Originally published on Youthradio.org, the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe.
By: Maya Cueva
A version of the following aired on KCBS. (download mp3)
This Sunday I am heading to Europe with four of my best friends. And while in school, my friends and I have taken language courses to prepare, I've been thinking that a lesson on how to handle our cash may have been more useful.
In high school I took an Economics class for a semester and can now recite: the concept of supply and demand, how to calculate GDP, and how to maximize opportunity cost. But in that class we spent only two days learning about matters of personal finance. The California State Frameworks didn't leave much room for teaching about personal and household budgeting, which is why my teacher couldn't go into much depth.
I start college in the fall, and when I do it will just be me in charge of my credit card. What happens when I get my first statement, and I don't know how to recognize my own purchases?
Which is why I wish it was mandatory in high school to take a financial literacy course. Not just learning about the great depression or the current recession, but how to avoid our own financial meltdowns in college and in life.
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