LogFAQs > #978678673

1337toothbrush posted...

Do people need a course to tell them that it's ideal to spend less than they get in income?

Yes. Because if no one teaches kids about how credit cards and interest rates work, it can set them up for instant failure, the moment they're able to sign up on their own. I don't think it's as prevalent now, but credit card companies used to prey on college freshmen and try to sign as many of them up for credit cards as possible (they'd set up booths on campus). Because a lot of freshmen didn't understand that it wasn't just "free money" and would end up with maxed out cards and high interest rates.

Plus, a lot of adults even beyond college age don't fully understand how interest works and will often saddle themselves with debt that slowly snowballs because they're paying the minimum required payment every month, not realizing that the interest is adding more than they're paying. Same thing happens with student loans. Where people spend decades paying off the bare minimum only for the amount they owe to slowly increase.

So yes, learning all about that stuff, plus being taught about healthy spending habits and money management, would go a long way towards helping people. A lot more than the math classes we get in high school. Most people aren't going to actually need algebra 2, pre-calculus, calculus, etc., in their career paths.