Young people thirsty for personal finance know-how

Gen Z is veering into the world of student loans, first apartments and financial burdens — and they're hungry for help in figuring it all out. Three out of four recent high school graduates said they wish a class on personal finance had been a mandatory part of their education, according to a study released this month by Experian. Young people were mostly keen to learn how to save money, manage expenses and file taxes, the consumer-credit reporting company found in a survey of 18- and 19-year-olds. Financial literacy skills have declined for all Americans in the past decade, most noticeably for those ages 18 to 34, according to a recent Finra study. This is especially worrying as young people pile on debt to pay for college and living expenses. [Recommended video: Genius Series: Sheryl Garrett points to just-in-time education as the key to financial literacy] Young people would benefit from both a structured learning environment and technology-based tools explaining the basics of school loans, credit cards, car buying, taxes and renting an apartment, according to Rod Griffin, director of public education for Experian. "It can take years to recover if you learn by making mistakes," Mr. Griffin said in a phone interview. Some areas already have educational standards in place. Nineteen states require students to take classes in personal finance before they graduate high school, up from 17 last year, a study by the Council for Economic Education found. The benefits of an early financial education extend over a lifetime. "College students who took a personal finance course in high school were more likely to save and pay off their credit cards and less likely to max out credit cards," the Financial Literacy and Education Commission said in its 2019 study. Even Hollywood has taken notice. A 10-part series from executive producer Ashton Kutcher called "Going From Broke" will focus on the financial struggles of Los Angeles-based millennials. The TV show, set to begin streaming Oct. 17 on Crackle, aims to teach young people to "become the CEO of their own lives." There's definitely a market. Some 49% of the young adults in Experian's survey said they found financial topics interesting or somewhat interesting, while 11% said they loved learning about them. [More: With money on their minds, Generation Z is ready to invest]​