Personal Finance Management by Chris

Personal Finance Management by Chris - June 2018 Scholarship Essay

I believe that Personal Financial Management, or PFM, should be a required class in all schools. I believe it should be required because that course teaches you how to manage your money. It teaches you simple things like how to read your W-2 and how to do your W-4 and all of different types of taxes you can file, 1040, 1040 A, 1040 EZ and much more. I think that it is important for all students to learn simple steps in the future before high school ends to do simple tasks like, file taxes, buying a house, buying a car, and learning how minimum payments for credit cards are EVIL and can hurt your credit score early in your life.

After taking the class my junior year, I had realized how much information I learned that I most likely wasn't going to find out online and especially on my own. The class put into perspective of how fast life hits you, and how one bad move or unknown thing could put your life going downward in the wrong path because of a simple, basic step you didn't learn. The class is so helpful in that it teaches you the important things in life that you wouldn't find out in the world without taking this class. The important things I didn't know about like, Federal Income Tax, Budgets and Financial Records, Checking and Saving accounts, writing a check correctly, renting and owning a home and all of its proper steps needed, and how much insurance is needed and how it works.

Personal Financial Management should be a required class that should be taught and learned by every student before they leave high school and start their journey with debts in college and how to handle it correctly. This class has personally helped me tremendously in understanding taxes, checks, and how credit cards fully work. Without this class, I do not know where I would be today in understanding and of this material that happens in everyone's life on a daily basis. PFM should be a class that is taught in high school because it is very helpful for students to understand the basics on how to deal with their money and their personal finances.