Money Makes the World Go ‘Round: Are You Ready?
An October 5, 2017 headline from the business section of the New York Times gave Ajeya S. reason to celebrate: Payday Lending Faces Tough New Restrictions By Consumer Agency.
Ajeya, a senior at the Bronx High School of Science in New York City, is really interested in the industry that provides payday loans, which are small loans that allow people to borrow against a future paycheck. Payday loans come with very high interest rates and are common in low-income communities, where people often need to borrow extra money to pay their monthly bills. The end result – they get into a lot of debt with payday lenders that they then can’t afford to pay off.
Payday loans make Ajeya angry. He believes that payday lenders “misuse, abuse and manipulate” vulnerable sections of society. “Payday lending systematically creates debt traps and ruins families and communities,” Ajeya commented when he first read an article that Wharton Global Youth wrote about payday lending.
So, it’s little wonder that Ajeya cheered over the news that the U.S. federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau planned to impose tough new restrictions on payday lending, which would, as the New York Times article noted, deal “a potentially crushing blow to an industry that churns out billions of dollars a year in high-interest loans to working-class and poor Americans.”
A Threat to Your Financial Health
Why does a 17-year-old who isn’t even old enough to take out a payday loan care so much? Two words: financial literacy.
Wharton Global Youth talks a lot about this concept that means learning to manage money well. Financial literacy is a deep understanding of how money works in the world, including basic concepts like earning and saving, as well as more complex ideas like inflation and compound interest. People who are financially literate are better able to use knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about their finances and manage money effectively throughout their lifetime.
But we don’t always address why it’s important to understand all aspects of personal finance, from the money in your wallet to the vast network of professionals and companies who guide, enable and support the financial decisions you make in life. The main reason is that knowledge is power — power that will help you avoid the financial pitfalls that dot the landscape of your life after high school. And power that will give you the tools to navigate a system that is not always kind to consumers.
This empowerment is why Ajeya feels so passionate about the intersection of financial literacy and payday loans: when you don’t understand how to manage your money, you are sometimes forced to make risky decisions that threaten your financial health. “People borrow from payday sharks because their knowledge of other sources of credit that may be available to them is severely limited. Above all, such desperate financing needs often arise in the first place because people do not know how to budget for expenses and save for a rainy day, however small their savings may turn out to be,” said Ajeya. “My view is that financial literacy should be part of the core academic curriculum right from middle school. Armed with practical knowledge of finance, children, when they become adults, can then navigate the treacherous waters of the real world infinitely better.”
Ajeya has found a way to address what he sees as a crisis of financial illiteracy among young people. In high school, he began teaching a financial literacy course for teens at his tennis club in Harlem, N.Y. He later brought his idea to spread financial knowledge to the Strage Social Entrepreneurship Competition at his high school, taking home first prize and $1,000 to develop his Personal Finance Program for Teens. He is also developing a personal finance curriculum for middle and high school students that he hopes to teach and later train others to carry forward.
Taboo Topic
Ajeya’s initiative is but one example of how people are promoting financial literacy and helping teenagers learn to make smart decisions about their money. Students at Dunwoody High School near Atlanta, Georgia, recently met Gooding, the frontman for a rock band of the same name who is spreading the message of money management through music. Gooding never talked or learned about money as a teen and later paid the price when he made poor financial decisions that damaged his credit. “So many people get in trouble with money and it puts them in such a bad spot,” Gooding says. “This is the common denominator for so many other problems.”
In the summer of 2020, rapper and producer 21 Savage announced that he was starting a new online financial literacy initiative called “Bank Account at Home” for youth staying home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, 21 Savage said, “I feel like it’s important more than ever to give our next generation the tools to succeed in life.”
Whether it comes from a rocker, a rapper or a kid from the Bronx, financial literacy is a hot topic not only in the U.S., but also around the world. Advocates like Gooding, 21 Savage, Ajeya and your personal-finance educators are focused on teaching skills, and they are also trying to elevate the conversation about a topic that many people choose not to discuss around the dinner table – money, and all the ways it can help and hurt us depending on how well we manage it.
“Each of us needs to understand the workings of money, as well as how to earn, save, invest and spend it wisely,” says Ajeya, who hopes his Personal Finance for Teens program will include financial planning and investing games that simulate real-world finance, and an online forum for students to discuss money issues. “Economic well-being underpins our ability to lead a dignified life,” he adds. “There is an acute need for financial literacy.” #LetsTalkMoney
Conversation Starters
What is financial literacy and why does Ajeya S. feel so strongly about the connection between financial literacy and payday loans?
Gooding says, “So many people get in trouble with money and it puts them in such a bad spot. This is the common denominator for so many other problems.” What types of problems do you think he’s alluding to? How can financial woes have a snowball effect?
One of the big issues surrounding personal finance is that we don’t talk enough about it, with each other and at home. How will you do your part to elevate the conversation about money? Share your personal connections with payday loans, money management or financial literacy programs in the comments section of this article.
I feel a connection just as Shiva does towards this. Growing up with a single parent, I understand the financial struggles. Luckily we have never been put into too bad of a situation where we needed to get a payday loan. I can understand why people would need a loan to pay for their living & food expenses. Living near a poor area I see the struggles almost on a daily basis. The side hustles, trading food stamps for cash, all of it can be seen all over town because the entire town is in such a bad situation.
Good morning, Bryce. Thank you for your thoughtful response to the article. Your perspective is really valuable. I’m curious to know how you would get people in your community talking and learning more about how to manage finances. Do you feel that it starts with educating students like you who can then be better prepared to manage what they earn and avoid pitfalls like payday loans? Would you share that message with your family? Day-to-day financial stress can be exhausting. How do we introduce financial literacy into the picture?
Hi Bryce, thank you so much for your comments! They truly resonate with me. While some of us are lucky not having to go to loan sharks and the like, I think, and you would agree, that we have to do our bit to keep our communities safe, do things they should and avoid things they shouldn’t. In fact, the persuasion for me to start thinking about financial literacy came when I walked past storefronts which were pawnshops, check cashing outlets and “too good to be true” lenders. I was intrigued. I dug into it and what I found was appalling. There are many such areas in our society which require reform and it’s my humble belief that durable reform has to grow grounds up. In that context, you and I have a large responsibility to fulfill for decades to come.
Kind regards.
Shiva has a point regarding loans and financial literacy. Personally, my parents have only had to take out loans during emergencies, and they were able to pay them off. This is a society where most people can’t really afford minimal living expenses. This is more evident is more lower class areas, where many people rely on loans and public assistance to support themselves. This article gave me some insight on how loans affect the daily lives of people, and how financial literacy protects us.
Larz, you’re so right in saying that some sections of our society are finding it difficult to get by without loans. This is where you and I can help, notably in educating people about personal finance and budgeting for expenses. Yes, some expenses are a given. But, the ones that are variable can be analyzed to arrive at informed decisions. Although not perfect, it is still possible to make small improvements which can add up. Income and wealth disparity is an extremely serious issue, but each of us can and should do whatever possible to make that incremental difference. Thanks for commenting!
Best wishes.
It’s ideas and initiatives like these that really excite me as a financial literacy enthusiast. I feel like a major part of spreading financial literacy is just getting the message out there – there’s still many students at the middle and high school level can’t even explain what financial literacy is in a sentence!
Speaking from my own personal experience, I’ve noticed that students really start to develop a love for financial literacy and understanding once they get exposed to a fun and interactive environment, rather than a stressful one. I’ve put my school’s Investment Club into a virtual Budget Challenge Simulator where each student gets a biweekly check, has bills to pay on time, and can choose how much money they’d like to invest in their 401k along with the type of interest rate(s) they’d like. As the simulator has been progressing, I’ve started to notice that many students in the club really feel a sense of personal responsibility – not only in managing money, but in countless different ways. They love seeing “paid” on bills, or seeing their money exponentially increase from interest payments at the bank – even though it’s fake money on a virtual simulator, it still gives kids a great sense of responsibility and excitement about solving a real problem they’re going to face (and hopefully tackle) in a couple of years from now.
Anyways, keep up the work Shiva! I’m excited to see what you’ll do to combat this. Good luck!
Thanks Aneesh, it makes us kindred spirits! You’re doing a bunch of exciting things out there at your school and I wish you well with your efforts. It is clear that you and I are committed to a similar set of goals, although our approaches may be slightly different. Yet, they are complementary. Without a doubt, our goals are worth pursuing and I am certain that we will cover a great deal of ground in the years to come.
Kind regards.
To be financially literate is to understand how money works, and how to balance your spending and earning. Financially literate individuals are better able to use their knowledge and skills to make the correct judgement about the balance of their finances.
Financial woes can be included in a sort of “domino effect”. When you are forced to take out a loan to pay off something, you work to pay off that loan. Due to this, you don’t have the money to pay for your next required purchase and/or transaction. This continues, over and over.
In the case of my parents, they have only had to take out loans for the larger purchases, such as a new home, which would have been payed off soon by the sale of the previous home, or a car which could be payed off by setting aside a determined amount per month, regardless of their thoughts while setting the money aside. In my opinion, the fundamental approach to being financially literate is consistency.
I absolutely love this article and the conversation following it! I HATE payday loan companies and completely believe they take advantage of people in desperate situations. They should not be allowed to charge the rates that they do & they should provide financial education to help people get themselves into a better position.
My husband and I are licensed financial professionals with a goal to make learning How Money Works fun and easy. We have tons of videos and free resources at MartinAndChelsea.com and we would LOVE to be a part of the things you are doing in your school to spread financial literacy!
I DEFINITELY believe Financial Education needs to be in schools! In fact, we have been teaching our 12 year old son good money habits since he was 6 years old, because it’s was not taught in his school. Now he has his very own Kids Money System that he teaches other kids good money habits. He also has videos and other resources as well at Kids4Wealth.com
Keep up the great work, we are cheering you on!
This article helped me understand loans and how they can affect my financial life. I have not heard of most of these terms before. But as I start planning my life out after high school, I need to start learning this stuff. Because I know that I will already be in student loan debt. So I wouldn’t want to be in any more debt. Cause then I would feel the stress of paying off debt for a while.
I most definitely believe that all states should have a required personal finance class so kids don’t make big financial mistakes when they get older and end up like their parents. It’s better to start early than later. You know the saying better safe than sorry,this applies in this case. Before taking the required personal finance class, the students should take a test about all the topics that are going to be covered within the class as well as take a final test, so the teacher can track their progress from when their 1st started to when the class is over for good.
Considering how terrible the world is in terms of financial literacy, I fully support Shiva and his belief on financial literacy for I have seen many people suffer tremendously with these problems early on. One time, I found my friend going to college take on this major crisis financial illiteracy, which changed his kind attitude to one of hysteria and anger. As his friend, it was saddening to see how financial illiteracy ruined someone. Therefore, I would support Personal Finance mandatory requirements in all schools in hopes like Shiva to bring a world of financial literacy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this article and fully agree with the stance that Shiva is taking here. I believe that the idea that a personal finance curriculum should be implemented right from middle school is a great idea and that it is an idea that would prove worth it for young Americans in the long haul. If personal finance is taught to children at a younger age and is something they are comfortable with by the time they reach high school, millions of Americans would be more knowledgeable about money and would result in less debt in America.
Shiva’s initiative towards creating awareness about the dreadful
repercussions of paydays is intriguing! Many companies provide loans at high interest rates and invariably people aren’t able to pay back. I’m from India and this practice is very common in the rural areas. In small villages where most of the people do not even have the privilege of acquiring basic education and health care, moneylenders often provide loan at high interest rates to the poor, the debtors are not able to pay back and ultimately when they see no option , they commit suicide. This is devastating and happens a lot in my country. What Shiva is trying to do is commendable! The programs to educate teenagers are kind of amazing! I wish him all the best and I hope more and more people learn about financial literacy and make wise financial decisions!