15 Things About Money People Really Wish They Had Learned In School (2024)

Raise your hand if you wish personal finance had been taught as part of your school's curriculum.

Sure, we learned some interesting things — like trigonometry and stuff — but now that we're older and dealing with bills, taxes, bank accounts, and investing, we can't help but feel like this stuff would've been REALLY good to know sooner.

So we recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share money lessons they wish they had learned in school. The honest answer: YES. Here's what they had to say:

1. "I wish I had learned how to budget better and set aside savings in case of emergencies...that knowledge would have been priceless!"

2. "How to make yourself a budget to learn whether or not you're living beyond your means. I'm in my 30s, and I still struggle a lot with this."

"I literally learned from an early episode of Friends that I should be putting away 10% of my paycheck into savings each week. But hey, if you need me to do intermediate algebra, I'm ya girl."

—KateTheGreat77

3. "How to make a successful budget and the importance of sticking to it."

"Also, the psychological difference between paying with cash, check, and card and how it influences buying decisions."

—mustangcowgirl

4. "Student loans are the most dangerous, predatory debt you can have, and they should be avoided at all costs. No, they are NOT positive debt."

5. "Have a successful side hustle."

—sandrab4fbdf3282

6. "I wish I had learned that money doesn't let you make friends."

"My parents were rich and I hosted a party at my house every Saturday. Nearly the whole school came, and it seemed like I had a lot of friends. Then, something in my family happened, and I stopped hosting those parties. When I got back to school, no one talked to me. It was heartbreaking, but it made me learn this lesson, and I knew who my true friends were. I feel really stupid."

—friendsrachel

7. "Literally anything at all, because we didn’t learn anything about money in school. I would certainly like to know how to do my taxes and what tf all of the different tax forms mean."

8. "I want to know everything I need to set up financially once I (and other college kids like me) get my first full-time job."

"How do I set up a 401(k) or transfer it between jobs? Should I consider debt consolidation for my student loans? I'm only vaguely aware of what these things are and understand even less about how to get started."

—sarahashstarr

9. "How to spend smartly, and how to not be stupid with a credit card."

—notarealemailfornow

10. "CREDIT: how to start it, who decides what score you get, what it affects, who can see it, and how it’s related to a mortgage. Also what’s a mortgage?"

11. "Just knowing all the right words to use and what they mean is a step in the right direction! Once I turned 18, I had to get my own bank account without a parent, and I had no idea what anything in the paperwork meant."

"Bank lingo is like some secret code, and it's scary to ask what everything means over and over."

—loohoo222

12. "I work in car insurance, and many people don’t realize they need to budget for mandatory, legal things like insurance and registration."

—megans49012f3c9

13. "It would have been really nice to have a lesson where we learned how to shop for groceries and budget for them."

14. "Health insurance and retirement investments."

—kimb4b30945f9

15. And, "HOW TO USE EXCEL. Like, okay, I get that kids know how to fill in the cells and stuff, but it's the most useful accounting/finance tool, and most people have it for free!"

What's something you wish you had known about money sooner? Let us know in the comments below!

And if this sounds like music to your ears (and bank account), check out more of our personal finance posts.

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.