Finances Archives

The state of California is now requiring all high schoolers to pass a financial literacy class as a graduation requirement.

The 2024 legislation, now in the implementation process, made California the 26th state to include a one-semester personal finance course in its high school curriculum.

The class will officially take effect in fall 2027 for the class of 2031 graduates, and will cover a wide range of financial literacy topics. These include banking, credit scores, taxes, loans, investments, budgets and retirement.

California Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire said:

Financial literacy is a critical tool that pays dividends for a lifetime. There’s a wealth of data about the benefits of learning these valuable lessons in high school, from improving credit scores and reducing default rates to increasing the likelihood that our future generations will maintain three months of savings for emergencies and have at least one kind of retirement account.

While the legislation mandated the curriculum for all school districts, some California schools have already begun incorporating personal finance classes as electives.

Fresno Unified, California’s third-largest school district, has been teaching a free one-semester class from Next Gen Personal Finance, a national financial literacy nonprofit, since 2023.

Next Gen Personal Finance currently reports 30 states have already implemented or are planning to offer personal finance electives for high school students.

“NGPF is more than a curriculum,” said a McDowell High School teacher. “It’s a movement transforming financial education by giving teachers the tools, training, and confidence to change lives one student at a time.”

These classes have been a hit with both parents and students alike, with one 18-year-old reporting he took the class because, “I wanted to be better with my finances.”

Jeff Allen, a lead advocate for the financial literacy classes in the Fresno Unified school district, said:

You say “personal finance,” and it’s like a universal, “Oh, I wish I had that.” You do not see that physical reaction [to other subjects] from parents and community members the same way that you see it with personal finance because as an adult, you understand what you didn’t know and how you paid the consequences for it.

I grew up and I was fortunate enough to have parents that told me the value of putting money into a bank, but that’s where it started and stopped. To see that that’s not even a standard baseline was both discouraging and encouraging. Discouraging that that’s where we were, but encouraging that we could bring that information so easily.

Some teachers have branched out beyond the curriculum, inviting local businesses and organizations to speak to students about financial literacy. Other schools have organized hands-on activities, such as using high school campus banks as part of the lessons, or hosting “Shark Tank” events where students must design a product, calculate startup costs, needed investments and profit margins.

Teacher qualifications to teach personal finance will change under the new California mandate. Currently, any teacher with a single-subject credential can teach the course using resources such as Next Gen Personal Finance. But beginning in the 2027-2028 school year, only teachers with four subject credentials will be eligible to teach the class.

Focus on the Family offers several financial literacy resources for parents to use at home. Check them out below!

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Inflation skyrocketed in April to the highest rate in three years as the Iran war caused oil shortages and increased energy prices worldwide.

The cost of goods and services rose 3.8% in April, compared to a year earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Tuesday. The cost of energy rose 3.8% in the month of April, following a 10.9% surge in March.

The nearly 15% rise in the cost of energy over the past two months accounts for over 40% of the total increase in inflation.

Americans currently pay around $4.50 for a gallon of regular gasoline, The Wall Street Journal reports, up over 50% since the beginning of the joint U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran in late February.

The BLS reported year-over-year increases in the following categories:

Food rose 3.2%.
Fruits and vegetables increased 6.1%.
Energy rose 17.9%.
Gasoline rose 28.4%.
Electricity rose 6.1%.
Shelter increased 3.3%.
Airline fares shot up 20.7%.

CNBC reported other items have increased over the past year:

Ground beef is up 14.5%.
Tomatoes shot up 39.7%.
Coffee prices rose 18.5%.
Jewelry is up 16.1%.
Delivery services are up 13.6%.

These increases add to the extraordinary level of inflation Americans saw in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, when the annual inflation rate hit a four-decade high of 9.1%.

“The American economy has entered a new chapter where inflation appears to have stepped up,” Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, told The Wall Street Journal, predicting even greater inflation later this year. “Median American families are going to find it very challenging to adjust going into the second half of the year.”

Given the increase in cost for many items families rely on, even after the extraordinary cost increases experienced in previous years, it’s no wonder so many Americans are sour on the state of the economy.

Higher gas prices and worries about affordability led consumer sentiment to reach a record low in May, with a record number of Americans expressing negative feelings about the economy.

Additionally, Gallup found the number of Americans who say their financial situation is getting worse is higher than at any point in the last 25 years – including the Great Recession of 2008. According to Gallup, 31% of Americans say the high cost of living is the most important financial problem facing their family today.

However, the economic news isn’t all bad. Unemployment remains low at 4.3%, the BLS reports, with the economy adding 115,000 jobs in April. And the stock market continues to reach all-time highs, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average just slightly below 50,000.

Nevertheless, many families today find themselves financially stretched and their budgets needing trimmed. According to a 2018 survey by Ramsey Solutions, money is the number one issue couples fight about. Money fights and money problems are the second leading cause of divorce, behind infidelity.

The survey also found:

Nearly two-thirds of all marriages start off in debt.
One-third of people who say they argued with their spouse about money also knowingly hid a purchase from their spouse.
Ninety-four percent of people who say they have a “great” marriage discuss their money dreams with their spouse, compared to the 45% who say their marriage is “okay” or “in crisis.”

The Daily Citizen asked Geremy Keeton, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Senior Director of Counseling at Focus on the Family, about how couples can be proactive when facing financial troubles.

“Financial coordination and problem-solving as a married couple never happen with passivity,” Keeton said. “There needs to be intentionality and planning; it’s a skill, and sometimes couples need to get creative about how to draw upon each of their unique strengths in navigating a joint and structured plan.”

“More importantly,” Keeton stressed, “it’s key to realize that finances are often a symptom [or outgrowth] of couple communication, power dynamics, emotional engagement and even spiritual commitments in the relationship.”

He added:

Working to define — and document — shared value commitments and investing in healthy emotional intimacy can both undergird good financial planning and wise stewardship of shared resources.

To speak with a family help specialist or request resources, please call us at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

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