Since 2024, 39 states in the United States require high school students to complete a personal finance course to graduate. Among them, four recently implemented this requirement, aiming to prepare young people to better manage their finances in the future.
These courses cover essential topics such as spending control, saving, and investing. Additionally, they use economic thinking as a basis to explain everyday financial decisions, aiming to increase students’ ability to manage limited resources.
A widely used method is the PACED model, which organizes the decision-making process into five steps: identify the problem, list alternatives, define criteria, evaluate options, and make the decision. This way, students learn to clearly analyze the impacts of financial choices.
For example, an educational video illustrating the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) system, very popular among young consumers, shows how purchases can be divided into up to four installments, usually with biweekly deadlines. Although BNPL avoids interest charges if the installments are paid on time, companies monetize the service through other fees.
The PACED model is also applied in personal situations, such as the case of a college student named Sarah. She used the five steps to choose a pet that would fit her apartment’s conditions. Her criteria included size, noise level, cost, and ease of adaptation, which led her to choose a cat.
In financial practice, students use PACED for decisions like paying the credit card balance in full or in installments. Although paying in full avoids high interest rates, it requires strict financial control. On the other hand, installment payments offer greater immediate flexibility but increase the total cost due to interest charged.
Besides classes, Federal Reserve Education provides materials to deepen the understanding of the PACED model and other financial tools. Finally, the expansion of these initiatives indicates a growing movement to make personal finance knowledge part of the school routine across the country.
