Originally published at santafenewmexican.com December 21, 2025.
As a recent college graduate, I know all too well that the curriculum being taught in schools is not preparing young adults to succeed financially. The lack of education on topics ranging from the effects of APRs on mortgages and loans to how unpaid credit card balances affect credit scores is causing the Gen Z demographic to rack up record amounts of debt. While a majority of states, including New Mexico, have mandated that financial literacy courses be completed in high school, this is not nearly enough. Given its position near the bottom of virtually every nationwide ranking of education, New Mexico has a unique opportunity to lead the country in accurately defining and reimagining financial literacy rather than simply following other states.
Being situated at or near the bottom of education is nothing new for New Mexico. It has ranked last in education for the past 8 years. Because New Mexico spends the fourth most per student annually, almost $46,000, it is unacceptable to see such consistently dismal scores. Considering the onslaught young people face as they start their financial livelihoods today, something has to change, or rampant debt and poor decisions will continue to plague them for years to come.
Originally published at santafenewmexican.com December 21, 2025.
According to recent statistics, the average American has around $105,000 in debt, including loans, credit cards, and mortgages. The average New Mexican is slightly below the national average for debt, at around $85,000. When broken down by age, Gen X’ers average roughly $136,000, while Millennials average $78,000, proving that Americans are making poor financial decisions across vast age groups.
While bills such as the recently enacted HB 171 in New Mexico are designed to help students better grasp the knowledge needed to make better financial decisions, it is clearly not enough. We do not need to just teach students about obsolete definitions of terms they are unlikely to remember when leaving the classroom; we need to modernize how financial literacy is taught entirely.
While introductory courses that teach the importance of financial concepts are practical, real-world situations are much more helpful in helping young adults avoid crippling debt. While just teaching students what APR is is an improvement from decades past, we must also go further to teach them how it is calculated over time and how it can grow 400% on certain loans. How it affects your mortgage, your loans, and even your credit card balance is far more valuable information for the next generation than just instilling definitions.
Generations of Americans have ruined their credit and decreased their quality of life by making financial decisions in their early 20s that took them decades to recover from, if at all. New Mexico has a unique opportunity to lead the way on revamping and modernizing financial literacy. By involving financial industry leaders in the writing and implementation of curriculum, creating situations and questions centered around how interest accrues on loans and mortgages over time, and explaining how debt limits future credit opportunities, we can prepare young adults to be fiscally responsible consumers who can face any economic challenges bureaucrats throw at them.