Ever wonder how to setup a bank account, manage your money, or invest in stocks? Me neither. But as many high school students stand on the brink of adulthood, they should realize that personal finance is a class that is essential to helping them prepare for their future.

Anyone thinking they can get rich without the skills personal finance teaches, think again. Getting paid the big bucks is just the start. Sometimes managing it is the hardest part. If anything, budgeting and financial planning are the skills that are going to give individuals a head start in the world. With 87% of students nationwide feeling confident in their future investments from taking courses like this, the only natural assumption is that everyone should take personal finance to better prepare themselves. It is better for everyone to understand the value of the dollar now rather than later when they have money and don’t know what to do with it.

In financial situations, the skills personal finance teaches will not only help a person survive but prosper. Learning how to do things like successfully invest and utilize legal loopholes will do more for individuals than just keep them afloat. No matter what their goals are in life, having the knowledge to maximize their benefits will help further their success and speed up the process to achieve them. These are skills that students should be learning now, not when they’re 40 years old and just realizing the opportunities they missed out on.

Some students, who risk becoming one of those clueless 40 years olds in the future, simply brush personal finance off as another math course or a course that is just plain boring. However, it is one of the few courses that teaches information that is impossible to forget because it is applied so often. It is designed to give students the tools to manage their own money without hiring someone else to do it for them. While the class can be dry at some moments, most of the time it is filled with engaging information that paves a path to get rich quick like the wall street pros.

Unfortunately, students here are only allowed to take personal finance during their junior or senior year. This is due to the fact that the course is intended for mature students that can better understand the deep and intricate workings of one’s personal earnings. As tough as that sounds, personal finance teachers like Andrew Lange are able turn their students into wise financial planners and help them prevent ending up bankrupt on their parent’s doorstep.

“Managing your money should not be hard; it’s easy math,” Lange said. “My students will be prepared.”

Overall, while the course does teach meaningful facts, it is designed to give each of its students real life skills that are useful in everyday life and to prepare them for a future where they may achieve financial success.