If you’re searching for “Il Sole 24 Ore * personal finance,” you probably want something simple: to understand how to manage real money (yours) without getting confused by grown-up jargon. The straight answer is this:personal financemeans consciously deciding how your money comes in, goes out, and grows, so you can reach concrete goals (today: making it to the end of the month; tomorrow: rent, Erasmus (EU student exchange programme), driving licence, university). And yes: for high school students and university students it’s more “practical” than many school subjects, because it affects you every day.
Online you often find perfect guides… for people with a fixed salary and a life that’s already “set.” Here we do the opposite: we start from student situations (allowance, odd jobs, scholarships, unexpected expenses) and turn theory into small but repeatable moves. The idea isn’t to become a mini-trader: it’s to get to the end of the month with less anxiety and more control.
From companies’ “maturity exam” to your financial maturity: why it matters (even if you’re a student)
In recent months people have talked (including in Il Sole 24 Ore) about a “maturity exam” for companies in contexts like listings, growth, rules, transparency. Ok, it sounds far away. But the concept is identical to a student’s life:financial maturity= being able to handle money decisions without short-circuiting when something changes (rent going up, a utility bill, an extra exam that takes away your working hours).
financial educationisn’t “learning to invest in the stock market.” It’s understanding three basic things:
- Where your money goes (and why it disappears without you noticing).
- How to avoid irreversible choices (debt, subscriptions, “easy” instalment plans).
- How to build freedom: even €20–30 a month, if it’s consistent, changes your room to manoeuvre.
If you’re in your final year of high school or already at university, the “maturity exam” isn’t only the one at school (the maturità, the Italian secondary school leaving exam): it’s when you find yourself choosing between going out on Saturday and buying a book/lecture notes, between a side job that pays right away and an internship that pays little but opens doors, between changing your phone and setting money aside for a security deposit. Personal finance is the skill that connects all these choices.
How do you manage a student budget?
Budget doesn’t mean a “sad life.” It means you decide, instead of discovering on the 25th of the month that you’re broke. Here’s a checklist you can do in 20 minutes and then update in 5 minutes a week.
1) Write down your income (realistic, not optimistic). Student examples: allowance, tutoring, a shift at a bar, scholarship, gifts “spread” across the months. If an income stream is uncertain, count it at 50%.
2) Split expenses into three boxes:fixed(subscriptions, transport, rent if you study away from home),necessary variable(food, materials, pharmacy),variable “extras”(going out, delivery, shopping, gaming). Don’t judge them: measure them.
3) Simple rule to avoid going crazy:save first, then spend. As soon as money comes in, move a share into “savings” (even 10%). If you wait until the end of the month, there’ll be nothing left.
4) Create a mini emergency fund: initial target€100–300. It’s not for “investing,” it’s so you don’t have to ask for money at the last minute or use instalment solutions when something breaks (phone, glasses, missed train).
5) Set automatic limits on extras. Example: “going out €120 a month.” You don’t have to guess: when it’s gone, it’s gone. If you want to go over, decide what to cut elsewhere. That’s freedom, not punishment.
Real example: take a university student studying away from home. Income: €450 from parents + €200 tutoring = €650. Fixed expenses: €350 room + €25 transport + €10 subscriptions = €385. That leaves €265 for food, university, and social life. If you don’t set a limit on extras, the €265 becomes “everything,” and “everything” always runs out too soon.
The basics of personal finance for young people: saving, debt, investing (without getting ripped off)
This is where the big words usually start. Not here. You need four concepts and two red flags so you don’t get ripped off.
1)Savingisn’t “what’s left over”: it’s a planned expense. If you wait for leftovers, you’re outsourcing your future to your present-day temptations (which are very good at winning).
2)Compound interest: it sounds like finance stuff, but it’s just “interest on interest.” Translation: starting early matters more than putting in huge amounts. Even if you invest a little, consistency over time makes the difference. If you go into debt, compound interest works against you.
3)Risk/return: if someone promises you high returns “with no risk,” they’re lying or leaving something out. Period. In real life, the more you want to earn, the more you have to accept volatility and time.
4)Diversification: don’t put everything into one single thing “because everyone’s talking about it.” It applies to student life too: don’t bet everything on a single income source (only tutoring, only one shift), if you can build alternatives.
Now the two most common red flags among high school and university students:
Red flag #1:easy debt(cards, instalments, BNPL “pay in 3,” financing for tech). If you don’t have a stable payslip, debt eats your flexibility. The trap isn’t the instalment: it’s stacking 3–4 “small” instalments that become one big instalment.
Red flag #2:“educational” scams(gurus, courses that promise automatic income, miracle trading, “safe” crypto). The quick test: if the main thing they’re selling is the illusion of earning without skills and without time, it’s not financial education: it’s aggressive marketing.
If you want a “peer-to-peer” compass: first build the base (budget + emergency fund), then understand how risk works, then maybe invest. Skipping the first two steps is like taking the maturità (the Italian secondary school leaving exam) without ever opening the book: maybe it goes well once, but it’s not a plan.
How to prepare a personal financial plan (in 60 minutes): goals, priorities, and first steps
A personal financial plan isn’t an endless Excel sheet. It’s one page with a few clear decisions. Set a 60-minute timer and do this.
Step 1 (10 min): write 3 goals, one per time horizon:
- Short (within 3 months): example “set aside €150 for emergencies.”
- Medium (within 12 months): example “pay for half of Erasmus (EU student exchange programme) / a language course / my driving licence.”
- Long (2–5 years): example “deposit for a better room / master’s programme / first serious investment.”
Step 2 (10 min): make themSMART(specific, measurable, realistic, with a deadline). Not “I want to save,” but “€30 a week until December.”
Step 3 (15 min): choose 2 priorities and accept that the rest is “later.” This is the part no guide tells you: personal finance is mostlytrade-offs. If you say yes to everything, you’re saying no to your main goal without noticing.
Step 4 (15 min): define the “system” (not willpower). Practical examples:
- Automatic bank transfer the day after income arrives into a piggy bank/separate accounts.
- Only one “extra” subscription at a time (streaming, gym, app). If you want a new one, you cancel an old one.
- 24-hour rule for impulse purchases over €30: you put it on a list and check again tomorrow.
Step 5 (10 min): light monitoring. Once a week you look at only two numbers: how much you spent on extras and how much you set aside. If one of the two goes off track, you adjust the following week. Done.
Quick examples (so it doesn’t stay theory):
For high school students: medium goal “driving licence in 10 months: €900.” If you set aside €25 a week, you’ll get there without having to ask your parents for everything. If you skip a month, you’ll know right away and catch up with two €30 weeks.
For university students: short goal “€300 emergency fund in 3 months.” That’s €25 a week. It won’t change your life today, but it saves you when a shift gets cancelled or a medical expense shows up.
Financial education at school: is it mandatory? And how StudierAI can help you prepare
Honest question: is financial education mandatory at school? It depends on what you mean by “mandatory.” In recent years there have been initiatives and proposals to bring more financial education into curricula, but in practice it varies a lot between schools, projects, teachers, and available hours. What you can expect, when it’s there, is usually: budgeting, saving, banks, interest, risk, scams, consumer rights. Useful things, but often explained in a way that’s too generic or far from your life.
If you’re preparing for thematurità (the Italian secondary school leaving exam)and you also want to train these “real-life” skills, you can usematurità prep (preparazione alla maturità, preparation for the Italian secondary school leaving exam)to build a sustainable study plan (without burning out) and then add micro-sessions of personal finance: 15 minutes a week is enough to learn budgeting, goals, and the most common risks.StudierAIhelps you mainly with two things that really matter: turning concepts into exercises (quizzes, simulations, questions) and making the habit consistent. If you want to try it with no commitment,start for free.
One last point “against” what you often see on Google: many guides on Il Sole 24 Ore personal finance (or on pages that cite it) are excellent, but they talk as if you already have an adult life: mortgage, TFR (Trattamento di Fine Rapporto, an Italian end-of-employment severance accrual), complex portfolios. Your version is different: it’s made of small, repeated choices, and avoiding big mistakes. If today you learn to manage €300–700 a month, tomorrow managing €1,500–2,000 will be much less traumatic.
Final mini-check (save it):
- I know how much comes in and how much goes out, even roughly (but written down).
- I have a monthly limit for extras and I stick to it 70% of the time (that’s totally fine).
- I’m building an emergency fund, even a small one.
- I avoid “easy” debt and promises of risk-free gains.
If you’re missing even just one of these points, you’re not “bad”: you’re normal. The difference is starting, not understanding everything right away. And when you read articles (even authoritative ones) about personal finance, always ask yourself: “What does this change in my week?” If it changes nothing, it’s entertainment. If it changes one decision, it’s real financial education.
