Learning to manage money a lesson that lasts lifetime

I was pleased to see Richard G. Liskov’s “Teach N.Y. students about finances,” April 23. I would assert that more than any other subject taught in school, financial literacy is critical to ensuring that a person is successful in life.

I agree with Liskov’s recommendation that personal finance should be a required course in high school. But, given the importance and complexity of some money topics, I would also recommend that personal finance be a college course requirement. Learning how to manage money is a lifetime pursuit.

High school students can easily become overwhelmed by financial information they consider irrelevant to their daily lives. Course content should be tailored to students’ lived experiences with money. At the high school age, students’ experience with money is mainly limited to earning, spending and saving. Students need to understand how to use cash, credit and debit cards wisely and develop a basic understanding of credit, loans and debt. They should also learn about serious financial pitfalls such as phone and internet scams, fraud and gambling.

However, it is only when young people are preparing to become full-time workers often as they near college or technical school graduation that they most need a course in personal finance. Advanced money concepts (e.g., loans, debt, insurance, investing) are more likely to stick when they will soon have relevance to one’s personal life. It is only then that students may have the incentive, patience and maturity to understand and value learning about life-enhancing financial skills.

Don Bell

Troy The writer is the author of “Money Life$avers: What Teens

Know About Money”