When you already have a credit card is not the time to be learning how they work, unless you want to receive some extremely costly lessons. Teaching people in high school that using a credit card is not using free money and comes with a huge cost over time would keep a lot of people from the early personal-finance disasters these cards can cause.
It would also help reduce the vast amounts of credit card debt that Americans continue to rack up.
2. How to Budget
One of the first places people get into money trouble by not knowing how to budget. Learning how to set up a basic budget and stick to it can be the difference between being financially secure and running up large amounts of debt.
3. The Importance of Saving
The importance of saving and creating an emergency fund cannot be overestimated for basic personal financial stability.
It's not the everyday things that get most people into trouble, but the unexpected events that happen in life that cost more than anticipated (think Cameron crashing the Ferrari in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off). Learning to prepare for the unexpected can mean the difference between going into a debt spiral or escaping financial emergencies with your finances intact.
4. The Meaning of Frugality
In the consumer-driven world, there seems to be nobody teaching the importance of frugality. Frugality is often ignored or even scorned, but it is a sure way to personal-finance success. Learning to make the most of what you have, to get a good value in all that you buy and to not waste are lessons that would help every young adult handle their finances better.
