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From the first day of school children are taught two things, to obey authority and if you want to make something of yourself, go to college. A large number of p

From the first day of school children are taught two things, to obey authority and if you want to make something of yourself, go to college. A large number of people go to college because they believe that is what they have to do, they've had it drilled into their heads that if you want to be successful, you go to college. If you can go to college, whatever the cost, you go to college. No one is forced at gun point to go to college but they are pressured into it throughout their entire lives, most people truly believe that they need to go to college to be successful, to end up with a spouse, a house and children, they think college is the only path. You can quit smoking, you don't have to drive, you can leave the army after a few years, but what you can't do is reverse the decision to take on student loans, they're just not comparable.

larrys 13y ago
"drilled into their heads " To add to this people also will have children they can't afford. Sometimes by "accident" and sometimes planned with the same thinking that "everything will just work out". You also hear about someone who didn't want to have the nth child but now boy are they glad they did (not factoring in the impact on the rest of the family or other kids) or taking money into the picture. Simply because the nth child is alive and you can't imagine (once they are born) that you could have considered not having them.
BrandonMarc 13y ago
What they are not taught is personal finance. Schools just don't teach it, with rare exceptions. I guess they figure it's up to parents to teach that, but when 7 out of 10 US households live paycheck to paycheck, parents don't know much about personal finance, either. The good news is there are some solutions out there, and they're slowly gaining traction in a grass-roots style. One example is schools teaching the "Foundations in Personal Finance" curriculum [1]. But to make a big difference quickly, it needs to be more than just some schools here and there, but a national mandate to teach these sorts of things. But ... I'm not going to hold my breath. To that end, I help volunteer leading these sorts of classes. Small moves. ---------------------------------------- http://www.daveramsey.com/school/foundations/ http://www.daveramsey.com/school/foundations/

larrys 13y ago

"drilled into their heads " To add to this people also will have children they can't afford. Sometimes by "accident" and sometimes planned with the same thinking that "everything will just work out". You also hear about someone who didn't want to have the nth child but now boy are they glad they did (not factoring in the impact on the rest of the family or other kids) or taking money into the picture. Simply because the nth child is alive and you can't imagine (once they are born) that you could have considered not having them.

BrandonMarc 13y ago

What they are not taught is personal finance. Schools just don't teach it, with rare exceptions. I guess they figure it's up to parents to teach that, but when 7 out of 10 US households live paycheck to paycheck, parents don't know much about personal finance, either. The good news is there are some solutions out there, and they're slowly gaining traction in a grass-roots style. One example is schools teaching the "Foundations in Personal Finance" curriculum [1]. But to make a big difference quickly, it needs to be more than just some schools here and there, but a national mandate to teach these sorts of things. But ... I'm not going to hold my breath. To that end, I help volunteer leading these sorts of classes. Small moves. ---------------------------------------- http://www.daveramsey.com/school/foundations/ http://www.daveramsey.com/school/foundations/