Thinking back over my days in high school, I remember the presence of some character in every class who was constantly asking the teacher, “How will this be useful for me in my life out of school?”. No matter the class, no matter the situation, the question would arise, to the disbelief and annoyance of the teacher, who never really gave an answer.
What a great exercise it would be, to find out what exactly turned out to be useful from each class, and in which cases those troublemakers were right. In other words, what have I actually used to get ahead in life and which class did it come from? However, that exploration will be left for another time. There is one subject which would obviously be useful for anyone in any career or vocation, one that should be taught in every school, but for some reason never is. The subject is Financial Literacy, something we could all put to excellent use.
Financial Literacy class would prepare students with the basics, giving students the opportunity to examine their possibilities and have some basis for making decisions regarding their finances. You want to give students a chance, as many make the most foolish mistakes and ended up mired in debt they are unable to service. Financial Literacy would try to counteract that; here is the way the class would progress.
Week 1. Is that a scam? How to recognize scams and not get involved in them. All they are, are people stealing your money.
Week 2. Will you be able to pay back the money you borrow? The second part of the class would help students figure out if borrowing money for business or personal use is a smart idea. Credit card debt, mortgages, and other loans would be discussed. The idea would be to give students a concept of cash flow and how to service a debt, while exploring tax benefits of debt.
Week 3. How can you evaluate assets? Students would get an idea of how to size up their assets. Appreciating assets would be contrasted with depreciating assets. Consumables would be contrasted with earning assets. Students would see how purchasing different assets affects net worth over one’s life span.
Week 4. How should you invest? The different types of risk involved with any investment would be explored. With so many possibilities for going right and wrong with an investment, students would get an idea about how to spot a dangerous move as opposed to a promising opportunity. Making investments that work can lead to success, and vice versa.
Week 5. How leveraging investments works. Getting into more advanced material, students will learn how investment portfolios use leveraging to their advantage. The tax breaks possible would be included in the discussion, giving students the ability to use the tax code to their advantage.
Final lesson. The final lesson of this course would be put it all together. The steps you should take to avoid the financial problems so many people face. How to structure yourself to maximize your legal protection and your tax position. And of course, how to use the money you have to most effectively create wealth and income, given your personal tolerance to risk.
Damian Papworth understands that you don’t need mutual fund investments. Having learned some easy investment strategies, you are capable of being your own investment manager. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.
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