What we missed when we were young..

I missed the school bus to my last day of 2nd grade. Didn't get my yearbook signed. Fortunately, Emma Watson didn't go to my elementary school.

There are plenty of learning opportunities I wish I had more of before entering the real world. I won't be selfish for one minute here (only child problems...I was never good at sharing), I mean for the general public. Going through high school, you had your typical required classes, and more flexibility Junior/Senior year. One theme I don't recall being around? Money Management. I mean, what better way of teaching kids real life lessons and tangible skills than that? You could make it as interactive as you'd like, and money talks, even freshmen know that. It's not even like you have to put yield curve or Dow Theory in the curriculum...just ensure basics are covered, like personal savings/budgets, how to build credit, and different investment options. Introduce how borrowing works, and demonstrate simple mechanisms of how to make money work for you. Teach the trade-offs between instant gratification vs. savings/interest. I'll take tips on how to start up a lawn mowing operation rather than an Astronomy lecture any day (will the Big Dipper provide me positive cash flow?). I need the grammar police to check that punctuation.

Next, there needs to be required seminars in college on this same matter. This is where we can even step it up a notch. Make this a requirement 101, half a credit, include some simulations and team games/events. Teach the basics of personal finance, assets vs. liabilities, and even post-graduation loan projections (this however might lead to less Art History majors...what can I say, collateral damage). Run through an owning a lemonade stand simulation, play a paper investing game. Talk about the different investment options, talk about owning real estate. Make those attending the seminar engaged and wanting to learn more. The goal is not to increase the graduation classes of the finance department, but to, at an early age, plant the seed of the importance of properly managing money (no one wants to be the next Mike Tyson). Instill the desire to learn more about the financial issues everyone will one day encounter :

buy or rent?
traditional or roth IRA?
how do I build credit?
what's a bubble?
when can I retire?
should I pay a higher monthly rate for my car loan, or invest more instead? well...what if I told you that your 3% interest rate on the car payments was lower than the 7% average annual growth rate of the S&P 500?

Anyway, my ramblings above represent my feelings on an unfortunate gap in the education system that could be easily solved. Maybe if I knew more when I was younger, I would have asked for some Apple stock instead of a new bike. That thing only got me scars. I don't want to run into any more college graduates complaining about their student loan payments. Should have paid more attention in Money Management 101, chief (your English degree turned post graduate job of blogging about managing money at 20k a year isn't going to cut it). Next blog post up...the power of compounding!