As we grow up in this state, we are taught basic skills through the public education system, such as how to read, write, and do basic math. But a skill of equal value that has been neglected in schools is financial literacy—and the negative effects that that has had on Oregon can be seen today. It is vital that we teach financial literacy in schools because it can create a better future for Oregonians by helping its young adults make smarter financial decisions regarding student loans and other aspects of finance throughout their educational and eventual lifetime career.

Financial literacy needs to be taught in schools because it holds the strong possibility of creating an adult population much more knowledgeable about handling money than the one present today. According to The New York Times, less than half of all states require a specific financial literacy class—so this is not a problem unique to Oregon. 

The effects that this lack of financial education has had in America are immense—this is seen in the poor financial skills the majority of Americans have developed. A 2018 Gallup poll found that only around 33% of households keep a formal budget. Additionally, a 2017 Marketwatch report found that half of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, with 19% having put no money away toward emergency savings. In Oregon, specifically, 35% of Oregonians made only the minimum monthly payments on their credit card bills in 2019 (FINRA). 

The effects of poor financial literacy education are seen not only in the poor money habits of Americans but also in the tremendous amount of debt Americans have managed to accumulate. According to the Federal Reserve, as of the beginning of 2018, Americans held over $1 trillion in credit card debt and $1.22 trillion in car debt (auto loans). It is clear that Americans are not only bad at handling money, but they are downright awful—this alone should be reason enough to teach how to do it better at a younger age through our schools.

In case that wasn’t reason enough, another argument that can be made in support of teaching financial literacy in schools is that it will better prepare future college students to make smart, informed decisions concerning their investment in a higher education, this “investment” being the taking out of student loans. This is one of the most important, if not the most important, decisions a student will make as they are thrown into adulthood and the responsibilities that follow. Nearly 70% of incoming college students took out student loans. Today, 45 million borrowers share over $521 billion more in student loan debt than the next leading culprit, credit card debt, totaling $1.56 trillion (debt.com). In Oregon, more than 50% of college graduates are in debt, the majority of which is held by recent graduates. The decisions surrounding student loans are ones that, if made poorly, could negatively affect the rest of a student’s life, as seen in America (and Oregon) today. 

When broken down, it’s simple: currently, America does a poor job educating its citizens in financial literacy. This has resulted in the development of poor money habits in the majority of its citizens as well as the accumulation of unbelievable amounts of debt, namely of the student loan variety. So, the logical solution is to make a change—in order for our next generations to prosper, we need to set an example for the rest of the country and start teaching financial literacy in Oregon schools today.