Some people are fortunate to have parents or other family members who can teach them about all things money. But a lot of us, myself included, aren't so lucky, and we start our adult lives feeling pretty clueless when it comes to money management.
I was curious what people think those classes should include, so I asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share the money lessons they wish they'd learned in school. Here's what they had to say:
1. "Teach teenagers about investing early, or at least tell them how to start thinking about retirement. I’m 32 and only started seriously contributing to my 401(k) a few years ago. It’s still a good time to start, but I'm always thinking about how much further along I could be if I'd started at 20!"
2. "I worked at a high school as a counselor for a youth program and hosted a Financial Aid workshop. The focus wasn’t just about the application, but how students can take advantage of the help, understand the responsibilities of loans, and how important education planning can be in saving money and time. We had a huge showing, it really surprised me how even the brightest students were learning the basics for the first time."
"A lot of students were also first generation college students, so no one ever taught them about financial aid or to consider average salaries for their majors. I also think schools should teach about vocational schools and certification courses vs. traditional college options. I know so many people who went that route and their income potential is 20–50% higher than me, and I'm a masters degree holder in social science."
3. "We had a mandatory class about finances: budgeting, IRAs, investments, stuff like that, for when you HAVE money. We should have been educated on what to do when you DON'T have money: what resources are available to help with food, how to ask for help from utility companies, how to navigate debt consolidation or bankruptcy. It's not pessimistic, it's realistic. I'd be using that information way more."
4. "Student loans. So many teenagers get into them without having any idea what they are getting themselves into."
5. "The ins and outs of credit cards!"
Not totally sure how credit cards work or just need a little refresher? Check out these 21 credit card tips that I would LOVE to have learned in school.
6. "I wish I had been taught about a realistic timeline for accumulating wealth and financial milestones. How to build a career, what milestones (such as buying a home, achieving certain income benchmarks, being financially independent from my parents) I should expect and a rough timeline. Also, how to read the value of the money I have, including reading between the lines of my paycheck when taking into consideration benefits, taxes, etc."
"Obviously not everyone follows the same timeline, but I would feel not nearly as daunted about my finances if I knew what was at stake and how I could be prepared for these changes. As a college student who is thankfully from a financially secure household, I still worry that I am taking the wrong step or am not doing enough, and I had to educate myself about what realistic steps should be done and how to best prepare for success. I have been able to establish financial safety nets, but I wish I was told how to take care of my wealth and my goals."
7. "I knew absolutely nothing about personal finance when I graduated from high school other than I couldn’t spend more money than I had. One of the most important subjects that should be taught is how to spot financial scams and how to avoid falling victim to them."
8. "Literally anything. I only learned how to write a check."
9. "Budgeting, how to choose insurance, and how to do your goddamn taxes. Oh and 401(k) education. I learned about insurance and 401(k)s by working in human resources, but budgeting and taxes? Mystical theories I’m not sure are real."
Want to try budgeting but not sure where to start? Here's what happened when a BuzzFeeder asked an expert to walk her through making her first budget.
10. "In my high school there was the college preparatory route and the straight to a job route. I went the college route and my best friend decided college wasn’t for her. I remember thinking how dumb it was she was taking home economics but guess what she learned?"
11. "Not just how to set up a 'safety net' fund, but what it's okay to spend it on. Also, not just how to budget, but also to figure out the MINIMUM you need to survive paycheck to paycheck, just in case you find yourself in that situation, and how to get out of it."
12. "I wish school had taught me that there are different avenues for success other than the traditional pathway to college, in addition to reducing stigma about attending to community college. Plus, it would be great if schools offered financial literacy courses."
13. "I would have loved something like Adulting 101 covering topics like: how to make and live by a budget, how to read nutritional labels, what is insurance and why is it important to have, how to plan for big things in life — what direction to take and why (college? No college? Buy a house? Rent?), credit and debt, as well as home economics and basic vehicle care."
14. "I wish I’d realized the simple fact that money I spend on thing A is money I can’t spend for things B or C. Now when I’m contemplating buying something spendy, I ask myself if this is a good use of the money or would it be better to spend it on something else."
15. "I wish someone had used the term 'debt spiral' to me, so I knew what it was, how to avoid it, and/or how to deal with it."
Stressed about debt? Check out these 25 debt payoff tips that people say helped them get out of the red.
16. "How to make yourself a budget to learn whether or not you're living beyond your means. I'm in my thirties and I still struggle a lot with this. I literally learned from an early episode of Friends that I should be putting 10% of my paycheck into savings each week. But hey, if you need me to do intermediate algebra, I'm ya girl."
17. "The psychological difference between paying with cash, check, and card and how it influences buying decisions."
FYI, studies have found that people tend to spend more when paying with a card than they do when using cash because it's harder for us to part with physical money than imaginary plastic money. Our brains are so wild! If you want to learn more about the fascinating psychology of money, check out these five tips for hacking your brain to save more cash.
18. "Always look for hidden fees in the terms and agreements of anything you sign: rent, cable, internet, insurance, etc."
19. "I want to know everything I need to set up financially once I (and other college kids like me) get my first full-time job. How do I set up a 401(k) or transfer it between jobs? Should I consider debt consolidation for my student loans? I'm only vaguely aware of what these things are and understand even less about how to get started."
20. "It would have been really nice to have a lesson where we learned how to shop for groceries and budget for them. It may sound ridiculous to some, but I have no idea how to grocery shop. I don’t know how to 'plan meals' for the week the way that my parents did. Which usually ends up with us eating out. I would have loved a class that teaches you how to buy healthy food on a budget."
21. "Health insurance."
Health insurance is such a confusing beast, but it's also so important if you're not lucky enough to live in a country with universal healthcare. In case you need a refresher, we have a guide to how in the heck health insurance works anyway and tips on choosing your plan.
22. "The value of direct deposits. If your job does direct deposit, then it can be split. Open a savings account in a separate bank than your checking account. Send 5–10% of your check directly to the savings and the rest to your checking. You will learn to only live on 90–95% of your pay and the money in your savings will grow and grow without you ever having to do it yourself."
Is there anything else you wish you'd learned about money when you were in school? Tell us about it in the comments!
And for more stories about life and money, like when and how to quit your job and why investing is different for women, check out the rest of our personal finance posts.