Why don't they teach this stuff in high school or even college?

Being a proud father of 3 children raised in our prestigious Tredyffrin Easttown school system and then matriculated through 3 well known colleges on the east coast, I am disappointed with the quality of their education.

Even though I consistently tried to instill the values of financial responsibility to ones self and others I feel that the major institutions don't "get it" when it comes to educating our children in these areas.

Most young people have little idea how to even balance a checkbook. All of my children have come to me after graduation from college and asked me how to set up their financial future. When I asked a few basic questions like "what is your 5 year plan for the future?", none of them could answer that question. Then I questioned my responsibility as a parent on this issue and the fault lies somewhere in between myself and the schools to encourage and motivate students to learn some basic financial planning.

The problem with all of that great education they weren't taught the fundamentals of basic investing and how to plan the future of their finances and how to prioritize them.

They don't have to know all of the financial terms but they should at least know how to balance a checkbook and open a brokerage account and understand what they need to know about planning for their future.

I would encourage our financial institutions to begin a program of financial education so that our kids will have the basics exposed to them at an early enough age so that they will know how to plan and think about what is a priority to them both in big picture and day to day life requirements.

Parents or teachers who have questions on how to begin such a program are welcome to email me at roy@yourwealthadvocate.com or call my office at 610-695-8748 to set up a strategy session for parents and children going through this process.

Thank you,

Roy Innella