Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have badges involving financial literacy, including making a budget and shipping food with a budget, learning about interest, checking accounts.
In 9th grade PE, my kids had to make a mock budget—income, rent, transportation, taxes, food, etc. I think it opened many eyes on how far money had to go to live below one’s means, especially with very high rents in areas of town they would be comfortable living in.
Sitcoms like Friends, BBT, Seinfeld, Cheers did a disservice to young people in projecting a carefree lifestyle (for the most part) with few money woes and living comfortably with tons of time to hang out, nice clothes and always eating out with apparently very little time needed to be devoted to earning a living.
Everybody was working at Cheers, or had a job outside of Cheers (Cliff.). I’m not sure what Norm did. Everybody on The Big Bang theory has a job and spends time doing it. I’ve never seen Friends.
I was pretty clear back when it was on TV that nobody really had a job like Magnum PI complete with residence and the use of a spiffy car.
Financial illiteracy has deeper causes than tv shows. I agree that it should be taught in school, as well as at home.
Yes, sitcom people often have jobs but spend the bulk of their time hanging with friends, day and night. Even folks with junk jobs or between jobs have nice clothes and no apparent money woes. The consumerist society leads to unrealistic expectations about what you can afford with minimum wage job and how much free time you will have.
I agree financial illiteracy has much deeper causes than TV but TV and media does make people want more, nicer, better now rather than deferred gratification
My daughter is applying to grad school, as is her boyfriend. They are trying to land in the same city and want to live together without needing other roommates. They spent a fair amount of time last summer (over Skype at their respective internships) working on what budgeting their combined stipends might look like. They were kind of shocked to learn how much of their after tax income would go toward their living expenses and how little disposable income they would have left on grad student incomes. I think it was a really good thing to work through and be prepared for.
BBT? Nope that should not be on the list. The characters are all regularly shown at work. One of the funniest sequences involved an “ action” montage where they were solving a math problem. They are often shown in their labs and offices. Much of the action takes place at the university. . . Half the guys hanging out takes place at the lunch table at Cal Tech. When Penny was working as a waitress much of the action took place at the “ Cheesecake Factory” and her money woes were regularly discussed. When her last acting jobs dried up ( a commercial and a low budget movie provided a little extra income .she went to work making good money as a pharmacy rep…based on an in from Bernadette ( who is supposed to make the most money ) and, like many reps I know based on her good looks.
Until then she stole cable from the guys and sometimes borrowed money from Sheldon. Bernadette was working her way through school at the restaurant before graduated she got the job. Sheldon and Leonard though definitely employed as Assistant professors and researchers lived together in one apartment. Howard lived with his mom. And Raj was supposed to have been supported in part by wealthy parents til they cut him off forcing him to cut back his spending . He’s still a working astrophysicist so it’s not like he has nothing.
Yes they hang out and order in dinner at night . That seems pretty realistic.
People not living below their means in order to save for the future is much older than television sitcoms. The existence of Social Security and defined benefit pensions suggests that it was a situation recognized generations ago.
Of course, those managing defined benefit pensions sometimes fail to fund them enough. And government programs have budget issues because voters and politicians like to cut taxes and increase spending. I.e. a reflection of personal finance habits on how collective finance is managed.
I think Friends might be the best example but even that is tenuous at best. The only person that did not work in the beginning was Rachel and they detailed how hard it became when her parents cut her off and she had to get a real job, one that was far below her social status and she eventually worked her way up to a successful position in fashion. Chandler was an accountant (or similar) in a high rise. Ross was, by the end, an adjunct instructor at NYU. Joey was a working actor and Monica was a chef. Phoebe things were a bit vague for most of the show but that was the dynamic of the story, she was the weird quirky friend no one had a solid handle on but they did detail her financial struggles of the past and often helped each other out when times were lean on the job front.
Every show typically has gainfully employed characters it is just not that entertaining to spend a good portion of the program centered around work. It works in some cases like Cheers or The Office but those are the exception rather than the rule. Plus it is TV we are supposed to suspend believe a little bit. Do people really think that the fire fighters on Chicago Fire can really afford some of the homes, apartments and lofts they live in given the cost of living in Chicago? It is fiction we are watching.
Just saw an early episode of friends today that completely focused on jobs and finances. It talked about the struggles the waitress (Rachel), the struggling actor (Joey) and the quirky one (Phoebe) were having. The other three were employed and continually wanted to do extravagant things and always wanted to split the bills evenly. Eventually the struggling three said something and it caused issues and the struggling three did not want “charity” from the employed ones. In the end Monica loses her job and finally understands.