Can you answer these three money questions? Most American adults can't, and it turns out that whether you ever learned this stuff in school depended largely on where you grew up.
"Not understanding these concepts carries real costs." Especially since these financial illiterates vote. Perhaps a better solution would be to not let anyone with a credit score under 700 to vote.
Thanks for this - I didn't know it was financial literacy month, so that's a starting point 😅.
It's interesting to me that GenZ tends to be less financially literate when there are so many TikTokers and other social media accounts that give financial advice.
I try to teach my class (inheritance law) as a financial literacy class, in part, and it's always surprising to me what law students don't know - like what a mutual fund is. But, then again, why would anyone know that if they hadn't been taught or googled it out of curiosity!
Thank you. In my Adjunct years, I literally co-taught Economics with the high school coach, who read from the textbook. I like coaches -- they are often very inspiring people -- but generally what happens is that somebody hands them a textbook and says "an administrator decided we are going to teach Economics -- you're elected".
Good coverage of the financial literacy challenges we face. Over the year working in this area I have struggled with a couple of things. 1. The low rates of emergency fund access. Every financial expert lists that on the top of the list of first things to do. If that’s missing, I wonder how much more fail at. 2. The big 3 and big 5 are now stables in financial literacy measures. I am not convinced they measure financial literacy well. They are correlated with optimal financial behaviors, so I guess they work
I really struggle with policy issues around this topic because I know how much work has gone into improving financial literacy, but we don't see much change in overall knowledge or even behavior.
I will admit that on the emergency fund question, I do wonder how many people have them but don't think of them as emergency funds. Does that matter? I had built up savings, but I never thought of them as an emergency fund. If I had been surveyed about it, I think I would have answered that I didn't have one.
Love this collab
Other recommended readings: Well Endowed, Vivian Tu; The Richest Man in Babylon, George Clason;
I read The Richest Man in Babylon, and it shaped a lot of financial habits I still practice today.
Ah, yes, ideas so good they should be mandatory
"Not understanding these concepts carries real costs." Especially since these financial illiterates vote. Perhaps a better solution would be to not let anyone with a credit score under 700 to vote.
Thanks for this - I didn't know it was financial literacy month, so that's a starting point 😅.
It's interesting to me that GenZ tends to be less financially literate when there are so many TikTokers and other social media accounts that give financial advice.
I try to teach my class (inheritance law) as a financial literacy class, in part, and it's always surprising to me what law students don't know - like what a mutual fund is. But, then again, why would anyone know that if they hadn't been taught or googled it out of curiosity!
I remember getting my first real crash course in retirement planning when I sat through my first HR session. I remember it being very overwhelming.
Thank you. In my Adjunct years, I literally co-taught Economics with the high school coach, who read from the textbook. I like coaches -- they are often very inspiring people -- but generally what happens is that somebody hands them a textbook and says "an administrator decided we are going to teach Economics -- you're elected".
If I could unlock the motivational power of an HS coach, I would be unstoppable!
Good coverage of the financial literacy challenges we face. Over the year working in this area I have struggled with a couple of things. 1. The low rates of emergency fund access. Every financial expert lists that on the top of the list of first things to do. If that’s missing, I wonder how much more fail at. 2. The big 3 and big 5 are now stables in financial literacy measures. I am not convinced they measure financial literacy well. They are correlated with optimal financial behaviors, so I guess they work
I really struggle with policy issues around this topic because I know how much work has gone into improving financial literacy, but we don't see much change in overall knowledge or even behavior.
I will admit that on the emergency fund question, I do wonder how many people have them but don't think of them as emergency funds. Does that matter? I had built up savings, but I never thought of them as an emergency fund. If I had been surveyed about it, I think I would have answered that I didn't have one.