Personal finance

Why should students learn about personal finance?

As a young person with few financial responsibilities, it can be tempting to spend impulsively. That's why it's important to learn responsible money management strategies early on, so you don't end up with poor spending habits later in life when more serious financial responsibilities take hold. In fact, the earlier you can learn about personal finance, the better. Knowing the importance of financial management can help you avoid or minimize debt, making it less likely that you become trapped in a cycle of lifelong money struggles.

Knowing this, how does one learn about personal finance? It depends. While in some cases personal finance education can happen in the home, be aware that not all parents wish to, or are even capable of, teaching their children about personal finance. If your parents are unwilling or unable to teach you about managing your personal finances, then it will be up to you to find other ways to learn about the subject matter. Fortunately, there are several places you can start.

If possible, enroll in a personal finance course at your school. While not all schools offer such courses, you should definitely consider taking them if your school does - even if your parents are willing to teach you some personal finance lessons at home. If no such courses are currently available at your school, check the school library or your local library for books about responsible money management. There are also many wonderful online resources available, like Dave Ramsey's Web site or personal finance videos on YouTube.

When learning about personal finance, there are many topics worth exploring. Some of the more useful ones are the importance of spending less than you make, balancing a checkbook, understanding debt, and the consequences of having a low credit score. Having an understanding of such topics allows you to make better spending decisions, so you'll be less likely to find yourself in a never-ending cycle of debt.

It's also important that students transitioning into post-secondary (college) education have a basic understanding of typical tuition costs and know how much of their future income will be tied up in student loan repayments. After all, many students who enroll in post-secondary education later leave with huge student debts. If you plan to continue your education by attending a post-secondary institution, it's crucially important that you learn about personal finance.

Though exploring the topic of personal finance may seem overwhelming at first, it's still something that you really should do to ease your transition into adulthood. To help keep yourself from becoming overwhelmed, seek outside help whenever possible and work through the topics a little at a time. By tackling the subject in stages, you will gradually gain a deeper understanding of how personal finances work, so you can strengthen your money management skills before facing any serious financial decisions.