I have always thought that there are several things related to handling money that I know very little about.

I still don’t understand taxes or insurance because nobody has given me in depth information on either one of those topics.

Because of this, I feel unprepared to be an adult soon and I’m scared to have to make decisions regarding my money.

Understanding that financial choices you make now can drastically impact your future, such as not being able to rent an apartment because you have a bad credit history. This is something that a lot of kids are unaware of.

And up until recently, I was unaware of this too. And the reason teenagers know so little about this topic is that nobody has made them aware of what insurance is, or all the steps involved in filling out taxes.

“I have taught personal finance for three years, but I am not teaching it now. Back when people my age were growing up, we watched our parents balance the checkbook at the kitchen table. Now everything is moved to online banking. Adults don’t have the same opportunities to intuitively teach their children about finances.  Additionally, credit card debt, student loan rates, and a consumeristic mentality has largely skewed our standard of living for young people,” Business teacher Kristen Bell said. Mrs. Bell has fought for personal finance classes to become a requirement at her previous school, and she won.

And that makes me question why classes that teach valuable life lessons and things that you are actually going to need to know in life, aren’t a requirement, like how Algebra or English class are requirements.

Math and English are worthwhile, but the thing is, unless I’m going to become a physicist or a mathematician, I really don’t need to know how to do hard calculus equations or graphing. That’s just a fact.

Now don’t get me wrong. It is great to be good at math and understand how to solve your problems because consumer math is something that everyone should know.

You use simple math every day when you make a purchase or eat at a restaurant.

However, my point is that there are some classes that are more important, such as personal finances. You learn information in finance class that is related to math but also relates to real life.

”I really do think that a lot of issues that the community struggles with could be different if everyone had some sort of financial literacy. The problem is people are not informed. People don’t take it seriously until they are about to move out on their own, so I think it should be required for juniors and seniors,” Personal finance teacher Mrs. Richey said.

And that’s a very important topic for young adults. I highly recommend that seniors start to do their own research on money and savings, maybe even start a savings account if you haven’t already. Everything adds up when it comes to college tuition.

And to my underclassmen peers, take personal finances class! You’ll learn things that you can use throughout life as a teen and an adult, and those are the type of lessons you wouldn’t have learned in AP Chemistry.