Is Financial Literacy Really THAT Important For Teens?

US Dollars, Pounds, Rupees, Euros, Yuan, or Yen. No matter what you call it, or where you're from, money is easily one of the most powerful resources available to us.

You'd think that means today's youth is well prepared to manage their own finances, right? Actually, they're not. According to ING Direct, a multinational banking and financial servicing corporation, 87% of teens admit to not knowing much about personal finance. (Yeah, I'm shocked too.) For that reason, it has never been more important for teens to learn how to save, invest, and spend their money wisely.

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And if you're still not convinced you need to learn how to manage your money,

Here Are Three Ways Teens Benefit From Financial Literacy:

• Basic financial literacy allows teens to become largely self-sufficient and financially stable.

By learning when and how to save money, differing between wants and needs (we can all agree this is one of the hardest things to do!), and even creating budgets, teens are able to create a realistic roadmap that helps them through their daily lives and teaches them to consciously make good financial decisions themselves.

• By understanding finance, teens are at a smaller risk of becoming a victim of fraud.

You heard me, teens are at risk of fraud. In fact, a survey that polled 2,000 secondary education students between the ages 14 and 18 revealed that four in ten teenagers have fallen victim to cyber criminals, as they carelessly revealed personal details on social media. By being aware of the tactics used by scammers to take financial information from youth, teens are able to manage their finances safely.

• Making financial mistakes as a teen is significantly better than making mistakes as an adult.

It's no surprise that to most people, the idea of personal financial literacy is daunting and unappealing. In reality, it can be. Just like anything else in adulthood, finance is difficult and time-consuming. But by starting your journey to become a financially stable individual early, you give yourself plenty of time to learn and make mistakes that could cost you so much more as an adult.

So, to answer the question, yes, financial literacy really is that important.

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