RICHMOND, Mo. — Nearly half of today’s Gen Z adults don’t expect to retire because they don’t think they’ll be able to afford it, don’t want to, or aren’t thinking about it, according to a report.
It’s pushed experts everywhere to help this generation better understand the impacts of financial decisions they make at a young age.
According to the Council for Economic Education’s survey of the states, 35 states require a personal finance class to graduate high school, including Kansas and Missouri.
The mission to make this happen in all 50 states is part of what’s prompting high school students in Richmond, Missouri, to teach personal finance habits to area elementary schools.
The high school students taught second through fourth graders financial literacy, from saving and spending to opportunity cost, on Tuesday.
KSHB 41 News staff
Sally Burnett is their instructional technology coach.
“There are a lot of families that don’t talk about financial issues,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons that we’re here today.”
KSHB 41 News staff
She started her career in finance, but switched to education after she said she saw this gap in children’s education.
“We’re in a market economy — they already know a lot of things,” Burnett said of the elementary students. “They’re making decisions as opportunity costs, they just don’t have the language for it.”
The high school students teaching the younger students are making real-life financial decisions themselves, saving for their own cars, futures, and more.
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KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.