Why Financial Education Matters
By Frank Clement
Why did they teach me calculus but never explain how money works?” You might have heard that question, or even asked it yourself. It’s an especially common reaction among young adults when they receive their first paycheck and wonder where a chunk of their wages went, or when that first student loan bill arrives in the mail.
So, is it true? Did a whole generation grow up without learning the basics of personal finance?
Those willing to brave the wilds of Reddit can find dozens of threads wherein anonymous high school teachers decry the criticism that schools don’t teach personal finance. Says one redditor, “I’m a schoolteacher; we do teach students about finances. Whether or not they choose to retain it is another story. To be fair, some (or many) children don’t have significant motivation for financial planning. Many parents seem to give them pocket money, and few seem to teach them how to save/spend/give to charity.”
But wait, you might say, “I gave my kids a piggy bank in pre-school. We set aside 10% of every birthday check from Grandma for tithing and saved more than we spent. Isn’t that enough?”
It’s true that many children interact with money early on. But to understand their relationship with finances, we need to explore what money really is.
Economists define money as having three core functions:
1. A store of value
2. A medium of exchange
3. A unit of account
Most kids are familiar with the last two. They eagerly trade their birthday cash for toys or candy, and they love watching their savings grow so they can boast about it to siblings.
What they often miss is money’s role as a store of value. Money represents time and effort: someone earned it by working, which required learning and skill-building. If a child doesn’t connect effort with earnings, their experience with money becomes a simple cycle of “easy come, easy go.”
This disconnect is why lessons on tithing, saving, and debt management often fall flat. Giving 10% of your paycheck to God means giving up 10% of your labor, a powerful reminder of the Apostle Paul’s call to work as unto the Lord. But giving 10% of a gift card from Aunt Mildred doesn’t carry the same weight. Likewise, saving is abstract when you have no expenses, and loans can seem like nothing more than free money from the bank.
That’s why financial education should begin with work. Not just talking about it but giving kids real opportunities to contribute through meaningful labor. As the adage goes, teach them to fish; show them how their efforts can add value to others’ lives.
A pivotal moment in my own childhood came when I realized our snow shovel could earn me money. Plenty of neighbors were happy to pay me to clear their driveways … if I was willing to put in the work. While my friends were building snowmen, I was stuffing my coat pockets with cash. When my parents reminded me to tithe, I admit I hesitated. That money cost me something to earn and it hurt a little to give 10% up.
Giving kids real work experience offers countless benefits. It teaches them that they’re not just consumers; they can contribute meaningfully to their families and communities. This is a far better cure for low self-esteem than the trendy “social-emotional” advice flooding parenting blogs.
Work also introduces basic economic principles. Kids learn firsthand how effort, demand, and pricing interact. It might even help them discover how they want to support themselves in the future, without wasting years “finding themselves.”
Academic learning is important and often contributes to broader life skills even when the direct connection is hard to see. But no topic is more universally relevant than personal finance. Teaching kids about money and its roles as a store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account will help prepare them for adulthood. As they learn to connect work with earnings and enjoy the rewards of serving others, they’ll be equipped to lead their families, churches, and communities with wisdom and purpose. ✤
FRANK CLEMENT is VP of Strategic Partnerships for America’s Christian Credit Union, where he gets to serve the financial needs of Christian ministries and families across the country. Previously, Frank spent time in higher education administration at Georgetown University and Azusa Pacific University. He and his wife classically homeschool their four daughters in Southern California.
