A child’s formative years is the best time to teach them valuable life skills as they will be able to benefit from these lessons their entire life. I would argue that teaching students such key life lessons may be significantly more important than other academic subjects typically taught at school. I strongly agree with the view that managing money should be included in school curriculum. I believe it will provide them with the key skills required to deal with two major challenges in the world today - consumerism and online shopping.
In today’s global capitalist economy, consumerism is the biggest hurdle to living a financially successful life. What do you constantly see driving down the street in a city or town? Numerous hoardings advertising glamorous products encouraging you to spend big money and buy something you probably don’t need. Any newspaper, magazine or anywhere you look, big brands are always trying to sell you something. Even the social pressures of not have something that your friends have, this can make people buy stuff they don’t need with money that they don’t have. Bank and credit cards are willing to loan you money so that you spend more than you can afford. A strong foundation laid at a young age to manage money and spend only within budgets can be the difference between being debt-free and broke.
Online shopping is another major challenge that has come with the explosion of the internet, technology and smartphones. Buying things online today is just a click or a touch away. It’s so easy to go on an online shopping spree without realizing the financial impact until it’s too late. For example, online ads and social media and apps encourage you buy things and to spend additional money on in-app purchases and that can be quite financially draining. Maintaining financial discipline will be hard for young people especially if they haven’t developed this skill at a young age.
These are some of the reasons why I believe schools must include important life skills like managing money in their curriculum. It can be implemented as classroom lessons or practical activities designed to understand and practice these financial skills. If this is implemented across the country, I believe we will see a generation of successful young people in this nation who are financially responsible and are able to focus on making this world a better place not bogged down by debt and despair.
A child’s formative years is the best time to teach them valuable
life
skills
as they will be able to benefit from these lessons their entire
life
. I would argue that teaching students such key
life
lessons may be
significantly
more
important
than other academic subjects
typically
taught at school. I
strongly
agree
with the view that managing
money
should
be included
in school curriculum.
I
believe it will provide them with the key
skills
required to deal with two major challenges in the world
today
-
consumerism and
online
shopping.
In
today
’s global capitalist economy, consumerism is the biggest hurdle to living a
financially
successful
life
. What do you
constantly
see
driving down the street in a city or town? Numerous hoardings advertising glamorous products encouraging you to
spend
big
money
and
buy
something you
probably
don’t need. Any newspaper, magazine or anywhere you look,
big
brands are always trying to sell you something. Even the social pressures of not have something that your friends have, this can
make
people
buy
stuff they don’t need with
money
that they don’t have. Bank and credit cards are willing to loan you
money
so
that you
spend
more than you can afford. A strong foundation laid at a
young
age to manage
money
and
spend
only
within budgets can be the difference between being debt-free and broke.
Online shopping is another major challenge that has
come
with the explosion of the internet, technology and smartphones. Buying things
online
today
is
just
a click or a touch away. It’s
so
easy to go on an
online
shopping spree without realizing the financial impact until it’s too late.
For example
,
online
ads and social media and apps encourage you
buy
things and to
spend
additional
money
on in-app
purchases
and that can be quite
financially
draining. Maintaining financial discipline will be
hard
for
young
people
especially
if they haven’t developed this
skill
at a
young
age.
These are
some of the
reasons why I believe schools
must
include
important
life
skills
like managing
money
in their curriculum. It can
be implemented
as classroom lessons or practical activities designed to understand and practice these financial
skills
. If this
is implemented
across the country, I believe we will
see
a generation of successful
young
people
in this nation who are
financially
responsible and are able to focus on making this world a better place not bogged down by debt and despair.