Should Personal finance classes be taught in schools

With the increasing amount of debt America is racking up, don’t you think it’s past time to start doing something about the problem? What has happened in our society to cause this out of control spending trend? What can we do to keep this problem from escalating? My solution is to put more emphasis on personal finances in our school systems.

The first step to fix a problem is to acutally realize there is a problem. This could be why more is not being done to solve Americas financial crisis, most Americans believe there is no problem. Debt is just a way of life and it’s something you have to learn to deal with. Tell that to the millions of Americans who are currently being kicked out of their houses because they bought a more expensive house than they could afford.

I’ve read story after story about how couples didn’t think they could afford the new $400,000 home they were about to purchase on their combined income of $60,000 but the mortgage broker lender assured them it could be done. They were tricked into signing the mortgage papers which led to their worst financial decision int their life. Regardless if they were tricked into signing the papers they should have been educated enough about the mortgage process to make an informed decision. I realize that elementary schools would not be teaching mortgage math, but it would get people thinking on the right path.

Second, you would be surprised at the number of people who don’t have enough knowledge about budgets to make one themselves. A budget is the basic foundation of your financial life. Without one you are always in the dark about how much money you have left at the end of every month. The art of budgeting should be taught at a very young age and what better place to teach it than in schools.

It’s pretty obvious that Americans are struggling with financial problems and something needs to be done quick. Let me know what you think, or if you have a better solution please feel free to post!