I recently read an article published by Forbes from 2018 about how bad America is failing at financial literacy. Many of the stats in the article were quite mind blowing but yet so true. For example, two-thirds of American adults cannot pass a financial literacy test. That’s 66% which means only about 33% of Americans are financially literate.
This is a complete shocker to me. Especially after finding out April is National Financial Literacy Month. I never knew National Financial Literacy Month existed and after looking at the statistics, I’m sure many people are unaware of this American FunFact. It is said that 44% of Americans don’t have enough cash to cover a $400 emergency expense.That’s almost half.
Also, nearly 33% of American adults have $0 saved for retirement. This number heightens my anxiety because according to Forbes, we’re living longer lives, healthcare costs are constantly on the rise, pensions are a thing of the past, and the Social Security trust fund is on track to be depleted by 2034!
Yikes! This means the time is now for us to take our finances more seriously. But how? How do we make financial literacy a priority? How do we reteach adults how to manage their money? Do we begin to teach our youth the financial literacy they need in school? Do we start by telling them everything they’ve learned is wrong?
For the single parent, struggling to get by and make ends meet, how do we help him/her to create a savings? How do we eliminate the desire for so many people to “keep up with the Jones’?
Although it seems like the answer may be simple mathematics, like teaching them the ins and out of how to make your money grow, how do we actually make an impact? Most people don’t see themselves out of debt. Most people grew up learning the wrong principles of money.
Many people grew up with someone in their ear saying things like, “Treat yourself. You worked for it. You deserve it.” Which indeed is true but in order to meet your financial goals you will need to sacrifice more now for a greater later.
Financial literacy is a conversation that needs to happen more often. I’ve been reading a financial literacy book and one thing that stuck out to me was a quick fact about how many people are uncomfortable talking about their finances, yet it’s necessary if we want to see change. It’s important to find a set of friends who have financial goals and want to discuss how they plan to get there.
Discussing your finances is the only way to identify, plan and solve financial issues. I’ve come to find that there are many financial resources available, whether free or not. If you want to become financially literate. The power is in your hands. Plus, you deserve it.