When I was younger my mom wasn't the best at managing her finances and it caused my parents to fight. I wasn't supposed to hear them, but I did and it scared me. From that experience I decided that I would have good finances and try my best to manage my money well. When I turned fourteen I tried to get a job, and eventually got myself a summer job that I worked for 2 summers. I was able to get money to build up and save in my bank account. As a fourteen year old I did spend some of my money on sweet little treats for myself, whether it be ice cream or books. At my school we've had classes that continually beat the dead horse and tell us that credit cards are inherently evil. This is obviously a false statement as credit cards are only bad if you don't understand them, and as I've learned most people don't. I have taught myself a lot about finances by reading books at the local library, and I've been fortunate to learn about credit scores and how credit cards can be beneficial on my own time. A new class in my high school is Personal Finance, this class is required as of this year. I believe this class to be very beneficial to the general student population, our teacher is very knowledgeable in this field, and explains everything extremely well. Being in her class I've been able to practice my knowledge of finance with her constant homework, her long tests, and her quick lectures. I've taken everything I've learned about finances to heart, because I never want to be in a situation where I do not know what I'm doing with my money. Feeling incompetent when it comes to money causes me some anxiety and worry about my future, so being able to learn about this area to stop that worry for my future as soon as possible and before it starts brings me ease. I do believe that even if a class is hard, learning about something that can help you in the future is extremely important. Knowing how my taxes work and how to properly divide my net paycheck into a budgeting system that works for me and sustains my lifestyle is important because without knowing those basics one cannot work to do better with the more complicated financial decisions they will eventually have to deal with. Without a strong foundation, there is no house.