You learned the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. You did not learn what a Roth IRA is, how taxes work, or why a credit score matters. Twelve years of school, and the most universal life skill — handling money — barely came up. Why?

Part of it is history: school systems were built to produce workers, not owners. Part of it is that money is personal and political, so it's easier to skip. And part of it is inertia — curricula change slowly; money moves fast.

Whatever the reason, here's what matters: nobody is coming to teach you this. Not school, not the banks (they profit from your confusion), not the algorithm (it profits from your impulses). Financial literacy is now a self-taught subject. The fact that you're reading this means you've already started — which puts you ahead of most adults.

This week: treat money like a class you're choosing to take. Five minutes a day (we might know a good place for that). The compounding on knowledge beats the compounding on cash.

— Kevin