As student debt continues to rise to unimaginable heights at nearly 1.2 trillion dollars, it is astonishing to think that with all the money being spent on education, no one is educating millennials on how to handle it.
A lack of education in getting an education
According to the Council of Economic Education, only 17 states require high school students to take courses in personal finance but the states that require more rigorous mandates get their graduates off to a better financial start. This leaves well over half the college-bound population with no previous financial literacy upon entering college.
The importance of pursuing higher education is pushed heavily on students, yet we are never taught how to pay for it. We are handed student loans that we accept without hesitation or realization that we will actually have to pay them back someday. We are sent into the real world with no proper understanding on how to properly manage our finances. According to a PNC Financial Independence survey, today’s students who are fresh out of college have an average debt of $45,000 including car loans, credit cards, student loans and mortgages.
Financial literacy and millennials
Anthony Merola, a finance student in the Fox School of Business and president of Temple University’s Investment Association (TUIA), has his own ideas on how to solve the issue of low financial literacy. Merola’s first interest in finance started in middle school with virtual stock market competitions, something every student should have exposure to. Now a junior in college, Merola is active in TUIA, an organization that provides students with an active learning environment where they put principles to practices to achieve professional and personal goals to investment management.
Merola believes that there needs to be more emphasis as a whole when it comes to financial literacy. He suggested we create a transformative technology software or an app that could teach others about financial literacy in a way that makes it interesting.
“One thing that we like, as millennials, is everything that is easy to use. Anything we can gain access to, we are going to use,” Merola said. “We won’t go out of our way to do stuff and there’s nothing out there that is easy to use or interesting enough to educate people.”
We receive constant input when it comes to picking the right college or which science class to take, but financial literacy’s importance has never been emphasized to us; it is almost expected of us just to understand. While so many students have little to no idea how to manage their money properly or save for the future, Merola does not necessarily think it is because of lack of access or resources to the information.
“I don’t know if it’s that they don’t have enough access but instead that the desire isn’t there. I feel like a lot of people – they don’t really think about that kind of stuff and it’s not the top of their concerns so they just put it on the back burner.”
Opportunities at Temple
TUIA is open to all students of any major, which gives access to the Temple community on different areas of investing and even prepares those interested for related careers. It is broken up into three tiers, starting with a general TUIA member and the Fox Fund.
Merola describes these as the minor leagues, used as a development system where they teach their members how to handle research, write reports, understand what to look for in stocks and receive a great level of mentorship. Finally, there is the Owl Fund, which is a student managed investment fund that handles live stocks and investments around Temple.
TUIA is an incredible opportunity for students with a high interest in investing and those who simply want to learn. When asked, Merola had a long list of resources that TUIA does to tackle the issue of financial literacy. To name a few, TUIA brings in different speakers from the industry to speak to students on their roles in the trade which provides a great opportunity for networking.
They also run different education modules throughout the semester. Last fall, five different modules were presented to students including careers in finance, market fundamentals, financial statement analysis, value investing, and valuations. A mentorship program is also available, allowing upperclassmen to teach new members what they have learned throughout their time in TUI.
“We try to educate as much as possible in our organization. It’s great to get involved in organizations like ours because you’re going to learn more than what you would learn in a typical classroom.”
Other opportunities
Merola also suggested the Financial Planning Association (FPA), which he described as having a similar message as GenFKD.
“They deal with financial planning, deal with personal goals. FPA is a more hands on, one-on-one advising, like financial advisor approach.”
The Fox School of Business offers nearly 30 Student Professional Organizations ranging from fashion to economics. The opportunity to learn outside the classroom about finance and money management are standing right in front of us. We just need to find the drive to want to learn about one of the most important and terrifying aspects of our future.
We asked Merola what was one thing he thinks all students should know. He replied, “Try to be as frugal as possible. It’s a big shock when you come out of college.”
Takeaway
It’s time we take control of our future and demand the education we deserve. Although options like TUIA and FPA are available, we still lack the formal education that ultimately determines our financial future.
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