[robot_no_421]

> Using a credit card isn't very abstract.

To use a credit card responsibly you need to understand the concept of exponential growth, or you might accidentally turn a manageable $500 debt into a burdensome $5000 debt. Same goes for understanding good debt (mortgages) vs bad debt.

It might not be solving a polynomial per se, but I don't see how you get to understanding exponential equations without at least understanding algebra.

[taeric]

There is understanding the concept of exponential growth, and there is being able to manage it. They are two skills. Where management is helped more by having resources than it is by understanding it.

[robot_no_421]

>Where management is helped more by having resources than it is by understanding it.

There are many examples of lottery winners, athletes, and celebrities who came across considerable resources yet still went broke because they didn't understand how to manage it or the concept of exponential growth.

A fool and his money are easily parted, as the saying goes. People who don't have financial literacy will lose their money over and over again regardless of how much you give them.

[BenjiWiebe]

Not entirely true. I have multiple credit cards and use them for everything, yet I've never ran into exponential growth.

I don't spend money I don't have.

It's really simple math this way.

[robot_no_421]

I'd argue that you're not really using the credit on your credit card as a credit card. You're using it as a charge card.

Exponential growth is a fundamental concept of financial literacy. If you want to invest in the stock market or plan your 401k it helps to understand exponential growth. The reason why it's impossible to get rich off a wage is because of the difference between exponential vs linear growth.

>I don't spend money I don't have.

You've never taken out a mortgage or opened a margin account? Plenty of responsible people make money by spending money they don't have every day.