Without a doubt. My biggest fear for my younger siblings and future children is that they will not be able to get the financial intelligence they need to survive in the current economic environment (though I am confident I will be able to provide that education for them myself). Influences, with the exception of parents, are either a detriment or nonexistant. TV teaches wants and desires; never moderation, frugality or simply saving. Schools teach how to balance a checkbook but not how to balance a budget. In school, students may do a project on picking stocks but not how to pick index funds. You would be hard pressed to find any education that teaches a budget much less one that will teach and reinforce the fundamentals of budgeting from a young age through adulthood. As it is right now, I think it is the parents' job to teach children personal finance but if the parents are financially illiterate, what chance do the children really have?
Yes, personal finance should absolutely be taught in schools. It's both a teachable and essential life skill that's vital to success and the pursuit of prosperity. It's also a skill that too many Americans either do not possess or only minimally so.
Is an in-depth understanding of personal finance as important as taking courses in geometry or calculus? Why or why not?
It is MORE important. For many high school students (really) they will not need geometry or calculus in real life, but they ALL need an understanding of personal finance.
My kiddos school has implemented personal finance as a requirement for graduation. I wish their colleges would do the same.
I agree, I spent the first 6 months of my career living with my parents(well I still do) and quickly repaid all of my student loans. In hindsight, my Roth IRA (Vanguard Total Stock) returned about 10% during those 6 months which blows the student loan rate out of the water. But now I'm debt free and that makes me very happy.
There are a few things that have exceptionally great prices compared to my grocery store -- some of the dried fruit (cranberries) and non-trans-fat crackers. Interestingly, though, after I got the crackers at TJ, I noticed a very similar type at my grocery store -- they are just harder to find b/c of all the choices at the traditional stores. There's not one nearby so I go rarely and can't make lots of comparison notes.
Yes, absolutely! So many adults don't have the necessary skills in personal finance to pass on to their children. We'd all benefit if kids learned about saving, spending, balancing their budget, and risks and benefits of credit cards.
They are not owned by a german conglomerate per se but by a German (although I don't know who owns them after his death, but I think it stayed in the family). One of the two founders of the Aldi's chain started Trader Joes, as well as bringing Aldi's here to the states. The Aldi's in the states are not owned by the rest of the company, but are a sort of franchise type deal. He took the Aldi concept slightly upscale.
I have hit the one around us twice and I was definitely not impressed. They are supposed to open one much closer to me so I'll see what that is like. The last two times I went to the "local" Trader Joe's, I ended up going to Whole Foods to actually do my shopping.
The spreadsheet was created and uploaded a few years ago, using MS Excel (2003). There may be an incompatibility with system files and a conversion could be useful if Excel spreadsheets are printing correctly.
I agree -- it can be so difficult to quantify or articulate why the early payoff makes sense for some people, even if the calculations indicate saving could be a better choice in terms of numbers.
Deciding on the student-loan game plan (based on an informed decision) and staying the course demonstrates financial discipline.
I love Trader Joe's, but one place where they fail miserably is their ready-made sushi. I have no idea where they get it from, but it is terrible.
They are a very mysterious company, though, aren't they? Owned by a German conglomerate, totally unwilling to disclose business practices. I'm wondering if most of the food isn't secretly produced in China. :)
Good counterpoints by some others:
1. schools are already not teaching kids the basics (math, science, etc.)
2. financial literacy should be the parent's responsibility
The first point is valid, but varies by region. As for the second points, while I completely agree that parents should teach kids about financial literacy, look at what caused the financial crises were are emerging from. People receiving mortgages they could not afford due to new bank products which weren't around when their parents bought a 30 yr fixed rate mortage in the 60's. These people simply trusted the banks when they should have done their homework and figured out they couldn't afford these homes.
Am I saying we should teach grade schoolers and high schoolers how to finance their first home? Not quite. I am saying that we should teach basic principles of personal finance - what can you do with money besides spend it, how credit works, what is a fiduciary, how to use compounding interest to your advangate, and most importantly: the long lasting negative impact of poor financial decisions. Too many people learn the last lesson the hard way because their parents and friends are just as equally uneducated. We can do much better as a country and the schools can help.
Absolutely! If my kindergartner can learn about nutrition and wise food choices in school, there's no reason kids can't also be taught some basics about personal finance.
Absolutely! I don't understand why schools don't see how critical it is to teach this important life skill, but they'll offer couses like home economics, horticulture or shop that students can take.
Guest
You have some valid points, distilling booze can kill you, if you do it wrong. Explosions, fire and poisoning are valid, as well as jail. No one can duplicate Jack Daniels, they are a fine maker of excellent product.
They used to have attendants for gas pumps because it could kill you. It is explosive, poisonous, and can catch fire. With proper use and handling, it is just gas. With all the directions and precautions on the internet and in this article/blog, this is a very safe hobby. The only 2 items that are really an issue, jail and matching Jack. Almost everyone skirts the law, just on the edge. Going 90k/h in an 80. In a lot of areas, they can take the car away and lock you up. Heck, I will apply twice for a drawing that says only one per household, I'm guilty. We have never said we are making Jack. We are more like RC plane builders. We build and fly the plane, never coming close to building a jumbo jet and flying across the ocean with passengers. This is for fun. You can make a drink that will almost completely eliminate hangovers, the store bought stuff can not do that.
I definitely believe that there is an upside to teaching financial literacy in schools. However, with that being said, we cannot simply believe that if financial literacy is taught in schools, all financial problems will be solved and our future generations will be poised to become wealthy. As 'Smarter than a 5th Grader' illustrates, simply because something is taught in school does not warrant that the information will be retained and even utilized later on. Furthermore, there are thoughts to consider like, who will teach financial literacy? Existing teachers? How will THEY be trained/educated? Where will funding come from? How is the curriculum determined?, etc.
Through my experience as a volunteer of Junior Achievement, I have been able to witness the benefits of introducing and educating young people on the principles of personal finance. In one session that I taught to a class of grade seven student’s, I had a teacher come up to me afterward and express her gratitude for how much she had learned! There is tremendous value in teaching financial literacy in schools.
I've only been to a Trader Joe's once - in Bellingham on a visit from Canada. I found the prices to be higher than elsewhere. How do you find the prices compare overall to other stores? Has anyone done a comparison in Washington state?
Tom
You can crank it up as high as it will go. The mash will only get to the temperature that the lowest compound boils. This means if alcohol boils at 174 and water boils at 210, it will only reach 174 until all the alcohol is gone. That the reason distillation works. You can boil it so hard that water molecules will go up the column. It is more like putting water in jar, cap it and shake like crazy. It will increase the water in the air without it raising the temp. But in short, you can boil as hard as your head space and column will handle.
A note about electric hot plates. Most, when you set the temp, will go full power, then cycle off. They do not cut down the amount of power to the coil. This will make your still boiler very hard, then almost stop, then very hard again. You can get them with special control or build them, to increase power as its called for.
Absolutely! I remember taking home economics in junior high and there was absolutely nothing related to finance or economics taught in the class. We learned to sew and to cook, but we learned nothing about tracking personal expenses, making a budget, saving, or any other core skill related to personal finance. Luckily, my parents were diligent in making sure I understood all these concepts, and I was balancing my own checkbook by the time I entered high school. Math and home economics classes should absolutely focus on personal finance. Not only would math seem more related to real life (how many times have we asked the question, "when am I going to NEED this?"), but people would enter into their adult lives with some sound knowledge of personal finances.
Absolutely. Life skills courses are essential parts of education. They can also teach students practical uses of the skills they learn in school which can motivate them to try harder in the "core" subjects (math, language arts, science, and social studies). My husband is an econ teacher and I'm proud to say he teaches one lesson a week focused on personal finances. This may not follow the "standards", but the standards are wrong.
Definitely, and the lessons learned won't have a tremendous effect against the juggernaut of advertising so the debt-based, over-consumptive society will still go full tilt until the resources are all gone.
Every kid should be taught from the book "Your Money or Your Life" so that those who can think themselves don't fall into the deb trap and have more control over their lives. Givens made at least one good point--there's always someone out there ready to relieve you of your dollars.
I just took a vacation to Morocco with my husband, in part by using AA frequent flyer miles. We were planning on booking one ticket from Chicago to Morocco using miles and then paying for one ticket (around $1000). When I tried to book, I found that there weren't award seats available on one or more legs of the journey (you can't fly direct from Chicago to Casablanca). What we ended up doing was using our frequent flyer miles to book 2 tickets from Chicago to Paris, and then used a budget European airline to fly from Paris to Casablanca. One the whole, it ended up being less than half the price of our original plan (around $300) and we used the same amount of miles! Think outside the box: you don't have to fly on the same airline on every leg of your trip!
I tried it a few times, but I never shop there anymore. Why? Good luck trying to find anything that's actually organic! When I last went, I didn't find any produce I wanted that was listed as organic. (Meaning it was merely conventionally grown like any other grocery store.) I went through the aisles and tried as well with packaged items. The only thing I was able to buy that day was a bag of organic brown sugar. So yes, it may be fresher or cheaper, but there is no benefit to me if it is not organic. And on top of that, the company is a giant national chain, not local. So I will stick with my local co-ops, thanks.
Without a doubt. My biggest fear for my younger siblings and future children is that they will not be able to get the financial intelligence they need to survive in the current economic environment (though I am confident I will be able to provide that education for them myself). Influences, with the exception of parents, are either a detriment or nonexistant. TV teaches wants and desires; never moderation, frugality or simply saving. Schools teach how to balance a checkbook but not how to balance a budget. In school, students may do a project on picking stocks but not how to pick index funds. You would be hard pressed to find any education that teaches a budget much less one that will teach and reinforce the fundamentals of budgeting from a young age through adulthood. As it is right now, I think it is the parents' job to teach children personal finance but if the parents are financially illiterate, what chance do the children really have?
Yes, personal finance should absolutely be taught in schools. It's both a teachable and essential life skill that's vital to success and the pursuit of prosperity. It's also a skill that too many Americans either do not possess or only minimally so.
Is an in-depth understanding of personal finance as important as taking courses in geometry or calculus? Why or why not?
It is MORE important. For many high school students (really) they will not need geometry or calculus in real life, but they ALL need an understanding of personal finance.
My kiddos school has implemented personal finance as a requirement for graduation. I wish their colleges would do the same.
I agree, I spent the first 6 months of my career living with my parents(well I still do) and quickly repaid all of my student loans. In hindsight, my Roth IRA (Vanguard Total Stock) returned about 10% during those 6 months which blows the student loan rate out of the water. But now I'm debt free and that makes me very happy.
There are a few things that have exceptionally great prices compared to my grocery store -- some of the dried fruit (cranberries) and non-trans-fat crackers. Interestingly, though, after I got the crackers at TJ, I noticed a very similar type at my grocery store -- they are just harder to find b/c of all the choices at the traditional stores. There's not one nearby so I go rarely and can't make lots of comparison notes.
Yes, absolutely! So many adults don't have the necessary skills in personal finance to pass on to their children. We'd all benefit if kids learned about saving, spending, balancing their budget, and risks and benefits of credit cards.
They are not owned by a german conglomerate per se but by a German (although I don't know who owns them after his death, but I think it stayed in the family). One of the two founders of the Aldi's chain started Trader Joes, as well as bringing Aldi's here to the states. The Aldi's in the states are not owned by the rest of the company, but are a sort of franchise type deal. He took the Aldi concept slightly upscale.
I have hit the one around us twice and I was definitely not impressed. They are supposed to open one much closer to me so I'll see what that is like. The last two times I went to the "local" Trader Joe's, I ended up going to Whole Foods to actually do my shopping.
The spreadsheet was created and uploaded a few years ago, using MS Excel (2003). There may be an incompatibility with system files and a conversion could be useful if Excel spreadsheets are printing correctly.
I agree -- it can be so difficult to quantify or articulate why the early payoff makes sense for some people, even if the calculations indicate saving could be a better choice in terms of numbers.
Deciding on the student-loan game plan (based on an informed decision) and staying the course demonstrates financial discipline.
I love Trader Joe's, but one place where they fail miserably is their ready-made sushi. I have no idea where they get it from, but it is terrible.
They are a very mysterious company, though, aren't they? Owned by a German conglomerate, totally unwilling to disclose business practices. I'm wondering if most of the food isn't secretly produced in China. :)
Good counterpoints by some others:
1. schools are already not teaching kids the basics (math, science, etc.)
2. financial literacy should be the parent's responsibility
The first point is valid, but varies by region. As for the second points, while I completely agree that parents should teach kids about financial literacy, look at what caused the financial crises were are emerging from. People receiving mortgages they could not afford due to new bank products which weren't around when their parents bought a 30 yr fixed rate mortage in the 60's. These people simply trusted the banks when they should have done their homework and figured out they couldn't afford these homes.
Am I saying we should teach grade schoolers and high schoolers how to finance their first home? Not quite. I am saying that we should teach basic principles of personal finance - what can you do with money besides spend it, how credit works, what is a fiduciary, how to use compounding interest to your advangate, and most importantly: the long lasting negative impact of poor financial decisions. Too many people learn the last lesson the hard way because their parents and friends are just as equally uneducated. We can do much better as a country and the schools can help.
Absolutely! If my kindergartner can learn about nutrition and wise food choices in school, there's no reason kids can't also be taught some basics about personal finance.
My slow cooker has turned many a tough cut of meat into something awesome; I love using skirt steak with tomatoes and lots of spices.
These names are also awesome - does "ropas viejas" mean "old clothes"? Moros y Christianos that Alex mentioned is also a great name!
i think that personnal finance should be taught in schools. I only remember one class period going over how to write checks and that is about it.
Absolutely! I don't understand why schools don't see how critical it is to teach this important life skill, but they'll offer couses like home economics, horticulture or shop that students can take.
Guest
You have some valid points, distilling booze can kill you, if you do it wrong. Explosions, fire and poisoning are valid, as well as jail. No one can duplicate Jack Daniels, they are a fine maker of excellent product.
They used to have attendants for gas pumps because it could kill you. It is explosive, poisonous, and can catch fire. With proper use and handling, it is just gas. With all the directions and precautions on the internet and in this article/blog, this is a very safe hobby. The only 2 items that are really an issue, jail and matching Jack. Almost everyone skirts the law, just on the edge. Going 90k/h in an 80. In a lot of areas, they can take the car away and lock you up. Heck, I will apply twice for a drawing that says only one per household, I'm guilty. We have never said we are making Jack. We are more like RC plane builders. We build and fly the plane, never coming close to building a jumbo jet and flying across the ocean with passengers. This is for fun. You can make a drink that will almost completely eliminate hangovers, the store bought stuff can not do that.
I definitely believe that there is an upside to teaching financial literacy in schools. However, with that being said, we cannot simply believe that if financial literacy is taught in schools, all financial problems will be solved and our future generations will be poised to become wealthy. As 'Smarter than a 5th Grader' illustrates, simply because something is taught in school does not warrant that the information will be retained and even utilized later on. Furthermore, there are thoughts to consider like, who will teach financial literacy? Existing teachers? How will THEY be trained/educated? Where will funding come from? How is the curriculum determined?, etc.
Through my experience as a volunteer of Junior Achievement, I have been able to witness the benefits of introducing and educating young people on the principles of personal finance. In one session that I taught to a class of grade seven student’s, I had a teacher come up to me afterward and express her gratitude for how much she had learned! There is tremendous value in teaching financial literacy in schools.
I've only been to a Trader Joe's once - in Bellingham on a visit from Canada. I found the prices to be higher than elsewhere. How do you find the prices compare overall to other stores? Has anyone done a comparison in Washington state?
Tom
You can crank it up as high as it will go. The mash will only get to the temperature that the lowest compound boils. This means if alcohol boils at 174 and water boils at 210, it will only reach 174 until all the alcohol is gone. That the reason distillation works. You can boil it so hard that water molecules will go up the column. It is more like putting water in jar, cap it and shake like crazy. It will increase the water in the air without it raising the temp. But in short, you can boil as hard as your head space and column will handle.
A note about electric hot plates. Most, when you set the temp, will go full power, then cycle off. They do not cut down the amount of power to the coil. This will make your still boiler very hard, then almost stop, then very hard again. You can get them with special control or build them, to increase power as its called for.
Absolutely! College too!
Absolutely! I remember taking home economics in junior high and there was absolutely nothing related to finance or economics taught in the class. We learned to sew and to cook, but we learned nothing about tracking personal expenses, making a budget, saving, or any other core skill related to personal finance. Luckily, my parents were diligent in making sure I understood all these concepts, and I was balancing my own checkbook by the time I entered high school. Math and home economics classes should absolutely focus on personal finance. Not only would math seem more related to real life (how many times have we asked the question, "when am I going to NEED this?"), but people would enter into their adult lives with some sound knowledge of personal finances.
Absolutely. Life skills courses are essential parts of education. They can also teach students practical uses of the skills they learn in school which can motivate them to try harder in the "core" subjects (math, language arts, science, and social studies). My husband is an econ teacher and I'm proud to say he teaches one lesson a week focused on personal finances. This may not follow the "standards", but the standards are wrong.
Definitely, and the lessons learned won't have a tremendous effect against the juggernaut of advertising so the debt-based, over-consumptive society will still go full tilt until the resources are all gone.
Every kid should be taught from the book "Your Money or Your Life" so that those who can think themselves don't fall into the deb trap and have more control over their lives. Givens made at least one good point--there's always someone out there ready to relieve you of your dollars.
I just took a vacation to Morocco with my husband, in part by using AA frequent flyer miles. We were planning on booking one ticket from Chicago to Morocco using miles and then paying for one ticket (around $1000). When I tried to book, I found that there weren't award seats available on one or more legs of the journey (you can't fly direct from Chicago to Casablanca). What we ended up doing was using our frequent flyer miles to book 2 tickets from Chicago to Paris, and then used a budget European airline to fly from Paris to Casablanca. One the whole, it ended up being less than half the price of our original plan (around $300) and we used the same amount of miles! Think outside the box: you don't have to fly on the same airline on every leg of your trip!
I tried it a few times, but I never shop there anymore. Why? Good luck trying to find anything that's actually organic! When I last went, I didn't find any produce I wanted that was listed as organic. (Meaning it was merely conventionally grown like any other grocery store.) I went through the aisles and tried as well with packaged items. The only thing I was able to buy that day was a bag of organic brown sugar. So yes, it may be fresher or cheaper, but there is no benefit to me if it is not organic. And on top of that, the company is a giant national chain, not local. So I will stick with my local co-ops, thanks.