Life Skills Not Taught in School Part 1 - How to Handle Money
Handling money is one life skill that needs to be mandatory in all high schools. The result of this ignorance is a society of young and old debt slaves.
The importance of handling money responsibly is obviously valuable. Accounting, finance, and business classes do explain accounting procedures, financing arrangements, and business structures, but do not focus much on personal finances, saving or investing. The job of these classes is to prepare students for working environments, and not necessarily for someone how to manage their own finances.
How many young adults know how to properly use a credit card without getting themselves into debt early in life? Many see it as quick and easy money, and have no real grasp of how paying interest takes its tole on ones ability to save.
Furthermore, higher education doesn’t spend much time teaching students how to be self employed. I'm certain that many more students would love to start their own small business, would they have the know how and thus greater confidence to take that chance. For the adult self-starter, knowledge of how to set up their company’s structure, managing finances, pay taxes and reinvest into the company is crucial. This crucial knowledge can mean the difference between failure and success.
If we as a society are hoping for the next great business leader to emerge, we must make it a priority to start with our children early in their educational journey.
Robert Kiyosaki, writer of Rich Dad / Poor Dad, has been stating this for more than a quarter century.
Financial education is NOT taught in schools. They don't even teach you how to balance a check book. Now, they don't even teach how to properly add and subtract.
And this is not by chance, the schools were set up this way. Conspiracy theory? No, you can go read about it all. Just no one ever does.
One of the most important things that Robert taught me is
Your house is not an asset
Well, your house is an asset, but for the bank. It is a liability to you.
Even when you have it paid off, it is still a liability.
Today, lots of baby boomers are thinking they are set with their high house price. Little do they know that housing prices are about to plummet. And then crash. Like houses in the rust belt, you won't be able to give them away.
If you don't already know these things, I suggest reading
Rich Dad / Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
and then
Creature From Jekyll Island by G Edward Griffin.
Financial education is THE most important! Hell, I wrote an article with that title. :D
Keep spreading the word.
Excellent
I agree! basics of handling money should be one of things we earn from the very early age.