COLUMBIA, SC (WSPA) – South Carolina students could learn the basics when it comes to managing their money and staying out of debt, thanks to a bill currently waiting in a Senate Education Committee.
It’s a topic many young adults weren’t familiar with when graduating high school; financial literacy. Several recent high school graduates interviewed on Friday expressed little knowledge of the topic.
“No. Not at all. They don’t go over anything like that with you,” said Sophie Kimrey.
Kenneth Brown, Jr. agreed. “They’ll just tell you these are some good tips and if it happened to come up in conversation then that was it.”
Financial literacy is the knowledge that allows one to make informed decisions with their finances.
Earlier this week members of the South Carolina House moved quickly to make sure students have that knowledge by passing a bill requiring a financial literacy course for high school students.
Kenneth Brown was on board with the proposal. “Making sure all students have a baseline understanding of some tips you should take forward in life is very beneficial.”
The course would teach the students how to balance a checkbook, manage their money, and understand student loans. It’s an area many say would have come in handy while transitioning to adulthood.
Sophie Kimrey recapped her transition from high school to the real world.
“It made it very difficult to transition because you don’t know the basics when you’re going out into the real world so you have to learn as you go and it could be tough when you don’t know the first thing about finances or loans. “
If this bill becomes law students in the 2020-2021 class could be taught financial literacy.
Other topics that will have to be covered in the course include opening a checking account, managing credit card debt, completing loan applications, and calculating income taxes.
