Pure, Driven, Snow

I have been struggling lately with how to communicate this sense of urgency that I have for young adults to value financial education. While I can see the value of "if I knew this when I was your age..." education, students never appreciate the value of learning from other people's mistakes until they are on the precipice or have already made the mistake themselves.

Roy H. Williams said "A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake altogether"

It's a shame that what should be valued most is mostly despised.

So, for what it's worth, here is why I think that this information is so important.

• You haven't made any financial mistakes that need time to fix.

• You don't have any bad financial habits that need to be corrected.

• You have unlimited potential.

• That's precisely why this information is so important.

You want so badly to be an adult, and rightly so, being an adult is awesome. But don't make a hash of it. Don't be average. You have the potential and the access to education to be great. Go Be Great!

You just need to decide.

http://insights.schwab.com/personal-finance/financial-planning-by-decade

Questions:

1. What do you think about the phrase from Roy H. Williams? Do you think your financial expectation will be met in this class? Why or why not.

2. What part of your financial future most concerns you?

3. Read the financial planning by the decade article and write a paragraph about each decade paying particular attention to how you think your life will be affected at each point in time.

Resources:

Lecture Guide

PowerPoint: Values Needs Wants Scarcity

Teachers Pay Teachers Files