Only 17 states require high school students to take a class in personal finance before graduation according to 2018 Survey of the States from the Council for Economic Education. That leaves 33 states (plus D.C. and other territories) without guidelines for including state-mandated courses in an important topic that could have a positive impact on the development of young adults.
From basic money management skills to time-tested approaches to investing, from paying bills to managing a household, many children do not have the opportunity to learn from positive examples; many children do not have access to quality financial education in schools; many young adults do not have community resources they can access to get the financial education they need.
In a lot of situations, young adults learn about basic money management by trying to live their life — and the mistakes they make along the way, just like many of us have in our formative years.
The situation can be improved, and mandatory personal finance classes in high school is a start.
We are thankful that the financial media community of bloggers, podcasters, authors, and speakers on money have led the charge to bring more financial skills into their communities. The Plutus Foundation supports these efforts through grants and resources.
This April is Financial Literacy Month, and we want to expand our reach and provide start-up or growth funding to more of these projects that fit our mission.
We ask that members of our community of bloggers, podcasters, authors, and speakers pledge 3.3% of their April profit or income to these community efforts through the Plutus Foundation. The 3.3% represents the 33 states that do not require personal finance classes before high school graduation.
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