The Game of Life is the Real Life and Not Just Fantasy by Chun Wai

The Game of Life is the Real Life and Not Just Fantasy by Chun Wai - August 2015 Scholarship Essay

If I could add any subject to the high school curriculum in the United States, I would select financial management. In the western country, much of success is defined by materialism and measured by amassed wealth and power. By learning how to manage their wealth in adulthood, teenagers can become not just successful but also stable as they transition into the next period of their lives, in which the average person spend most of his or her time working to pay off rising student loans and debt. Managing money and creating budgets is also a valuable skill that will serve students well in their lifelong endeavors. Financial management has a greater impact than the subjects currently taught in curriculums of secondary schools across the U. S. on a real-world, practical basis because money is a universal and commonplace commodity.

Stemming from bartering and trades throughout history, currency exchange has become a standardized and important way to obtain products and services. In today’s world, capital indubitably affects an individual’s life and living standards. Possessing wealth means success and the ability to pursue luxuries; that’s simple enough, but maintaining wealth is a pecuniary difficulty for the ordinary person. Often, the cause can be attributed to economic illiteracy among the youths and, subsequently, the middle-aged population. For the majority, it isn’t until a person’s thirties, along with some experience or research, before he or she begins to grasp the tools of investment—effectively missing a gargantuan chunk of potential gains from compounded interest. In high schools, the normally offered economics class—which is not even mandatory, much less a part of the curriculum—discusses demand-and-supply and consumer-business relationships, among other observable trends. Seldom would it delve into personal finance or budgeting, not to mention so much as scratching the surface of endless tax codes or exemptions. A common counter-argument suggests that it is the job of each student’s parents to teach them these things or skills, not the schools’. That belief could not be more misguided. Countless parents do not have the luxury of time or former education to coach their child on how to navigate the vast world of financial affairs. Instead, it is the purpose of schools to prepare students for life after college and beyond, not just for college classes. As a visible result of this neglect and partially contributed by poor monetary management, student loan debt and household loan debt are at an increasingly alarming high. The former has skyrocketed while the latter has escalated steadily since 1999. Furthermore, current statistics shows that over two-thirds of college students graduate with an average of over thirty-thousand dollars in debt. Soon-to-be independent graduates with the proper education in this subject can undoubtedly boost the socioeconomic status of the average individual.

Those who learn how to manage their finances and how to perform related tasks, such as filing tax returns, obtaining mortgages, and exchanging stocks, will not only be fiscally wiser but also get a head start on accruing wealth in their savings, retirement, and other accounts. They will know to invest early on blue chip stocks, bonds, and mutual funds so that they will have their retirement and kid’s college funds ready. Additionally, they will readily know of pensions, social security, disability benefits, and other resources that can aid them if misfortune should occur. They can ultimately help raise the socioeconomic standard in American society. Irrefutably, financial management is one of the best subjects that can be taught in high schools—a subject that isn’t even offered in most schools, which must change.