What are the advantages and disadvantages of teaching kids about finance at school?
Advantages: numerous. many kids when turning 18 do not appreciate all the financial products available to them (i.e. loans, credit cards, overdrafts, etc.) and do not fully understand the implication this can have on their credit. I think perhaps if they taught it at least on a GCSE level, people will at least know how to manage their finances better when they leave school. Disadvantages: i can’t think of any. To the answerer who implied that lack of financial education was the cause of the credit crunch: you’re wrong – this was down to Banking, Government Policy and greed. Consumer borrowing alone did not cause the credit crunch.
There is no downside to teaching kids about finance as long as you stress that having minimum or no debt is the preferred way to go. Having a good idea of how finance works gives everyone a blueprint on how to manage their financial lives. Many kids are never taught this and they suffer because of it.
