Why Personal Finance Should Be A Required Class Everywhere

When I attended high school in Illinois in the mid 1980's, it was a requirement that, to graduate, you had to take a consumer education class from the business department.

This class taught basic personal finance: i.e. understanding interest rates, creating a budget planner, how to balance a checkbook, etc.

Today, I think Illinois still requires high school students to take a consumer education class, and I'm assuming that it's been updated to include online and computer resources, such as personal finance software.

But, these kind of classes need to be beefed up. Today, more than 25 years ago, lifetime employment is a thing of the past, and people are free agents. They need entrepreneurial skills. Also, financial and consumer choices are much more varied and complex today. 25 years ago, we did not have to deal with so many monthly contracts (such as cell phone plans).

In fact, the subject of finance and entrepreneurial skills need to be required throughout high school. For example, students are required to take math throughout high school. They should have 4 years of financial education.

Of course, this should not be limited to just Illinois.