re: Do you know personally know someone that has absolutely no understanding of money?

Part of this epic problem is that the U.S. Education system is absolutely awful. I'm all for a classic liberal arts education, but probably not for 13 years of formal schooling.

We make teens spend hours upon hours studying Beowulf, Shakespeare, Algebra II and beyond, and NEVER require any kind of basic accounting or financial literacy classes.

I'm not saying we shouldn't study classic literature or advanced math, but a deep understanding of these topics are wildly unnecessary for the vast majority of people. Even colleges don't require financial literacy for most majors. It's bonkers.

If we're going to require our teens to spend 5 hours per week on a topic, I would much rather them squeeze in a required class that teaches them about 401k's, IRA's, APR, compounding interest, how to take out a mortgage, buying vs. leasing (houses AND cars), leveraging debt, and on and on.