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Question: What personal finance lesson do you wish you had been taught by your parents or in school?

(Posted by: Bdubs on 2009-12-29 12:04:56)

Personal finance was slightly taught to me by my parents or in school. I had to learn how to balance a checkbook, the dangers of credit cards and about saving all on my own. What personal finance lesson do you wish you had been taught in your younger years & how would that have changed your current economic status?

Posted by: Judy on 2009-12-29, 12:10:39

I wish I could teach the world: Don't ever carry credit card balances - it ruins your credit Don't even think of leasing a car - its moronic Don't ever rent furniture Don't ever buy a time share Don't even think of financing furniture - save up for things. Save to buy a car, as much as possible. Put 20% down on a house - even if you think your friends will make fun of you for having a small house. Put money away in a ROTH, 401K - as much as possible Become as self- insured as possible - stop making insurance companies rich Always have 6 months worth of living expenses socked away. /

Posted by: Doctor Deth on 2009-12-29, 12:16:22

Definitely the dangers of overusing credit cards - I was in debt for over 20 yrs - keep current with payments, but paying tons in interest, couldn't reduce balances - it finally helped push me into bankruptcy, along with some other issues like divorce, car repo and losing my job - I'm cured now and building wealth and savings for retirement

Posted by: Sarah on 2009-12-29, 12:16:25

The dangers of credit card companies and how to use one responsibly if you're going to get one.

Posted by: Vic on 2009-12-29, 12:21:07

Scrap Algebra and teach kids what a mortgage is and how they work teach them compound interest and how insurance and credit cards works.

Posted by: fozzi_x on 2009-12-29, 12:56:59

I wished what was taught was not to train everyone to become an employee. All schools really teach is how to become a good employee to work for the rich. In addition, they won't tell you that when you get out of school there's no guarantees. They won't tell you that you will work for the rich, pay taxes to the rich, bank with the rich, its quite a conspiracy. The least they should teach you is how to become rich. Wouldn't that be a major course when all the while you are teaching students to work for money? Why not teach them to have money work hard for you? Its no suprise that people are school sophisticated, but financially ignorant...would that explain the large government deficit America has? Politicians seem to be smart, but when it comes to financials they aren't so sharp. In the end...financial education should be mandatory in this global information age economy.

Posted by: 95% will see no tax increase on 2009-12-29, 14:04:06

Credit cards are the devil

Posted by: Brett on 2009-12-29, 16:46:52

Compound Interest! It is hard to save when your young, but it is amazing how fast your savings grow if you have a decsent interest rate. Here is a link to an interest calculator:

Posted by: Archie B on 2009-12-30, 18:12:46

There is only one priciple I wish I had learned at a much younger age, which is the principle of compound interest. Using compound interest and starting early with a relatively small investment, re-investing interest earned in a safe but regularly profitable mutual fund, CD, diversified stock portfolio or other fund returning a decent interest rate/ ROI, and adding to the amount invested at a very modest rate (like, say, what you make at Wendy's flipping burgers every week), by the time you're 35 you can be a millionaire or close. Compound Interest is the whisper of God Himself in the ear of young people, but few adequately listen. Buy into mutual funds young. Add to them regularly, investing each paycheck, reinvesting dividends and all returns on investment. Continue this throughout life until you have enough to really take a shot at something and, when you are in your early thirties, you will be shocked how much better off you are than the average person.