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. Avoiding scams. The teacher would deliver a tutorial on avoiding scams that prey on the young and naive.
Week 2. How much can you borrow? This lesson would teach you to calculate how much money you can borrow for personal or business purposes, on a variety of mediums. This would include credit cards, personal loans, business loans and mortgages. It would mainly concentrate on cash flow issues, but also touch on the tax effectiveness of some of the different loans.
Week 3. What type of assets do you own? In this lesson, different assets would be explained. For example, an appreciating asset would be compared to a depreciating asset. Similarly a consumable would be compared to an earning asset. These assets would be compared over time, so you can see the impact purchasing different items has to your net wealth over time.
Week 4. Investment strategies. Any investment you take has a number of consequences and risk potential. Students will be given the tools necessary to tell what a risky investment look like. Also, when the signs point to a winning gamble, they should be ready to pull the trigger. Although it takes a good amount of courage and a little recklessness, great investments can turn a life around.
Week 5. Should you leverage your investments. This lesson would run through the advantages and risks associated with leveraging investment portfolios. Tax would have to be covered to some extent in this lesson also as there are some definite tax advantages when borrowing to invest.
Final phase. At the end of the course, the student would try and make it all come together. There would be a layout of common mistakes and how to avoid making them. The ways to use the law in your favor and how to protect yourself would be covered. Finally, there would be suggestions on how to work with whatever types of finances you have to create the maximum amount of wealth.
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. Avoiding scams. The teacher would deliver a tutorial on avoiding scams that prey on the young and naive.
Week 2. How much can you borrow? This lesson would teach you to calculate how much money you can borrow for personal or business purposes, on a variety of mediums. This would include credit cards, personal loans, business loans and mortgages. It would mainly concentrate on cash flow issues, but also touch on the tax effectiveness of some of the different loans.
Week 3. What type of assets do you own? In this lesson, different assets would be explained. For example, an appreciating asset would be compared to a depreciating asset. Similarly a consumable would be compared to an earning asset. These assets would be compared over time, so you can see the impact purchasing different items has to your net wealth over time.
Week 4. Investment strategies. Any investment you take has a number of consequences and risk potential. Students will be given the tools necessary to tell what a risky investment look like. Also, when the signs point to a winning gamble, they should be ready to pull the trigger. Although it takes a good amount of courage and a little recklessness, great investments can turn a life around.
Week 5. Should you leverage your investments. This lesson would run through the advantages and risks associated with leveraging investment portfolios. Tax would have to be covered to some extent in this lesson also as there are some definite tax advantages when borrowing to invest.
Final phase. At the end of the course, the student would try and make it all come together. There would be a layout of common mistakes and how to avoid making them. The ways to use the law in your favor and how to protect yourself would be covered. Finally, there would be suggestions on how to work with whatever types of finances you have to create the maximum amount of wealth.
About the Author:
Damian Papworth acknowledges that you don't require mutual fund investments. Having learned some simple strategies, you are capable of being your own investment manager. You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.
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