Financial literacy for students: what to learn in high school, college and your first job

High school: your first money decisions

A first job, a first bank account and a first phone plan are the real curriculum. A growing number of states now require a personal finance course before graduation, but the habits form at home and at work.

• Read your first paycheck: gross pay, taxes withheld and what actually lands in your account.
• Open a checking and savings account, and learn how overdraft fees work before you meet one.
• Separate needs from wants, and try saving a fixed share of every paycheck.
• Learn the common scams aimed at teens: fake job offers, payment-app requests and 'too good to be true' resale deals.

College: borrowing, budgeting and building credit

College is often the first time you manage irregular money — aid disbursements, part-time wages and family help — while making decisions that last a decade.

• File the FAFSA every year you are enrolled, and compare aid offers by net price, not sticker price.
• Borrow only what you need for school costs; federal loans generally carry protections private loans do not.
• Build credit slowly: one card, small charges, paid in full every month.
• Budget by semester as well as by month, so a large textbook or housing bill is not a surprise.

Your first job: the 90 days that set the pattern

The first full-time paycheck is the best moment to set automatic habits, before your spending rises to match your income.

• Fill in your W-4 carefully so withholding matches what you will owe.
• Enrol in benefits: health insurance, and at least enough retirement saving to collect any employer match.
• Build a starter emergency fund, then aim for three to six months of essential expenses.
• Make a plan for student loan repayment before the first bill arrives.

For parents and teachers

Students learn money by handling it. Short, real decisions teach more than long lectures.

• Talk openly about everyday trade-offs — groceries, phone plans, a used versus new car.
• Let students manage a small budget and make low-cost mistakes while the stakes are small.
• Use free lessons with quizzes so progress is visible, and celebrate completion rather than money amounts.

Free places to start

Everything a student needs on Let Money Grow™ is free. The Teens & Students hub routes teenagers to Teen Money and college students to College Money and First Job, each with short lessons, quizzes and a printable certificate of completion through LMG Academy.