Taking one personal finance class in high school has a lifetime benefit of roughly $100,000

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According to a recent report by consulting firm Tyton Partners and the nonprofit Next Gen Personal Finance, students who complete just one semester of personal finance in high school gain an estimated lifetime benefit of around $100,000.A significant portion of that value comes from understanding how to avoid high-interest credit card debt and how to use stronger credit scores to access better borrowing terms for major expenses like auto loans, mortgages, and insurance, said Tim Ranzetta, co-founder and CEO of Next Gen.But the benefits go beyond individual savings, he added.“Students bring these lessons home,” Ranzetta said. “When you multiply that $100,000 savings across households and communities, it becomes a powerful economic force.”Kerri Herrild, a personal finance teacher at De Pere High School in Wisconsin for 18 years, spoke to that ripple effect. “I get to show students the value of having a savings and checking account, and then they can pass that on to their parents,” she said. “Getting this basic knowledge — that’s powerful.”The push for personal finance education in schools is growing. As of 2024, half of all U.S. states either require or are in the process of requiring high school students to take a personal finance course to graduate, according to data from Next Gen. Additionally, 15 states are currently reviewing 35 bills related to financial education.“The research is overwhelming,” Ranzetta said, citing numerous studies that link financial literacy to improved financial health.For example, a study by Christiana Stoddard and Carly Urban for the National Endowment for Financial Education found that students who receive personal finance instruction early on are more likely to use lower-cost loans and grants to pay for college and less likely to depend on private loans or high-interest credit cards.