My first real encounter with financial education was in the months leading up to a 2015 family trip to Paris. My mom began putting $5 each week into separate bank accounts for me and my two older siblings to save for our day trip to Disneyland Paris. My mom’s intentional decision to make us save the money to go to Disneyland Paris taught my siblings and I the importance of saving.
Only later did I learn that this was a lesson in delayed gratification: the concept of holding off on an immediate purchase to save for a larger purchase later. Instead of a $5 treat in the moment, we could save up to see Mickey Mouse, which, for me, was much more rewarding in the long term.
However, most other high school students are not as fortunate as I am to have learned these financial literacy skills at such a young age.
The financial knowledge of 15-year-old students was measured in a survey done by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and completed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to the OECD, being financially literate includes having the knowledge of financial topics and the ability to apply those topics to a range of situations. Published in December 2023, the survey showed that 17% of high school students in America scored below the level of understanding of financial literacy, and only 13.5% were in the top level of proficiency. The United States is above the PISA average, but still below seven countries included in the survey.
JDS must provide personal financial education because it gives students crucial tools to manage their money. Also, students must take the initiative to educate themselves in personal finance.
While personal financial literacy is one of the senior seminars for graduating students at JDS, a two-hour lesson is not sufficient to cover such a complex topic. Personal finance is also taught during a unit in the new semester-long elective, economics. But this class is only available for juniors and seniors, and some students may not be able to fit this class into their busy schedules. Some other students participate in the Finance Club, where they learn about the stock market and investing money.
Almost one out of four students in America has a part-time job, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additionally, about a fifth of teenagers aged 13 through 17 are authorized users on their parents’ credit cards, according to Next Gen Personal Finance.
These young adults need to understand how to pay taxes and the consequences of buying more than they’re able to afford so that when they become financially independent, they know how to be financially stable.
Additionally, a 2024 study done by Champlain College shows that financially literate people are four times less likely to lack emergency savings and are three times less likely to be constrained by debt. An April 2024 Credit Karma Study shows that the average debt for Americans in Generation Z is $16,283, with almost 60% being over the age of 18 at the year of publication. If students received a better financial education in high school, their finances would likely be better as adults.
JDS can help by incorporating personal financial education into the high school curriculum in all core subjects. For example, in math classes, income, budgeting and debt can be integrated into learning. Alternatively, a project can be incorporated where students simulate earning an income, budgeting their money and making real-world financial decisions. In history, learning about inflation and financial security can be taught through examples from past and present economic practices.
But students also need to help themselves. There are many resources online that teach finance and help educators plan curricula. These programs include Jump$tart Clearinghouse, which is a database of financial education resources to help teachers create a syllabus, and Next Gen Personal Finance, which provides free financial literacy resources for students and educators.
While JDS should implement personal financial literacy into the curriculum, students can only become fully financially literate if they take the initiative to learn about personal finance. Although Disneyland is no longer something to build up savings for, I still make an effort to save money for other experiences and continue improving my understanding of financial literacy.
