Thought Bubble- The Financial Frontier: a search for security

(written as my submission to the 2023 NYT editorial contest)

Hope brings in its wake, ambiguity. If everything will work out, there will be a lot to be done!

Students on the threshold of undergraduate schools, find themselves in the grip of a daunting reality- they will soon be expected to manage their own finances. Unfortunately, most students have little, or no understanding of money management and specialized technical language only serves to alienate them further. They also begin to realize that when they do start earning, they will be converting their labors into money which should provide for them all their life including after retirement. This money doesn’t seem to be their own, a reasonable doubt having been exposed to bank crises and images of people who have deposits with these banks faced with a real possibility of losing all they have saved. There is no clarity on how these will be prevented in future.

“Who owns ‘my’ money – me or the bank? If indeed it is my money, then why do I lose it if a bank shuts down. After all, if I have cash in my purse, it is mine and no one can take it away from me unless I give it to them. So how is money in the bank different?” Students feel unequipped and overwhelmed to answer this.

Their parents speak of how valuable money was in the past and how the same things today cost more today. If the value of money or what it can be exchanged for, deteriorates with time, how does one protect their hard-earned money? If they decide to keep their money in the bank, what promise do the low interest rates hold? Besides, college is expensive, and for many students, the pressure to pay for tuition, books and living expenses can be crippling. This manifests in students choosing majors or career paths based solely on their perceived ability to earn a high salary, rather than pursuing their passions and interests.

Investing elsewhere seems scary as one regularly hears about stock market crashes, crypto currencies prices dropping, financial frauds, etc. These questions plague high school students. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Early education in basic concepts of budgeting, saving, and investing can play a pivotal role in developing financial intelligence and financial etiquette. Words like ‘leverage’ and ‘asset allocation’ could be demystified as ‘borrowing’ and ‘investment’ and encourage and empower informed financial decisions.

Money management needs to be seen for what it is, an essential and universal life skill. So, to all the students out there- take the time to learn about the financial frontier, seek out resources and support and don’t be afraid to ask questions. It’s your future you’re building, shape it to endure, forever steadfast.