I could recite every Croatian king from Tomislav to Stjepan II. Name every part of Mozart's Requiem. Explain the intricacies of the Ottoman Empire's influence on the Balkans. Draw detailed chemical diagrams of benzene rings. But I never learned how credit cards work.

School filled our heads with Latin declensions and the teachings of long-dematerialized and ridiculous Greek philosophers. Yet no one taught us about taxes, investing, or how to build an emergency fund.

We graduated ready to analyze poetry but unable to understand a loan agreement.

Was the topic of personal finances a taboo for some distant reason? Or was there simply nobody around who knew enough about it?