Financial Literacy Archives

Why It’s A Mistake Teaching Financial Literacy In Schools

In 2015, a stringent new financial literacy law took effect in Oklahoma. It requires all high school students to pass a class on personal finance before they can graduate. Banking, taxes, investing, loans, insurance, and identity theft among other subjects will be part of the curriculum, and the teachers will have to certify that their students comprehend them all. Other states have followed suit over the past few years. A recent study analyzed 11,000 high school course catalogs and concluded only 1 in 6 high schoolers are currently required to take a personal finance course to graduate. But, are students really getting the critical life skills that help everyday adults avoid money problems such as budgeting, saving, investing, and even … Read more

Teaching Kids About Money – What Parents Need To Know

by Hank Coleman

Did you know that only five states in the U.S. (Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia) currently have requirements for financial literacy classes at the high school level? I’m not a big fan of the current teaching financial literacy and personal finance in public schools. Parents need to be teaching kids about money – not necessarily our school teachers. Personal finance is something everyone has to deal with in their lifetime, and the lack of education on this crucial life skill is especially concerning for a majority of student loan borrowers. 43 million and counting as of 2016 don’t have the tools and knowledge to manage their $37,172 student loan burden according to 2016 average rates reported by Student Loan … Read more

What Financial Health Means to Me – Learning from My Parents’ Mistakes

by Hank Coleman

We all want a better life for our children. That’s the true American dream. It’s actually the dream of parents all over the world. That’s what financial health truly means. When I was deployed to Iraq while serving in the Army, I saw that sentiment play out there as well. Every Iraqi that I talked to simply wanted a better life for their children, and they hoped the United States’ intervention would bring them that goal – more so than Saddam Hussein ever could. The same was true in my parents’ house when I was growing up. My parents got divorced like so many others when I was young – about 12 years old. I can remember my single mother … Read more