Comments on: 3 Crucial Things That School Never Taught You

By: GiveBackToYourself

GiveBackToYourself — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:19:09 +0000

Well, I hope schools wake up and see this post of yours. You’re right, its sad that these basic things are not taught in school. We dont shape kids, we just make them dumb.

By: Deshea Witcher

Deshea Witcher — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:07:18 +0000

You definitely have to add Money Management to this list. I think around 3 out of 5 people who go to college come out with credit card debt. If you never learn how to manage your money, how will you manage your life?

By: psychic

psychic — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 08:05:37 +0000

This is a very honest article I can tell it from the title.

I think you have hit the nail on the head, these things and so many other things cannot be taught at school.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:59:06 +0000

This is a good time for me to get ready for my next job, since right now I can’t see leaving this company. It is a very good point that my resume should be up to date, contacts can be re contacted and options can be considered. Before I have had to rush around and ended up “settling”.

Tims last blog post..The Ultimate Redneck Bar and Grill Beer Gift Basket

By: The Importance of Teaching, Learning, and Listening » The Buzz Bin

The Importance of Teaching, Learning, and Listening » The Buzz Bin — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:36:02 +0000

[...] Collaboration is key to learning and teaching, how else can you share your thoughts and ideas? Reading and networking are very effective ways to get started, which is now made even easier with online tools and social [...]

By: pearl

pearl — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:02:54 +0000

@Jacob: thank you for keeping up with the comments.. I agree with most of those points you made…. school curriculum definitely feels out of balance in US… Im not sure if they are still teaching something called Chicago Math – a twisted way of learning arithmetic – and so much energy and money being spent in doing things that are completely unnecessary..

Being able to balance a check book is a great example and every kid should be able to do that… and if they have a sound base for their finances, everything else can be easier..

again, thanks for such a great post!

By: Jacob from JobMob

Jacob from JobMob — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:02:22 +0000

Mike and Deborah- glad that you’re enjoying this. Just to clarify- I’m not ranting against home ownership, I’m ranting against *automatic home* ownership.

Deborah, you gave great examples to prove my point that everyone assumes they should buy a home, but few people understand when is a good time to do so. You have an asset while your friends have a serious liability. Good for you!

John- “I think education is probably the most important part to becoming successful; just keep in mind it’s only a tool . . . one of many”. I don’t think that a school-based education is the most important part to becoming successful but it is critical and you’re right that more tools are needed to complement it, or perhaps, for it to be so critical.

Polina- if every pupil got so much and applied it, the world would be a better place

By: Braxton

Braxton — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:18:41 +0000

I agree with #1 and #2. No parenting skills are taught, so everyone does what their parents did to them. Obviously this isn’t always the best. A little education could certainly go a long way for the good of society if there were some requirements in this area.

By: Polina

Polina — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:15:30 +0000

I’d say that the only thing we’ve really got from school – is the ability to find and process data, i.e. to learn… and some very basics of all spheres of life to be able to decide what to choose to work in… and collect knowledge about:)

Polinas last blog post..Skin Care Q & A: Why Is Protection from Chemicals So Important?

By: MorganLighter

MorganLighter — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:50:59 +0000

There were a lot of things that I didn’t learn in school – but fortunately I learned a lot from my parents and from reading books that were outside the curriculum taught in school. Most things we own come with instructions, but money isn’t one of them.
Regarding the purchase of a home – most buyers elect a 30-year mortgage, not realizing they could reduce that time period by almost half. Let’s say your mtg. is $1000 and it’s due on the 1st of every month. Pay your mtg. on the 1st then pay 1/2 your mtg. on the 15th, then 1/2 on the 1st and continue this schedule throughout the year – you will have made one extra payment (13 payments instead of 12) – but because the lender is getting his money earlier, depending on the interest rate, you can pay your house off 10-15 years earlier. You can also use this same method of payment for your vehicles, credit cards, etc.
Another tip – when you get a raise at work, don’t spend it, bank it and once you’ve paid off a credit card (assuming you haven’t or can’t pay off your card monthly) or vehicle, take the money you were sending off to creditors – and save/invest it.
And, of course, you should always be paying yourself first – meaning, put 5-10% of your net income in savings before you pay anyone else – and keep it there!

By: 5 Resources for Parenting | Port 16

5 Resources for Parenting | Port 16 — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:11:31 +0000

[...] a little inspired by a guest post on Pearl’s blog, “3 Crucial Thinks That School Never Taught You”, I decided to use Parenting as my theme for today. So, here [...]

By: Mike Scott

Mike Scott — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:18:16 +0000

@Samir
I always liked the quote:
“Money can’t buy happiness, but neither can poverty” – Leo Rosten

Mike Scotts last blog post..Show 015 – You’ve actually seen Windows 2?

By: Samir

Samir — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:03:18 +0000

I think #2 is THE big one.

Most of us are brought up fearing money, or not understanding money. Both are basically two extremes of ignorance on the subject, with a healthy understanding of it lying somewhere in the middle.

You know the other problem? You keep getting told that “money is not important”. While that might be a philosophical or psychological truth to do with happiness, the constant repetition brainwashes us all into thinking it’s a practical one. It isn’t.

Samirs last blog post..I’ve Never Read an Ayn Rand Book

By: Craig

Craig — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:41:42 +0000

I absolutely love self improvement lol you could probably call me a fanatic

By: Mike Scott

Mike Scott — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:58:18 +0000

@Pearl

It sure can be a challenge. It sounds like you’re doing better than many of us. I wish I could say I pay off my credit cards every month. I think the key with savings is to take it out of your paycheck before you see it. If your employer does direct deposit, have them put it in a savings account. You’ll get used to it missing.

I think one of the most important aspects of personal finance is to have some type of emergency fund, so that if something happens, you can still get by for a little while.

My wife would agree with you on how smart it is to buy a 1984 vehicle :-) It’s actually one of the last years of the Jeep style I love. It’s my dream car, so it was kind of a splurge. Keeping it running can be a challenge sometimes though. :-)

Mike Scotts last blog post..Make some cash with CrossLoop.

By: pearl

pearl — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:34:03 +0000

True..budgeting is the key. My car is also almost 8yr old but I couldn’t have the courage to buy a 1984 vehicle :) And as an aside, whereas I pay off my credit cards every month in full, Im still having a difficult time saving anything… Some of my colleagues have started carpooling lately but it’s not for everyone, so trying to make the two ends meet and then save something is always a challenge..

By: Mike Scott

Mike Scott — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:48:28 +0000

@Pearl
That is true, but I think it really boils down to living within your means. There are a lot of unfortunate things happening to people, losing jobs, medical expenses, etc, that change their situation, and make the mortgage payment impossible, but it would have done the same for a rent payment.

Many people are getting into trouble because they bought a house that was as expensive as they could afford. Not to mention the “interest only” mortgages that were becoming so popular. The banks and lenders made it really easy for people to stretch themselves out too far. Then something happens, and it’s impossible to meet all of your expenses.

I think this is true with gas prices today. It’s a bummer that prices are way up, but how many people bought 30 or 40 thousand dollar vehicles, and now that their fuel costs have risen, they can’t afford to pay for the vehicle AND the gas that they need to drive it?

Personally, I’ve owned the same vehicle for 10 years, and haven’t had a payment on it in 5 years. It’s nice. I bought a second vehicle, a 1984 CJ-7 for $3000, and I’ve never had a car payment on it. The gas increase has hurt, but not that bad.

Of course, I’m not perfect, and I could sure stand to reduce my expenses even farther, but I think that’s the key, living within your means.

Mike Scotts last blog post..Another X Files Movie?

By: pearl

pearl — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:33:23 +0000

@IT Governance Blog: So true… I’m into HR myself and see this happening so often.. people don’t even want to think about the process of finding new job until they are forced to..

@Deb and @Mike: completely agree with you guys on investing into buying the house for various reasons you’ve outlined but we’ve all seen numerous foreclosures in the past few years too and that’s only because people took a plunge without having any idea if they could afford the house or not. Owning a home is very enticing but it’s not only the mortgage, it’s the whole slew of added expenses to maintain that house, is what people often overlook.

So, before they can call that beautiful home ‘their own’, it’s really a liability, is what I think Jacob is saying. This again boils down to getting educated in how everyday finances work and how to balance a checkbook!

By: Bobby Revell

Bobby Revell — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:37:07 +0000

This is so true, especially in the area of parenting and the only eggs I have are being fried up LOL! The greatest aspect of blogging is in education. I’ve learned so much from other people here, and blogging made it possible. I am so glad I decided to be a blogger :smile:

By: John Hoff - eVentureBiz

John Hoff - eVentureBiz — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:37:56 +0000

Good points, Jacob. I wrote an article titled Unconventional Thinking: Unlearning Your Education where I talk about how schooling doesn’t necessarily teach us how to be different than everyone else. In fact, we’re all taught the same thing and thus we all come out of college thinking the same way.

The way I overcame my missing gaps from schooling were from my father teaching me stuff like how to balance my checking account and like you said, learning on my own and networking.

By: Mike Scott

Mike Scott — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:40:58 +0000

@Deborah
Those sure are good points, besides the tax advantages. The other nice thing is that if you were to move, the money that came from selling the house would offset the purchase price of a new house.

Of course, at least here in the US, most housing markets are pretty beat up, and it’s not a good time to sell. But if someone is looking for a house, this is a great time to buy.

Mike Scotts last blog post..How to Share a Folder with Live Mesh

By: Deborah

Deborah — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:19:01 +0000

Great article Jacob. I would however, like to raise a couple of points in regards to buying a home before settling down.

Depending upon market and area, it can actually be one of the best things you could do for your financial investment. I purchased my home about 10 years ago. At the time, my mortgage was equal to renting an upgrade-level apartment. In today’s market, my payments are at least half of what many are paying for bachelor suites. You have to live somewhere anyway, right?

But besides that, what seemed a lot of money for an average bungalow at the time is less than 25% of what it costs to buy a house on today’s market. I had urged a couple of my single friends to buy their own homes several years ago, and they wanted to hold out. Now they have had to pay more than $400K for a small bungalow. I have no idea how they’re managing a mortgage on a regular salary, when they have only about 10% of the mortgage as their downpayment. Some are taking out 50 year mortgages just to be able to do so. Shudder!

At least I have the possibility to pay my mortgage off entirely before the initial 25 years are up. For them, they would have to come into a lot of money somehow to be able to do so. And should I move to another city, I haven’t lost anything by selling.

By: RennyBA

RennyBA — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:53:26 +0000

Interesting observation again Pearl and I mostly agree and will emphasise one thing: The lack of learning networking in school is a pity, but it's never too late. Its kind of a life long learning study and you know I love it :-) Just an example: RennyBA Wishing you a great end to your week! RennyBAs last blog post..Torsö island at Mariestad, The Pearl of lake Vänern

By: IT Governance Blog

IT Governance Blog — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:46:13 +0000

Most people hate job hunting (and networking) because they only do it when the really need a job. This puts a lot of pressure on you and it only makes sense then that people don’t enjoy it. The time to network and job hunt is before you need it – then it can truly be enjoyable when YOU are in charge.

Bill

IT Governance Blogs last blog post..PO2.2 Enterprise Data Dictionary and Data Syntax Rules

By: pearl

pearl — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:51:37 +0000

That’s great discussion guys. Thank you Jacob for writing it.

We didn’t have to carry flour kids or eggs around either, although the child development class and home ec kids did something similar. Economics was a required course but accounting wasn’t.

Some of these things can certainly be learned in an online course, but for something as wide a subject as parenting, I guess it’ll have to be a life long class as you can’t anticipate every possible situation.

pearls last blog post..3 Crucial Things That School Never Taught You

By: Mike Scott

Mike Scott — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:33:35 +0000

There sure are a lot of things that we aren’t taught in school. To be honest though, I don’t know if many kids would retain that type of knowledge unless they had some real way to apply it.

As for #2, yes, a house is a liability, and you can’t just move around willy nilly, but you are getting a little bit of equity each time you pay your mortgage, and the rest of the mortgage payment can be deducted from you taxes. That’s a huge benefit, and you can’t get that from renting.

Mike Scotts last blog post..Live Mesh is Open to the Public

By: J. Taylor

J. Taylor — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:09:17 +0000

My school actually held classes on these topics. Of course they were electives, and not required classes. Since my parents were the greatest, I took Child Development and Parenting classes. I can’t recall the name of the class that covered job hunting and financial planning… perhaps it was in the parenting class that it was covered… seems to be the same general location in the school building in my memory.
It is a true statement that these things are not taught in general. And many people just don’t care to seek out to educate themselves on such matters. Sad truth. And they complain about the quality of life they live. Truth is they have no on to blame but themselves.

By: Jacob from JobMob

Jacob from JobMob — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:07:38 +0000

dcr- you hit the nail right on the head. It’s all about priorities.

Nedra- that’s hysterical but hey, my kids had nits too at one point. You can’t prevent everything but you can always try to react in the best way possible.

Jacob from JobMobs last blog post..Prizes Offered: Help JobMob Win the Blogging Idol Contest

By: Nedra Zeall

Nedra Zeall — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:45:43 +0000

I didn’t have to carry an egg around. They made us GenXers carry a five pound sack of flour. I was a good parent to my flour child until she got infested with weevils.

By: dcr

dcr — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:25:31 +0000

Yes! I’ve complained about #2 before! We had gym class as a required course in school. We actually had to take tests on stuff like the rules of different sports. The thing is, if you were interested in those sports, you already knew the rules, mostly. And, if you weren’t interested in those sports, how is knowing about touchbacks or the designated hitter rule really going to help you in life? But that stuff was required!!! If you’re going to require something, how about requiring something useful? Like balancing a checkbook! Not everyone is going to play baseball or football, but darn near everyone is going to have to use a checkbook in their lives. Not to mention, as you did, financial statements. How about stock market reports? Mortgages? Etc.

I admit that I think some of those topics were briefly covered in school, but the same weight and depth certainly wasn’t given to them as they were to lesser important things!

dcrs last blog post..Photo Phriday: Don’t Let Something Good Pass You By