In our gradeschool math classes they taught us about interest and compounding interest. They continued with it through high school and college. We have Economics and various other courses (Home Economics, Accounting, etc) that teach us about managing assets and liabilities.

Didn’t anyone else have that annoying class where you pretended to be married and used your salaries to build a budget and support your family? We had to find a place to live, build shopping lists, account for unexpected expenses, etc… coupon clipping encouraged. Even if you didn’t have that class, math was a requirement.

I don’t think the problem is a lack of education. I also don’t think it would hurt to have a few weeks every year where they apply the lessons to real world examples in personal finance in math class (even though it is redundant). If that’s what it takes for more students to make the connection between their lessons and the real world it would be worth it.

*I am not a teacher, nor am I affiliated with any learning institution.