According to Forbes, 78% of Americans reported living paycheck-to-paycheck in 2024. The average American has over $6,000 in credit card debt. Despite this, the United States is 9th in the world in GDP per capita, and the only country in the top ten with a population exceeding 10 million. So, how is it possible that a country seemingly so successful on the global economic stage is so inept when it comes to household finances?
The answer, in short, is a total lack of education in regard to personal finance. Bare bones financial concepts, like high yield savings accounts (HYSAs) and index funds, have been completely ignored or otherwise are unknown to the vast majority of Americans. A HYSA helps to offset inflation via a 3-5% interest rate at no risk to the user, while index funds, like the S&P 500, have historically returned around 7% after accounting for inflation. CNBC reported that 82% of Americans do not have a HYSA. For context, the median cash balance American families have across different accounts, according to the article, is $8,000. With the 4.2% annual interest provided by, for example, my Ally Savings Account when I first signed up, each and every person could earn $336 in interest annually for doing absolutely nothing.
While Americans don’t understand these concepts of which the basics could be taught in a five-minute YouTube video, many people are far quicker to jump on get rich quick trends. Day trading exploded during the Covid-19 pandemic, and while the top tier traders are making real cash, it’s estimated that 97% of traders lose money. That’s a dismal success rate.
The United State has not made enough of an investment to keep the snowball of personal debt from continuing to grow. Steps have been made to improve the situation, no doubt, but the modifications are not enough. As of September 2025, only 29 states require a standalone personal finance course to graduate high school, while 7 more require some form of financial literacy course to graduate. Albeit, that’s a stark contrast compared to 2020, as 15 states have since implemented some form of financial literacy requirement. As of now, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Illinois stick out as highly populated states that do not require any form of financial literacy course for high school graduation. The 14 states that require no form of financial literacy education in high school account for nearly 75 million people.
The United States is doing their citizens a massive disservice by not requiring a financial literacy course prior to graduation. With household and student debt continuing to rise, and now hitting all-time highs, citizens are done no favors by taking an additional English or geometry class to fill their schedule when personal finance, a skill that every American uses to some degree every day, is not a national requirement.
Furthermore, the class should have some degree of rigor. While my high school did require a personal finance class, as all of Connecticut now does, it was one of the easier classes. While it being an easier class in itself isn’t necessarily a problem, it no doubt led to it not being taken seriously and thus diminishing the meaning of the content. Requiring students to understand what a HYSA and index fund is, how a credit score is calculated, and downloading and using a budgeting app for the semester as a grade would all be more than reasonable for a high school personal finance course.
Until both the government and individuals get serious about solving the debt crisis in the United States, it will continue to spiral. While not a foolproof solution, requiring a personal finance course across all 50 states would be a massive step in the right direction towards fighting the debt crisis.