By The Time We Learn How To Adult Is It Too Late?
Growing up I was always aware of my parents doing the basic life skills like budgeting, doing taxes, etc. . Of course, just because I was aware of all of this doesn’t mean I was absorbing it and saving it for my mid 20s. I remember learning how to count money, as well as add and subtract it in elementary school. And while math trained my brain to think logically, money is the only thing I learned in my elementary school days that I still use today when I’m paying with cash or tipping. It wasn’t until eighth grade that I was able to take a class that offered quite a lot of basic life skills as part of the curriculum.
The class was called Consumer Economics. Other than gym, it was my favorite class! We learned how to balance a checkbook, stuff and sew a pillow, sew a button on anything, and make a simple chili dish. It was a fun distraction from academics and you got to use the creative side of your brain. We even created and baked chocolate chip croissants as part of our exam. I got an A+ and my Mom still has the recipe. These skills should be taught a little more in school because they’re used for the rest of our lives. I haven’t used trigonometry since I took the class. Knowing how taxes work is a bit more important.