Financial Literacy Society by Yashaswi

Financial Literacy Society by Yashaswi - September 2019 Scholarship Essay

“Learn to be more financially responsible. Start budgeting. Find another job-- to qualify for private loans, your annual salary needs to increase!” my mother exclaimed. I went back to my room, trying to come up with unique ways to fund and manage my college expenses. Despite having one to two jobs and having applied to scholarships, I thought I can fund my tuition, books, room and board, meals, and graduate school application fees—no I was wrong. I realize I did not understand the complexity of financing one’s education until recently. Financing one’s education does not only involve applying for Financial Aid or looking for sources to earn money, but also involves a great deal of financial education, planning, and budgeting.

Financial illiteracy is a major issue in society. According to the National Financial Educators Council, more than half of today’s millennials are worried about paying back loans and being financially stable. For instance, I am one of many who have that same worry. Despite taking Economics class in high school and listening to advice from my parents and friends, I never truly understood how to manage one’s finances for college and beyond. Many of my high school colleagues also started working to save up money for college. That is not enough. To address financial illiteracy, I would start a Financial Literacy Society if given the opportunity to start an extracurricular organization at high school.

The high school organization would include giving seminars on ways to fund for college—finding more than one job, selling textbooks, applying for scholarships, utilizing resources to find cheaper college textbooks—and would include professional speakers to give advice on paying credit card bills or tips on how to write successful scholarship essays. Now at first, this society may seem like another career center just listing or offering resources. However, this organization would include active engagement from all students—the society would entail each student receiving a pretend job, a pretend credit card and a list of items to pay for in college. Throughout the year, the students will have to create a plan and budget to figure out what they should save on and what items they should spend on. For those students possibly thinking of pursuing higher education, they would have an additional exercise on figuring out how to fund for admission fees and graduate exams (which can cost $200 at least). Every student in society would be required to visit a nearby bank to discuss financing options. At club meetings, all the students would collaborate and share their ideas on how to save, plan, and budget.

If I had such an opportunity and better understanding of applications of budgeting my finances, I definitely would have been better off – perhaps I would be more exposed to resources that the U.S. has to offer and so would my family.