Teenagers aren’t known for taking the long view with money. But a growing number of high school students are taking classes to learn how to handle their financial future: what a budget is, why saving is important and how to invest.
In March, Kentucky became the latest state to codify financial literacy as a stand-alone class needed for high-schoolers to graduate. That brings the total to 36 states with some form of financial literacy requirement for high school graduation, according to the Council of Economic Education – up from 21 states in 2020.
Theo Bosio, a senior at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said he appreciated the instruction before launching into the real world. “The biggest thing was the amount of money you need for retirement – it’s millions of dollars,” Bosio said. “The best time to start saving is like right now, when we’re 17 or 18.”…