It is a sad truth of our culture that many students enter the adult world with almost no understanding of finance.
We are expected to earn money and spend it wisely.
We are expected to stay out of debt and save for retirement.
But we are also bombarded by social pressure to buy stuff, from the right brands of cereal and laundry detergent to big-ticket items like a car and a house.
Our life is characterized by how we spend and what we buy. And often, we are coerced into living beyond our means by credit card companies and the appeal of spending now and paying later.
In short, the majority of students are thrust into world of finance filled with conflicting messages, but without the tools necessary to navigate and make informed decisions.
If you can't even balance a checkbook or create a basic budget, how can you be expected to make larger financial decisions like those involving investments, for example?
Community College is The Place to Start Learning
In truth, most of us learn through experience how to manage the basics, like having enough money to pay the bills, although many struggle with debt before they figure out how to budget accordingly.
But when it comes to investing you may require a bit more help.
Whether you're looking to play the market for fun and the chance to increase your nest egg in the short-term, you'd like to create a strategy that will one day allow you to retire comfortably, or your interests lie in becoming a professional trader or broker, a good place to begin your education is by attending community college.
And there's bound to be a little something for everyone.
The average person may want to begin with the basics of finance before moving into a targeted area like investing.
It's important to have at least a minimum foundation in financial knowledge so that you understand the concepts being discussed. If, for example, you don't have any knowledge of economics on a local, national, and global scale, you might have a hard time understanding how commodities markets operate, or why certain investments tend to display more stability.
And if you don't know how to plan a budget it can be difficult to figure out how much you should be investing for your retirement in order to have enough to live comfortably once you stop working.
For this reason you might want to start with basic courses in accounting and economics so that you have a solid foundation of knowledge on which to build.
Which Community College Classes Should You Take for Investing?
From there you can certainly seek out investing or stock market courses to take.
Not every community college offers these courses, so you'll have to check the class listings at schools in your area.
And you're unlikely to find the comprehensive coursework needed to start working as a broker, for example.
But you will probably find that the classes offered at least give you a basic understanding of different types of investments and how the market functions as a whole such as ACC 101 or FIN 101. This is more than enough for the average investor to get started, or at least have an intelligent conversation with their broker.
And for the person seeking a career in the investment industry, it's a good start.