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Would it be so bad if the Hawaii DOE added a personal finance course for high school students?
I'm sure we could, at the very least, make some room for it as an elective course. This is a life skill that we all need to learn at some point in our life.
Wouldn't it be best to set our keiki on the right path to success before they are set free? I don't have to tell you about the cost of living here in the Aloha State, and that an average gross monthly wage for a family is barely enough to make rent, putting many of our local families on government assistance. Not to mention that we are ranked No. 2 for homelessness in the country.
Finances touch every part of our life, like buying a home and car, getting married, having children and of course retirement, which is another reason why many of our older adults are unsheltered.
Maybe teaching our kids a bit about budgeting, savings and debt management could prevent these numbers from increasing. I'm sure that my son in high school would be better off learning personal finance than ceramics or a second language that he will certainly forget the moment he graduates.
Let's prepare our keiki for life's expected and unexpected financial burdens before they are part of the statistics.
Maya Vazquez
Haiku