Financial Literacy More Important to Americans Than Health and Wellness

As we’ve mentioned previously, financial literacy is a skill that is lacking in our education system and amongst individuals across the country. A recent survey by Charles Schwab discusses the importance of financial literacy to Americans and how it should take precedence over health and wellness. 

According to the survey, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for basic personal finance and money management skills. Nearly 63% of U.S. adults said financial education was the most important supplementary graduation requirement to Math, English, and Science. That’s comparable with 43% of individuals who said health and wellness was more important. 

History shows that everytime our country faces a detrimental crisis, “the need for greater financial literacy becomes more apparent,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, president of Charles Schwab Foundation.

The following data was collected to support the need for financial education within our schooling system and within our country. 

Nearly nine in 10 Americans (89%) said a lack of financial education contributes to some of the country’s social issues, including poverty (58%), lack of job opportunities (53%), unemployment (53%) and wealth inequality (52%).

They survey found half of respondents would be hard-pressed to cover a $1,000 or less emergency expense in the next month if they had to. Financial education stresses the importance of saving and building up an emergency fund. 

Many respondents indicated that they wished they had been taught financial skills when they were younger, including the value of saving money (59%), basic money management (52%) and how to set financial goals and work toward them (51%). Due to this lack of financial education, so many individuals are lost when it comes to how much they should be saving, where they should save, where they should invest and more. 

Sherman Wealth has long been a strong advocate of increasing financial literacy in our country and encouraging our youth to educate themselves early on in their lives. A thorough financial education is now more important than ever. Learning the proper way to manage money and set yourself up for financial success will ensure you are prepared at all times, even during an economic crisis, such as a pandemic. 

Many schools across the country are realizing the importance of beginning a financial education at an early age. Studies show that having state-required classes can have a significant impact on students’ money moves in the future. Forty-five states now include personal finance education in their curriculum standards for kindergarten through 12 grades. In addition to programs in schools, Wall Street Bound is an organization that provides urban youth with financial, educational, and technical resources to get them closer to Wall Street. If you are passionate about spreading awareness about financial literacy, you can support Wall Street Bound with a donation.  As always, Sherman Wealth is here to answer any questions you may have and most importantly, happy to help educate you and those around you on what money means and how you should make financial literacy a priority.