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Karly Devey

Tonja Vincent

ENG 2010

26 Mar 2018

Money Smart Millennials

High school is the time of teenagers’ life. Their thoughts constant of prom, who’s dating

who, and passing classes. Filing for bankruptcy or being in debt isn’t a concern in the everyday

life for high school students. This paper will be discussing the importance of financial literacy

and the impact it has on young adults. The question that is being discussed is, “Why isn’t

financial literacy an educational priority in society for millennials?” This paper will hit the main

topics of this question – millennials behavior, the youth providing for America, and the United

States’ financial education system.

Currently, in the United

States, there are only four states which

require high school students to pass a

financial literacy course to graduate

stated by Pamela Prah, an adjunct

professional lecturer. Those states are

Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, and

Utah, but 60 percent of high school

students admit to being worried about

money as seen in the image.

Understanding this statistic proves that Image from “Washington Federal. Invested Here”
article. See Works Cited.
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financial literacy courses need to be incorporated into high school education. Few teens

understand basic financial terms, like a credit score. From the image above, it states 44 percent

of high school students don’t know what a credit score is but plan to receive one. Knowing that

teens can be naïve and seeing from the image that very few talk to their parents about their

financial decisions, shouldn’t educators see financial literacy an educational priority?

Millennials Behaviors

Millennials are young adult born between 1980 and 2009. Born into America at a time

where credit comes easy and interest rates are always changing, “this generation has struggled

with high rates of housing debt, student loan debt, and an unstable labor market”, stated by

Stacia West and Terri Friedline, who are both social welfare mentors at the Center of

Undergraduate Research.

Millennials not understanding

how debt works,

homeownership rate shoots

up in the 2000s when

millennials are becoming

adults. With a mortgage to

pay at a young age the high

rate of housing debt comes

Image from "Coming of Age on a Shoestring Budget” article.
See Works Cited. into play that Friedline and
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West spoke about. A lot of millennials are in high debt because they’re uneducated in their

financial decisions. This all goes back to the fact that millennials don’t understand basic financial

terms. Even though a significant

number of millennials have credit

cards, like stated previously, many of

them don’t use them because they

don’t understand how they work.

Looking at the image it shows that

millennials are using a higher amount

Image from “The Millennial Conundrum”
of cash than any other age group, proving the article. See Works Cited.

that they’re not educated in credit or loans. But going back to what West and Friedline said,

millennials are the ones having the problem with debt from loans and credit. Understanding

that— millennials have easy access to credit, they have a high rate of debt, and they don’t

understand credit or loan, why isn’t this seen as a priority? The information is there and the

problem is apparent yet there’s no solution.

Providing for America

The Future of America is at stake. “The financial behaviors of these young adults today

may shape their financial well-being of tomorrow, potentially hindering their later ability to

accumulate wealth.” (Friedline & West 305). The upcoming generation is financially illiterate

and there’s still no educational requirements to fix the problem. Millennials are putting their

futures at stake and America’s future too. Clinical Director of the MidAmerican Psychological

Institute, Jennifer Paterson, researched financial education in 2014 and found that “77% of
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respondents believe financial education in the workplace would help employees to achieve better

financial outcomes.” (Paterson) This information that Paterson provide proves that Friedline and

West are correct, that the young adults’ financial education will affect the workplace. This being

true, the question of why financial literacy isn’t an educational priority is asked once again.

Unknowledgeable youth leads to an unsuccessful workforce. Educators want students to thrive in

the “real world”, but a valuable lesson isn’t being taught to students when the opportunity is

presented. If teens are going to be illiterate of financial literacy, then no success will be seen in

the growth of the United States.

Financial Education in the United States

Previously stated, in the United States, there are only four states which require high

school students to pass a financial literacy course to graduate. Those states are Missouri,

Tennessee, Virginia, and Utah. Viola Supon states, being “money smart” is a precious skill to

have as an individual. The ability to be financially literate or “money smart” isn’t a skill most of

today’s youth possesses. (Supon 68) For high schools that don’t require financial literacy as a

class to graduate, it is offered as an elective credit. Having financial literacy as an elective

teaches teens to think to be financially literate as more of a “bonus” rather than a life skill

(Paterson). The importance of financial literacy needs to be considered as contributing to the

workforce and progression of the United States, instead of a bonus. If we move forward with

uneducated youth the progression of the United States is likely to plummet. Katie Nedl, global

head of benefits at BlackRock, says it best when speaking out to the youth, “We are entering into

a new world of responsibility, which is making sure we are providing the right tools and

resources to enable, engage and educate employees to achieve their own financial wellness."
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(Paterson). To achieve financial wellness is a goal to strive for, unfortunately for America’s

youth, it’s a goal they’re not likely to reach. With success being mainly based off how financial

wealth a citizen is, why isn’t financial literacy held higher on the podium of education? For

financial literacy to become an importance, the focus is on the teachers. To increase students’

abilities on being money smart, teachers need to organize a lesson on this important topic.

Teachers need to set aside part of the day for the “important factors” of financial literacy, so

students can obtain it. Teachers, themselves must obtain financial literacy knowledge. “[They]

must be familiar with the content and use appropriate strategies of delivery to their students” so

students can gain from the experience (Supon 69). Teachers doing this helps students to gain a

better knowledge and understanding of financial literacy while becoming skillful at the same

time. Ashley E. Faulkner, an Interdisciplinary Quantitative Research Librarian at Princeton

University Library, interviews young college student and discovers that, “only 14 percent of

young Americans overall can answer a full five personal finance questions correctly” (Faulkner

116). The problem with this statistic is the absence of financial literacy knowledge in young

Americans. Unsophisticated youth is going to lead the future of the United States in debt as they

become the leaders. If surveys and statistics continue to show this pattern it is highly probable

that the youth of today will become adults in debt, with no savings nor retirement. It is easy to

observe from these statistics that teens are unaware to save and budget and are financially

illiterate.
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Works Cited

Faulkner, Ashley E. "Financial Literacy Education in the United States." Reference & User

Services Quarterly, vol. 56, no. 2, Winter2016, pp. 116-125. EBSCOhost. Accessed 10

March 2018.

Federal, Washington. “Washington Federal. Invested Here.” Financial Literacy for Students

[INFOGRAPHIC], Oct. 2016. Accessed 24 March 2018.

Paterson, Jennifer. "Who Will Be Responsible for Providing Financial Education?." Employee

Benefits, 07 May 2014, p. 7. EBSCOhost. Accessed 10 March 2018.

Prah, Pamela. “States Lag in Educating Students About Personal Finance.” Financial Literacy

Requirements Lag in States, The Pew Charitable Trusts, 4 Mar. 2014. Accessed 10

March 2018.

Ray, Kendall. “The Millennial Conundrum: Millennials are bogged down by massive student

debt and confiscatory housing prices.” My Budget 360, 12 Aug. 2015. Accessed 10

March 2018.

Supon, Viola. "Helping Students to Become Money Smart." Journal of Instructional Psychology,

vol. 39, no. 1, Mar. 2012, pp. 68-71. EBSCOhost. Accessed 10 March 2018.

West, Stacia and Terri Friedline. "Coming of Age on a Shoestring Budget: Financial Capability

and Financial Behaviors of Lower-Income Millennials." Social Work, vol. 61, no. 4, Oct.

2016, pp. 305-312. EBSCOhost. doi:10.1093/sw/sww057. Accessed 10 March 2018.