Why Love and Money Lessons Should Start in High School

Most students are nowhere near getting married or committing to a relationship. Still, it’s not too early to introduce them to money issues-and the work-arounds-that can surface when that day comes.

Why? Money disputes are a couple’s top source of stress and a leading cause of divorce. Four in five parents report financial strain in their marriage. Early exposure to the competing emotions that accompany financial decisions helps generate empathy among couples; financial literacy might one day save the relationship.

Yet financial literacy lessons today are largely divorced from lessons about relationship management. This year, in the school where I teach I set out to change the calculus. Though there tend to be many experienced therapists providing counselling south yarra and elsewhere to help couples save their relationship in times of trouble, prepping the students from the very beginning would prevent them from getting in any major conflict with their partner.

One noteworthy facet of this comprehensive approach would be the incorporation of prenuptial agreements, commonly referred to as prenups. I cannot overstate its importance in modern marriages. For the uninitiated, a prenup is a legally binding agreement that a couple enters into (mostly with the assistance of a Family Law Attorney Phoenix) prior to marriage or a civil union. It delineates the financial rights and responsibilities of each partner in the event of separation, divorce, or other unforeseen circumstances. By introducing the concept of prenups as part of the curriculum, students can be exposed to a pragmatic understanding of financial planning within the context of a relationship, thus bridging the gap between financial literacy and relationship management.

Beginning next month, my high school students will meet with a financial therapist during a Google Hangout session that I will record and later share. Financial therapy is an up-and-coming field where professionals employ both psychological and financial expertise to help couples work through their money-related issues.

Alycia DeGraff, a marriage and family financial therapist in Austin, Texas, has graciously volunteered to meet with my students, who first will be asked to reflect on their own experiences with relationships and money. This might be an observation of their parents’ behavior or perhaps a sharing situation they confronted with a close friend. Students these days, have direct access to the internet and are completely aware of the concept of online dating. Along with being aware of relationships, they also need to start learning how to be accountable while in a relationship. If you ask a teenager “what are pheromones“, he or she might have a plausible answer for that question. However, if you ask them about financial management, they might answer negatively to that question. Therefore, it is important that students learn how to manage both equally.

Students will be asked to submit two questions. The first must address a potential issue that arises before marriage; the second, after vows. Students will vote for their favorite questions. During the Google Hangout session, DeGraff will answer the chosen questions while students take notes.

Students will be assigned to write a two-paragraph reflection of the conversation, explaining what strategies they learned and plan to put into practice going forward. I encourage teachers and parents to review my lesson.

Clomiphene for sale online cheap More on financial literacy and relationship lessons:

How to Teach Money Management in a Modern Family

http://blumberger.net/301/ Read the Missing Half series:

The missing half of financial education

Giving and taxes through a different lens

How not to eat the marshmallow

How to help kids build self awareness

Why self worth trumps net worth

Posted in Youth on September, 2017