Band 6+: Many young people do not know how to manage their money when graduating high school. What do you think are the reasons? What can be done to teach them this important skill?

It is a fact that numerous students are devoid of managing their finance abilities after graduating secondary education. This trend can result from the lack of practical education and cultural norms and be addressed by organizing training courses relevant to money and guidance from parents.

There are two major justifications for this phenomenon. One of the main drivers is the limited practical education being taught for students. To illustrate, at school, teaching curricula often focuses on science subjects and neglects practical financial skills, which entails ill-preparation of budgeting, saving and investing their money. As a result, adolescents become less confident in navigating finance-related matters. Another reason for this issue is that for some traditional aspects, discussing about topics relevant to money is considered a taboo, which is inappropriate for younger minds. Therefore, parents often avoid sharing with children about their money, leaving them little exposure to financial concepts and lacking a critical ability to excel in today’s dynamic world.

In order to deal with the aforementioned issue, several actions can be taken. The first approach begins with educators as they can organize workshops or incorporate modules of money management into the teaching programs. In other words, they can leverage the technological advancements to gamify dry theories of finance into more interesting in-class activities to attract students’ attention. Another solution derives from parental support. Parents are encouraged to provide their offspring with limited budget and advice on how to save or spend. Consequently, teenagers can have a chance to acquire first hand experience of making decisions with their own money, which sets the stage for them to become a mindful spender.

In conclusion, lack of practical education on money management and cultural barriers are the two main causes of adolescents’ illiteracy about pecuniary resources. Where possible, implementing financial training subjects at schools and parents guiding them to spend their allowances responsibly can empowers juveniles with knowledge to make wise decisions related to money.