Literacy has always been the cornerstone of public education – and a new high school course expands that literacy into personal finance.

The goal of the mandatory course is to give secondary five students the information they need to make sound decisions about their money and avoid debt.

It’s the kind of course that should have been added to the curriculum a long time ago, said Clorinda Antonacci, who has been teaching the course at Lester B. Pearson High School for a few months.

“These are life skills that are long overdue,” she said.

Students learn how to budget, how to avoid debt, and how to save.

Though these topics can be taught at home, for some parents, talking dollars and cents may be as uncomfortable as talking about the birds and the bees.

“I think for some people it is, especially those who may have encountered debt in the past,” she said.

Just like sex ed, Antonacci said it is an essential topic.

“These are things that children and young adults are going to take with them outside the building,” she said.

Her students do an inventory project early on in the course, learning the value of a dollar by forcing them to talk stock of all their possessions and attaching a dollar figure to them.

“So… clothing, bus pass, hygiene, things like that. And then we would have to give an estimated amount of how much it would all cost,” said student Julia Proce.

It’s an eye opener for many who had no idea how much all their possessions were really worth.

“Now I definitely pay more attention to the cost, plus the tax that will come with it,” she said, adding that it helps her make decisions about whether to buy and to be a more responsible consumer.

For many students, the only money they have comes directly from their parents, either for specific items they want to buy, or as an allowance or gift. Other students have part-time jobs.

The course helps them figure out how to manage that money properly.

“For example, if I wanted to buy a car, I would save - for example - five to ten per cent of my paycheck to get towards that car,” said student William Robertson.

Remarkably, at age 16, Robertson is already thinking about retirement savings.

“Maybe there are a few others that are thinking retirement, but I believe that I'm probably an exception,” he said.

Online shopping is discussed in class, as are credit cards – along with the high interest and temptation to spend more than they should.

“I keep telling them, if you only make $1,000 every two weeks, why do you have a credit card of $10,000? So really, get a card that suits your needs and not your wants,” said Antonacci, who also tries to keep the mood light.

“I want this to be something that they will enjoy, because if you enjoy something you're going to learn from it.”