As some of us are finishing our senior year in high school, we start thinking about what we’ll do after we graduate. Some of us plan to go to college, or others plan on moving out of their parents’ house and renting an apartment or a house or also building credit, but the question is, do you know how to buy a house or build credit for a house or a car of your own? Well, there are many people out there who graduated and didn’t have any idea of how to buy a car or make credit. Clearly high schools aren’t teaching students how life really works after graduating. We’re being taught things that we won’t ever use in real life, instead of what we need to know in order to survive. 

Nancy Sanchez stated, “the government should require teachers to show students how to do our taxes and have good credit scores.”  

I also interviewed Vanessa Terrazas, and asked her how she felt about not having financial curriculums while she was in high school, she replied with, “well I wish I would’ve known how to buy my own car, rent an apartment, build a credit score just in case I want to buy a house, or how to budget my money right, but I had to learn the hard way, cause my parents weren’t around to teach me. I really do hope that at some point they at least consider teaching financial curriculums in high school.” 

The only class that high school offers is Financial Literacy. In this class you learn how to manage a credit card and how to invest. Unfortunately, this class doesn’t teach you how to prepare to have what you need to buy a house or a car, and it doesn’t teach you how to get your taxes done. Not everyone gets to take this class. In my opinion, every senior in high school should be required to take this class in order to graduate and have another class that teaches you more about financial life after high school.  

Many people wish they would’ve known how to get things done the right way and faster. A lot of people struggled when they had to buy their own car from a dealership or just rent an apartment after moving out from their parents’ homes. People have come to realize that having credit is important for many things in life. For example, you need credit to be able to finance a car with a decent monthly payment or buy a house. You also need credit for student loans, auto loans, and even to buy furniture for your home. Some jobs also require credit, and even to have a credit card you need credit as well. Insurance companies also give you discounts and cheaper rates if you have a high credit score. 

High schools should start teaching and requiring financial lifestyle curriculums. Many people need it before graduating since not many people quite know how to survive alone. People need to know how to be able to build a credit since they need it for many important things in life.