Put it on the card

1. Financial Literacy, Beyond the Classroom
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/business/financial-literacy-beyond-the-classroom.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=education
2. Category: Business
3. Level: National
4. Content: The issue of the lack of financial literacy in the US, and ideas on how to improve it.
5. Importance: High levels of debt are a major issue in most developed countries, and most of us students will face it as well.
6. The article starts off with three simple financial based questions, and then goes on to say that in nation-wide surveys, only a third of people could answer all three questions correctly. Clearly we have a big problem with people getting into too much debt in this country, and the article discusses the reasons for that. It mentions that offering classes in high school to educate students at a young age have been ineffective, and suggests that the problems lie in a lack of simplicity, counseling, and real time education. I would agree with that to a certain extent. I think all of those things would help alleviate the issue, but I don't think that is necessarily the cause. Since I was 18 years old, I have gotten credit card offers left and right. I still continue to get them all the time. Luckily I have been smart enough not to accept any of those offers and currently have one credit card that I use just in case of emergencies, that barely has anything on it. In reality, I have a lot of student loans stacking up, and I am in no financial condition to be offered a bunch of credit cards. For what possible reason would any college student need to have access to multiple lines of credit? We have tuition, rent/utilities, books, groceries, and probably a car payment to pay for. Most of that should be covered by a part time job, financial aid, and student loans. By no means will any of us be living the fancy lifestyle we wish we could, but that's just part of being a student. Yet you can go into many student's apartments and find a 60+ inch flat screen with surround sound, playstation, xbox, a fridge full of beer and to-go food, and more liquor bottles than most liquor stores. Sure educating people in different ways could help people in their financial lives, but the biggest problem is allowing for the temptation for kids to be way too stupid at a young age. Credit cards simply need to be more difficult to acquire.