Alot of times on this particular subforum I see people saying that young folks aren't being taught how to use credit cards or save or alternatives for loans in school, but my economic teacher did a great job senior year of really making us look at these things. I don't know about other places, but two things my county does have is a mandatory economic class and a mandatory civics class.
I'm 17 and I still haven't really learnt how to use credit/debit cards. We do have an Economy class at school but our teacher never taught us how those work. And I'm sure my classmates don't know either.
It was one of the subsections in my class and most of us paid attention because it meant extra credit in the long-term. I will admit that my teacher often went above the standards, but from what I've heard most of the economic classes make a point of teaching basic skills in class.
I didn't use them in HS. But, when my daughters turned 16 we opened joint accounts with debit cards. This way they earned money, deposited money and taught them how to keep track and pay their bills. I started them paying their cell phone bills. ( ha ha) They are 24 and 25 now, and out of all of their friends they are the only ones that knew how to make deposits write checks and pay bills on a budget.
Yes and no. I took a business/accounting class that did cover them to a certain extent, but it was way more focused on checks and banking at that point. Credit cards existed, of course, but that wasn't the point of the class really so we didn't spend a lot of time on it.
Ah, the thing was many banks now have credit card applications right there, so she had us get one of those to bring in (with the reccomendation to bring extras we could sell for a quick buck) as well as some literature on checking/saving accounts. That way we were able to have one long section over all of that and how to avoid debt (especially credit card debt).
When I was in high school many, MANY years ago, they didn't teach any type of financial information in any of the classes. I would have thought that by now they would be teaching this type of information in schools. I know that I had to teach my kids about it when they were in school. I thought it was just because we live in a smaller town and the schools are somewhat limited.
Unfortunately my HS gov/eco teacher was ALWAYS telling personal stories and when test time came around we all struggled a lot because she never went over anything. She only lasted 1 year in that school but I am assuming that CCs is something she should have gone over? I didn't luck out with that class
The same for me as well. I didn't learn any type of financial management. I thought it was because I went to a Catholic high school. If I had kids, I would definitely prepare them with how to handle credit, balancing a checkbook and saving money. It's a key to a stable financial life.
We didn't learn anything about credit cards in economics, really. I did take a consumer math class that taught about credit cards though. I was surprised how many people in the glass already didn't know much of anything about how credit cards work.
I remember doing stock simulation in economics but nothing with credit cards. Credit cards were covered in an elective I took, which was accounting.
I didn't learn about them in school. The only skills we learned were sewing and cooking. I use the cooking all the time, but can't say I sew anything now. I think a credit class would be a great idea, but as a patent it's not something I expect the school to do. My parents didn't teach me much about money. I plan on teaching my kids about credit and savings, trying to help them avoid the mistakes I made.
We had a class in grade 10 called "Planning". It had a lot of useful information about necessary life skills. Most of it focused on budgeting, writing resumes/cover letters, and finding a job. I don't seem to remember any information regarding credit cards specifically. I might have just been not paying attention though. I did a lot of slacking in that class.
Nope, I learned the hard way. My children are getting their financial education through us now. They won't be unprepared. I don't leave anything up to the school system.
You were very lucky to have those classes at your school. I definitely did not learn that school. I had to learn how to budget and save by looking at various websites on the internet. I even subscribe to a financial expert's newsletter where I'm taught how to pay off my mortgage and budget and so on. This financial expert lives in Australia, and teaches students in his country the value of 21st Century Financial Education. In my country in Jamaica, there are banks that encourage your students to open savings accounts at their high schools, and some of them even teach them financial education through workshops or seminars at the schools. I had the opportunity to open bank accounts at my elementary school and high school.
Nope, had to learn it about myself, by search and researching on the internet, talking with friends and all that kind of stuff. It's not that it is hard, but someone could really explain this, seeing how everyone works with one sooner or later.
At my high school in Jacksonville, Florida we were required to take a Life Management course. That was almost 20 years ago, since people can receive a major credit card by age 18 it makes since for them to learn how to use it through high school.
Ah, the thing is I honestly don't understand why there isn't some kind of overall system in America. Some kids are getting taught a Bizarro world version of everything (Texas), some kids are being taught precisely nothing (Alabama), and then you have places like Massachusetts where they get all the acclaim. We need to have something better in place if America isn't going to sink lower on the list of countries worth living in.
I went to a public high school and nobody ever taught us a thing about credit cards. They are quite the trap, aren't they? It's like the system is set up to encourage people to fail, go broke and file bankruptcy. Unless you are from a family with money. Then your parents probably taught you all the ins and outs of the credit card scam. There should be several finance courses that are mandatory for students in all high schools, no matter if they are public or private.
I never learned about credit cards in high school, or budgeting or bank accounts. I think all that stuff should be taught in school because not everyone has helpful or competent parents that will teach them these valuable survival skills.
