High School Financial Education by Aaron

High School Financial Education by Aaron - August 2015 Scholarship Essay

American high schools are in desperate need of an addition to their respective curricula. The course that these schools need is Personal Financial Management.
Debt is becoming an overwhelming burden to far too many Americans. Financial aid debt, credit card debt, mortgages, and auto loans are the biggest contributors. With the debt figures rising, people are unable to save for what far too few people even think about daily; retirement.

Retirement is never mentioned in any educational institutions unless one is actively pursuing a degree in a business or finance related field. More than half of the population has no money saved for retirement. Saving for retirement is something that is more successful when started soon rather than later. Education is the first step to helping people save for retirement and having a brighter future.

Personal financial management would help with more than just debt management and retirement planning. It would help people know how to create and stick to budgets. It would help by educating people on how taxes work, and which health insurance plans are beneficial for certain situations. If someone learns nothing else than how to balance a checkbook properly, then that person has already benefited from the course.