, you’re off to a great start! Keep reading all of the articles on this website as most of them are aimed at teaching
college students and teens about money.
2. Start Watching Financial T.V. – You may find financial news channels with the
tickers at the bottom and constant flashing of numbers on the screen intimidating or even boring, but a lot of these financial news
shows are really informative and can teach you a lot about money. Keep the financial channel on in the background while you’re
on the computer, for example – you don’t have to sit there “glued” to the television.
3. Read the Business Section of
the Newspaper – Almost all newspapers have business sections. Now in accordance with Law # 5 of HelpSaveMyDollars.com’s The 20 Laws of Saving Money, read those business articles for free on the newspaper’s website. You’ll save money and gain a
ton of information.
4. Take a Business Course In School – If your school or college offers a business, finance or investing
class, definitely think about enrolling in that class. Classroom settings are a great way to obtain info about money.
5. Apply The Knowledge You Learn – It’s one thing to know everything about money. However it’s even better to use that knowledge
to your advantage. In other words, if you’ve researched credit scores and feel you are knowledgeable in that topic, be sure
to follow your knowledge and pay your bills on time and stay out of debt. Make sure the info you learn is being used effectively
in real life!
If you try and follow some of theses suggestions above, you should start to gain an opinion and facts about money. This knowledge will in turn save you money, since you’ll know the “do’s and don’ts about money”.
We Need Financial Education
You may have noticed the HelpSaveMyDollars.com online petition to support financial education classes
in high schools and universities throughout the country. Click here to sign our online petition. The fact is, we need
to ensure that the youth of
Think about it: Once teens and college students graduate college or high school, most
will get a job. With a job comes financial responsibility and having the ability to manage and take control of the finances. However, if college/high school graduates are completely clueless as to how to manage their money, because they never learned this
critical information in school, then they’re bound to make financial mistakes. On the other hand, if teens and college students
learn about money in schools, then once they have a job, they can “hit the ground running” and make very few financial mistakes.
If students don’t understand basic personal finance topics such as credit cards, mortgages, loans, savings, checking accounts,
401(k)s, taxes, then it will be extremely difficult for them to effectively take control of their money, which will most likely result
in future economic recessions. This is because when people are not informed about their money, they’re more likely to make mistakes.