There are many great things that you can learn in school. You will know all about writing essays, running around campus so you can make it to all of your classes, and juggling between learning and partying. The one thing that you won’t learn, though, is how to handle your finances. Unfortunately, the American school system doesn’t think that graduates should know this!
Some recent studies show that more than 70% of all citizens don’t know how to translate a tax form. This is a skill that you will be using for a long time in your life! Also, many learners take out student loans that they will have to return. So, it would be nice if a public school actually offered some lessons in financial literacy for the graduates!
Of course, some private institutions have courses that are dedicated to managing your finances. You can find some help and place an order to write an essay on Essay Hub, so you will have more time to focus on what is more important to you. This way, you might learn something interesting about your budget instead of writing another essay for class!
This article is for those people who didn’t have any special courses during college. So, here are five financial literacy lessons school won’t teach you!
Table of Contents
What is financial literacy?
Let’s start with the fundamentals here! When you don’t have a specific course dedicated to this process, it can be hard to understand the concept. In general, financial literacy means that a person understands the basic concepts of asset management. In other words, you will learn how to handle your money on an amateur level! These concepts include:
- Saving;
- Investing;
- Budgeting;
- Borrowing;
- Protecting what you have.
Most important lessons in managing your funds
Now let’s move on to some concepts that your school hasn’t been teaching. Some say that students are too young to know how to handle their money, but it’s just not true! You can look for paper writer review services and make even more free time to explore money management. College years are the best period to start learning about budgeting.
So here is some advice that you will probably use for the rest of your life!
Studying hard doesn’t mean that you will get a great job
Schools and universities often focus on your grades, and maybe even too much. Of course, it’s very important to take full advantage of your college experience. On the other hand, this doesn’t include your GPA only! There are some skills and abilities that will definitely help you find a great profession in the future. Here are a couple of examples:
- Punctuality and attention to deadlines. Nothing will help organize your finances more than understanding the importance of time!
- Attention to detail. If you are managing your budget on your own, you better be ready to remember every little purchase.
- Using available data to make an effective decision. Just like in college, graduates will have to make many small and big choices in their adult life. This will help greatly with your money management!
9-to-5 jobs are not always the answer
For some people, an office job is a dream. You will get a steady income, a comfortable place to work, health insurance, and many other benefits. But here is one thing that schools won’t teach you: this is not a universal path for every graduate! For the sake of your budgeting and general happiness, consider working somewhere other than an office and follow your dreams!
You need to break down your paycheck
Before you start making millions in your new start-up, you will most likely get a steady paycheck once a month. One of the basics of budget management is understanding how much money you have and how to use it effectively. This is the first thing that students need to do before they can start investing, saving, and protecting their assets.
Lots of people don’t have a steady paycheck, which means that they earn different sums every month. In this case, calculating your monthly spending can be trickier but not impossible! Try to include your insurance, most important purchases for the month, and your general cost of living for a set period of time.
Having a list of monthly expenses is the way to go!
Some students love making lists of their activities and checking off boxes with their completed tasks. If you are one of those people, this advice will be great for you! What your school doesn’t want you to know is that every purchase you make should be written down. This sounds very hard and time-consuming. But you will be surprised how much money you spend on iced coffee!
Watch out for fraud
Not many colleges will teach you about cases of identity theft, cybercrimes, and credit card fraud. These are all very real risks that can happen to you! So, one of the lessons of financial literacy is protecting yourself against such crimes. Here are some of the most widespread scam examples:
- Tax refund fraud;
- Fake charities;
- Cashier’s check scam;
- Bank frauds, for example, identity theft;
- Investment pyramid schemes.
Takeaway
So there you have it, five financial literacy lessons that you won’t learn in school. Managing your money is your responsibility, but it will be much easier if you know the fundamentals. In any case, when you are feeling comfortable, you can hire a trained person who will take care of your budget!
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