I always found it quite odd that money management and finance was never taught in my high school, nor any high school. As far as I know, this is still the case in Alberta anyway. For many young adults entering post secondary come high school graduation, the concept of managing money, budgeting, and saving is a foreign topic.
In high school, all you wanted to do was spend every dime you ever made (well most of my friends did anyway). The thought of putting money aside for "retirement" seemed absolutely ridiculous. However, developing spending and saving habits at a young age isn't ridiculous, it's crucial. The truth is that habits carry forward and the frivolous spending nature of a high school teenager will continue into young adult life, where $150 Versace t-shirts and $300 concert tickets are not the only expenses you will be worrying about.
I was fortunate enough to have parents that taught me how to save and why it was important at an early age (sorry Dad but I learned the investing part on my own). That doesn't mean I didn't buy stupid things when I was young (I still have my old Ed Hardy t-shirts in my closet... I swear I don't wear them anymore). But perhaps if more teenagers were introduced to the concept of saving, investing, and how to simply spend less than you earn, then I think we'd see a vastly reduced number of adults who are swimming in personal debt and barely making ends meet.
Whether it's in the classroom or at home, teaching kids about managing their money is extremely important. One day, every young adult will move out and be independent, and start a family of their own, and carry on many financial obligations on their shoulders and make important financial decisions for themselves and for their family.... How much do I invest in my RRSP this year to reduce my taxable income into the next lowest tax bracket? Is it wise for me to pull a Home Equity Line of Credit on my primary residence to buy an investment property this year? Do I buy bonds in my investing portfolio in an environment where interest rates are likely to start rising over the next 20 years? Is it wise to buy term life insurance when I'm in my 30s? How much credit card debt do I have to pay back without hurting my credit score?
These are pretty realistic questions, and it's difficult to answer if all I know about money is that it comes into my account, and then I go spend it on things like Hugo Boss sweat pants and Mexico trips. Taking time and educating one's kids about the importance of money management and developing habits early on in life is important. Just like having the sex talk, have the money talk. Something as simple as exposing kids to the different accounts offered at a bank, and what each accounts are for, can at least make them aware of their options or at least get them interested in money management. Perhaps helping a young adolescent with setting monthly savings targets could help develop saving habits at a young age.
Heck, maybe providing incentives like Huge Boss sweatpants for achieving monthly savings targets may force a young adolescent to develop better money management skills than the parent...!