What really is money? Why is it so important? Why are the schools not teaching us about it?
These were a few questions that went through my mind while thinking about money.
In layman’s terms, money is any item that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services.
Despite its significance, it’s a term neglected throughout our school time. Most of us don’t understand its importance until we start our jobs.
But don’t you think it would be great if we had learned on the concept during our school time itself?
Topics:
- Why is Money Important?
- Why School Doesn’t Teach You About Money?
- Is it too Late to Learn about Money?
- How to Manage Your money?
Why is Money Important?
“Schools teach you how to work for money, but don’t teach how to make it work for you.”
Robert Kiyosaki
1. Lifeblood
We can all agree that money is the lifeblood of our lives, can’t we? What would our lives be without it? Will we be able to even survive without it?
It is arguably one of the most important fictional things created.
To say the least, it assists us to fulfill our basic needs.
2. Money = Status
This might sound cliché, but its relevance is more than ever. The world is once again turning into a capitalistic one. A person having high net worth is given greater respect. He’s also likely to have superior power as compared to ordinary people.
As per Forbes Magazine, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Larry Page come at 5th, 7th, and 10th most powerful people in the world respectively. What do they all have in common? They all come under the Top 10 Richest People in the World.
“The real measure of our wealth is how much we’d be worth if we lost all our money.”
Benjamin Jowett
3. Coronavirus Effect
Amid this coronavirus pandemic, many nations have shut down their operations. Businesses are getting closed and employees are losing jobs.
The supply of products has got down, skyrocketing their prices.
In some nations, basic food and medicine items are hard to come by. The people who have funds might live without many problems, but the ones not having it might not even outlast this shutdown.
4. Desirables
I mentioned money as being lifeblood to us. But, many times, we want more.
Occasionally, we do want to eat at a fancy restaurant or buy from our favorite clothing brand. To pay for them, we would need an extra dose of funds, don’t we?
Why School Doesn’t Teach You About Money?
1. Traditional Curriculum
Over time, we find changes in technology, health care, or practically anything you can think of. However, the education system in most parts of the world hasn’t changed much. We are still learning the way our parents did when they were of our age.
In the traditional curriculum, there was no subject of money.
Forget about other courses, even the business courses don’t consist of this topic.
2. Myth that Children shouldn’t learn about Money from a young age
What would you think if you saw a 6-year-old with a $100 bill? Wouldn’t you freak out most probably? You would think who’s stupid enough to give a child such a big sum of cash, wouldn’t you?
Sadly, it has meant that no children should learn about money from a young age itself. We miss out on the opportunity to learn about one of the most essential tools mankind has ever created.
“Teaching kids about money is never just about money.”
Dave Ramsey
3. Most Teachers Didn’t Learn Themselves
Ask your teachers whether they learned about money when they were small?
I’m sure the answer would be no for many of them.
Why would you want to educate a concept to others which you yourself had not learned earlier? Why take such a risk?
4. Jobs are Easy to Get After Graduation
Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, advocates that schools instruct us to become a good employee. They don’t educate us on how to make money work for us.
Landing yourself in your dream job is harder than ever. There are a lot of candidates fighting the same.
Also, many companies aren’t as loyal to their employees as they used to be. An employee can get fired anytime, without knowing what their fault was.
Last week, around 3.3 million Americans lost their jobs due to coronavirus, despite not being their fault.
Unfortunately, a lot of schools still believe that landing & holding a job isn’t a problem, so teach accordingly.
Is it too Late to Learn about Money?
One might wonder when is it too late for us to learn about money. But let me tell you, it’s never too late.
Yes, that’s right!
Irrespective of whether you are in a school or at a job, its concept is still worthy.
Even if you think you are too old for this, you could always teach this to your loved ones. Perhaps they will find it valuable.
You may find the following money management tips valuable.
“Better late than never, but never late is better.”
Drake
How to Manage Your money?
1. Tracking and Budgeting
The Richest Investor in the world, Warren Buffet, began tracking his money even before becoming a teenager!
How much money did you spend last month? How about last week?
Were you able to answer those questions? If not, then that’s the first activity you should be doing.
I believe that being self-aware about something is the first step in changing it.
With money, start tracking your incomes and expenses, even set a limit on your expenses (only if you can).
Budgeting helps you become aware of the amount of money you have been spending. Not all expenses would have been fruitful, isn’t it?
I have used this technique for over a year now. It has been one of the most necessary steps for me in managing my finance.
By merely tracking and checking my expenses, I realized I had been spending my funds in a haphazard way. I then felt guilty for doing so. Then as if my mind had understood my concern, I happened to spend my money effectively. I bought only the items I needed, cutting out on the ones I want.
“The person who doesn’t know where his next dollar is coming from usually doesn’t know where his last dollar went.”
2. Accountability Partner
I absolutely loved this idea the first time I learned about it!
Even though I used to set an expense limit every month, sometimes I used to overspend (duh, who doesn’t?). So my friend and I decided to become accountable partners.
Every time I had to spend my money on something that wasn’t of a necessary cause, I would have to take permission from my friend.
Now, it all depended on him. If he said no, I wouldn’t buy it.
This had an immediate impact on my expenses, which helped me build consistency.
I’m sure you can also find someone reliable whom you can call as your accountability partner.
3. Fixed Deposit
If you still find it hard managing your money, you could simply open a Fixed Deposit Account at a bank.
You would be depositing a lump sum cash in your account. No matter how much you want to spend it, you won’t be able to do so.
It remains there until its maturity date – usually a year or so.
Also, you will earn a certain percentage of interest by just keeping your money with the bank! Isn’t it cool?
Instead, if you want to deposit your funds on a timely basis (say a month), then you can open a Regular Deposit (RD) Account instead.
I opened an RD Account a year ago, and have no plans on cutting it back. After all, I am earning some free interest as well.
I have written a similar article about my experience with social media in this coronavirus lockdown. Check it out – My Personal Experience With Social Media In This Coronavirus Lockdown
If you learned something and enjoyed reading this article, then please consider sharing this with your wonderful friends as well. Thank you so much!
Good Motivation to start with!
Thank you that you have found it helpful!
Thank You for your thoughts!
It’s my pleasure!
Nice read and useful – 20 + years ago, my son’s High School had a mandatory course called “personal finance” and it had a huge impact on my offspring. Always wondered why that was/is not more common.
You have genuinely worked to put on this article, as it’s of high quality.
Your language is highly effective yet easy to understand – an important aspect of blog! Keep it up!
My best wishes!
My school never tought me anything about money either. I really like this post. Keep it up!
It’s really unfortunate to know that.
But I’m glad you liked my post. Thank you! 🙂
Nice use of all the blogging features e.g. linking to other blog posts, quotes, etc. Makes me want to utilize them more!
Thank you for your kind words! I appreciate your time and efforts!
Excellent topic to start a discussion. Why is it that our schools do not teach budgeting, balancing an account, or how prices are set on goods? It is good to point out that teachers often are not prepared themselves. As a fellow blogger, I hope you will enjoy writing and keep reading different blogs. I think your site format is very appealing. (I am taking notes!)
First of all, Thank you for your comment.
Very true! A lot of teachers aren’t aware about these concepts themselves, which is unfortunate. I’m glad that you liked my site format. I hope your notes will come handy someday, haha.
Loved your views about money. really wholesome and informative. Subscribed to your blog 🙂 looking forward for more posts 🙂
Thank you for your warm Comment, and also for your subscription.
I cannot wait to read your future articles!
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I wish I learn how to manage money earlier. Back when I was younger, my concept of money comes from my parents (which I believe it is similar for the rest). I lacked knowledge of how many things works, such as income tax (I could have saved quite alot), maximising the use of credit cards (and the rewards), properties and CPF.
It’s good that for people to start early, and start young so that you have longer runway.
Firstly, Thank you for your comment!
Very true! I’m sure a lot of people can relate their stories with yours.
I love how informative this piece is! And so easy to read…We need financial awareness brought about in this manner! Great job. And thank you for these conversations
Thank you so much for your warm comment.
Indeed, we need financial awareness at this moment!
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Wow.. I always thought something about schools was missing… You putting all into this prospective and with the solutions, really needed this to improve my investments and savings.. Thank you.
I’m glad my blog could help you with your situation. Thank you very much for your comment!
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I agree. We’re prepared to enter the work force but not to manage the money we earn. Macro and micro economics should be taught in high school, as should a personal finance class.
Great post on the schools needing to teach personal finance. Some schools in US do have it in the curriculum, but its much formal and does not solve the actual behavioral problem of managing (or mismanaging) money.
Keep writing!!
The Tortoise
http://the-log-house.com
Very true! Even the schools that have this in their curriculum are very theoretical.
Thank you very much for your comment.
Great tips!
I am also a 20 something that is interested in the personal finance domain.Thank you for your articles,they are great!
Keep up the good work!
Thank you for your kind words.
It’s great to know that! Since we are in similar domains, maybe we could collaborate on some projects someday. What are your thoughts, DavidM
David?*
We do this with our son! He puts his spending in his wallet, his savings in his piggy bank, and his giving in a cup so it’s easily accessible to take to church. I may have to look for this the next time I’m in target. I’m curious about the size. My son is currently saving to buy a Nintendo Switch, so that savings slot has got to be big enough to hold that much money.
Wow! It’s incredible that you are able to do this with your son. It could be one of his most important life-lessons.
I hope he will be able to get his Nintendo Switch soon! 🙂
Great tips. Financial education is something that should be taught at an early age.
Thank you! Very true, financial education is a must from a young age!
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Great tips! Your article motivates me to start improving my finances. Keep up the good work! 🙂
Thank you for going through my site! I appreciate your time and effort!
I hope your finances improve soon! 🙂
Accountabilibuddies help a lot, and talking about money with them and other friends too
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This was a very insightful post!
Thank you for going through the article! I appreciate your time and effort!
This post is great. I talk to my teens about this but your post will have more impact – if I can get them to take a moment to read 😉
I couldn’t agree more. Schools teach students how to make money but not manage it. Love the Kiyosaki quote – such a good book.
Keep up the good work. Empowering people to manage money better leads to better mental, physical and emotional health!
Thank you for reading, Teri! I’m so happy you found this useful. Kiyosaki’s book is such wonderful, isn’t it?
Yes, it is also true about school lacking to teach money management.
Thank you for the recommendations and warm comments. 🙂
This was great. Glad I stumbled upon your page. I’m a new blogger and new to investing. In fact I just shared some of these same tips in a post this week. However, never thought about the accountability partner. I’ll be waiting on your next great article.
Thank you for going through the article! I appreciate your time and effort!
I hope you will enjoy and earn from the investing world. Yup, you may want to give a try on accountability partner if you can.
Thanks a lot once again, Gaye! 🙂
You’re welcome!
Great topic to talk about! I grew up in a rural area and not only did schools not educate students about fiscal responsibility, but most parents didn’t teach their children about money either. It was like a taboo subject-people didn’t talk about it. You offer great suggestions on the beginning steps to financial responsibility.
I sincerely appreciate your time in reading this post! Thanks a lot!
It’s unfortunate to know that you didn’t get an opportunity to learn about money just because of it was a taboo.
Please have a good day. 🙂
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Sure, thanks!
I missed a lot about money during my school time. I feel terrible for my time wastage. This post is very relatable to my life.
Thank you very much, Robert! 🙂
It’s unfortunate to hear that. I hope you are doing fine.
Great read! The accountability partner sounds interesting. I should make my father as my partner as he’s the only one that can keep me in discipline, haha!
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So informative! I’ll definitely try the fixed deposit hope this would somehow make me save money.
Thank you so much! I’m sure fixed deposit will help you out! 🙂
Hello,
I came to check out your blog after you checked out mine, and I have to say that this is a very helpful post! Schools (my school at least) tend to teach very little about money because it isn’t part of the main curriculum. I may know how to do calculus and analyze Shakespeare, but I don’t know how to do taxes or manage a bank account. It’s a major problem with our education system, and I think it’s an important one to address.
You have gained a new follower and I look forward to future posts!
Cindy
Hi Cindy,
It’s good to see you here. Your words are certainly true. I believe in most schools like yours, we don’t learn about the practical aspects of life (including money). I can very much relate your situation with mine, and I hope it will change soon.
Thank you so much for the follow and also for your wonderful words here! 🙂
I absolutely love this quote – “The real measure of our wealth is how much we’d be worth if we lost all our money.”
Thanks a lot!
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This was just a wonderful article about how we are failing to teach our children about money. What a difference it would make it is was done correctly. Thanks.
Thank you for your kind words! Your words are absolutely true!
Wonderful tips about money and the truth behind it.
School certainly did rip me off!
I’m glad you liked it. Thank you! 🙂
This is a great article! Tracking and budgeting is super important. I remember when I first started tracking what I was spending my money on and it was definitely a wake up call.
– Youth to Future
Thanks a lot! Absolutely, it’s super important. It’s great to see that it was a wake-up call for you.