Why is it, that in this day and age, children complete their formal education with little or no knowledge on the simplicity of saving? As a parent of teenagers, I’m amazed at the number of children who come into my home with no knowledge of finances. These children come from homes where the parents also have little or no knowledge of finances. It’s not that any of these people are stupid. It’s just that they haven’t been taught.
The government is fully aware that there are whole segments of communities with no knowledge in this area and yet nothing is done to inform these people. When you mention the simplicity of saving just 10% of your wage into a compounding interest account and the fact that this one small act alone will make them millionaires, the teenagers are amazed.
Teenagers think wealth comes from pure dumb luck, inheriting or marrying into wealth, or having your own business which does well. Perhaps studying hard to get a job with a good rate of pay is the answer. Saving is so foreign to them that they have no idea where to start. Consequently they don’t start. They think they need the latest gadget more than they need to save. By the time they work out how to save, if they work it out at all, many of the years of compounding are lost. Or they’re so much in debt from purchasing that latest gadget, that they are years away from getting to a point of where they could save.
Many children never go on to further their education once leaving school. School is the place to be teaching this most necessary of life skills, before these children head out into the real world. If these skills were taught early perhaps the next generation would have an idea of saving. Perhaps the next generation would have the knowledge to plan for the expense of the education itself, for the following up and coming generation. It’s a long term problem, with no quick fix.
Government’s not silly. It’s very aware and has been for many years, that there are many people without this basic skill, so why aren’t they adding finances to the school curriculum? Could it be that the government need the lower income earners? Could it be that the government would rather you spend than save money? Could the government have a reason for not teaching this, the most necessary of life skills?