GoBankingRates.com is a premier outlet to learn about financial literacy, practice, and management for your money. Recently, they called upon several national subject matter experts to discuss America’s lack of economic understanding of their finances.
According to a recent poll commissioned by Beyond Finance, the gaps in financial literacy are startling across most demographics:
- Nearly half (43%) of respondents don’t know what a 401(k) is.
- Only 30% believe they could win a game of personal finance trivia, despite 39% considering themselves more financially literate than the average person.
- Four in 10 Americans admit they procrastinate when implementing healthy financial habits.
- Only 66% of those who create a monthly budget stick to it–76% of Baby boomers are the most loyal to theirs, and 58% of Generation Z deviate most from theirs.
- And 39% of respondents reported adverse effects on their relationships due to their or their partner’s unhealthy spending habits.
Personal Finance Writer Nicole Spector posed a few questions to the experts about the power of “dollar-cost averaging,” the “time value of money,” and timing the real estate market. When speaking with Dr. Erika Rasure, one of our client financial therapists, she asked about the “Buy Now, Pay Later” trend.
BNPL has been used to help people manage their cash flow when making larger purchases,” Rasure said. “In some cases, it can make sense to spread out the payments for more significant items, such as appliances or furniture, when there’s little to no interest paid to do so.
For the other expert insight in the article, we encourage you to bookmark it and read it at your leisure. In the meantime, be honest with yourself. If you can’t pay for it, save for it. You’ll be happier in the long run.