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Financial Literacy

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Submitted By jpoole1994
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Financial Planning and Literacy:
A College Student’s Guide

The American Dream of the 20th century is considered dead by most of today’s college students and recent graduates who find that getting a job that they are not vastly overqualified for is almost just as difficult as graduating. For those few students who gratefully find themselves at the bottom of the corporate ladder, the next difficult task is appropriately managing their new $45k salary.
Financial literacy is defined as “the ability to make informed judgments and to take effective actions regarding current and future use and management of money” (LaBorde, Mottner, and Whalley 2014).
Financial literacy and planning have long been considered issues in the US, but more now than ever, in the wake of a recession, they are of critical importance to those entering the work force.
My research has led me to make three primary claims: (1) the US is mostly financially illiterate,
(2) financial literacy and financial planning are positively correlated, and (3) good financial habits must be developed early.

Financial Literacy
All of the data supports the claim that a large portion of the US is financially illiterate; also, young adults and college students have even lower levels of financially literacy than the general public.
Research indicates that college students today have an exceptionally low level of financial literacy. One financial literacy survey found that only 53 percent of students answered questions on simple, objective financial knowledge correctly. In a national survey of financial literacy, college students only achieved a mean score of 62 percent. Further, less than onethird of young adults have a basic understanding of

Wall Street Journal interest rates, inflation, and risk diversification
(Xiao et al. 2014).
The LaBorde, Mottner, and Whalley study found data that complicates the issue of financial literacy in young adults even more. Their research indicates young students generally perceive themselves as having higher financial literacy than they really do.

"Financial literacy is the ability to make informed judgments and to take effective actions regarding current and future use and management of money"
-LaBorde, Mottner, and Whalley
A student’s perception of their own financial knowledge is important because those who perceive they know more than they actually do are less likely to take a personal-finance course or seek out other relevant material (LaBorde, Mottner, and Whalley
2014).
Financial literacy and proper financial practices are of utmost importance to young adults, because they are beginning to shift to financial independence.
Also, young adults have recently become the legal age where they are allowed to sign binding contracts including credit cards and loans. College students have a compounded problem, they must learn to budget the high costs of their education in addition to the routine financial decisions associated with independent living (Hastings, Brigitte, and
Skimmyhorn 2012: 14-17).

Financial Literacy & Planning
Studies vary on exactly how much financial literacy and financial planning are related, but most of the

2 research indicates a strong positive correlation between the two variables.
Alhewani and Elkhal’s study illustrates that most households exhibit poor financial planning skills, even if they are financially literate. They calculated mean scores from answers to a set of 31 questions that are meant to assess the households’ financial situation and knowledge. The mean scores for knowledge and planning are 75.10 percent and
59.77 percent respectively. Questions in the study are very basic and are meant to determine whether or not the respondent understands simple financial concepts. A portion of the results from their study is depicted in the chart below (Alhenawi and Elkhal
2013).

literacy and the likelihood of engaging several different financial practices:
• paying bills on time
• tracking expenses
• budgeting
• saving out of each paycheck
• maintaining an emergency fund
• diversifying investments
• setting financial goals
However, one must still remember that there are potential unaccounted for variables (i.e. numerical ability, general intelligence, financial interest, patience) that could contribute to both higher levels of financial literacy and better outcomes (Hastings,
Brigitte, and Skimmyhorn 2012: 14-17).

Good Financial Habits
Figure 1: Financial Literacy and
Planning
100%
50%
0%

43.14%

48%

20%

14.20%

Use a budget No Savings Liquidity Net Worth
Account Matching Projections

Data Source: Alhenawi, Yasser and Khaled Elkhal. 2013. "Financial Literacy of
U.S. Households: Knowledge Vs. Long-Term Financial
Planning." Financial Services Review 22 (3): 211-244. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1505352402?accountid=4488. The chart brings to light some interesting points that are incredibly important when considering the financial well-being of the average U.S. household.
Consider that 48 percent of households have debt and are not making a conscious effort to become debt free, or that only 43 percent of households match the liquidity in their savings accounts to adequately prepare for potential future expenses.
Alhenawi and Elkhal’s research led them to believe that the correlation between financial literacy and planning is weak. However, the majority of research counters this claim.
Hastings quotes multiple studies conducted that document a strong relationship between financial

A government-issued packet lists financial education and budgeting as two important things students can to in order to become financially secure (40 Money Management 2010). A separate publication found in the Wall Street Journal has “set a budget” and “get educated” and the first and second most important actions young college students can take to achieve financial security.
Veronica Dagher emphasizes the importance of developing good financial habits when she said,
“…the financial habits you develop now, will set the tone for how you manage your money long after you have your diploma in hand.” (Dagher, Veronica
2013)
Figure 2 below illustrates what Veronica Dagher sees as the twelve most important moves every college freshman should make to develop good financial habits.
Figure 2: Financial Habits

SET A BUDGET

GET EDUCATED

BEWARE FREE
HATS

UNDERSTAND
DEBT

SEEK STUDENT
DISCOUNTS

BUY USED BOOKS

DO YOUR
RESEARCH

START SAVING

USE STUDENT
LOANS WISELY

DONT FORGET
SCHOLARSHIPS

BUY A SHREDDER

HAVE FUN!

Data Source: Dagher, Veronica. 2013. "Money Moves Every College Freshman should make; A Little Budgeting, Saving and Smart Spending Helps
Develop Good Financial Habits." Wall Street Journal (Online), Aug
24. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1427514209?accountid=4488.

3
Some of her suggestions are self-explanatory, such as set a budget, get educated, start saving, or use student loans wisely, but others require some explanation to understand how they affect financial planning. Dagher’s warning, “beware free hats,” is a call to be cautious of both offers that seem too good to be true and those that offer some small token in exchange for a credit card or membership. Another example, buying a shredder is a simple but important part of good financial practices; shredders prevent others from committing identity fraud and stealing your personal/bank information (Dagher,
Veronica 2013).
The last tip she has to offer is “have fun.” This suggestion is not a cliché reminder to college students; rather, she explains “have fun” should act as a reminder that you don’t need to spend an exorbitant amount of money, or even any money at all, to have a good time (2013).

Conclusion
The problem of financial literacy is the US is clear.
A large portion of US adults is not financially literate. Nearly half of US adults in most research, and a higher proportion of young adults cannot answer basic questions about interest, inflation, and risk diversification.
Further, a strong correlation is between financial literacy and financial planning. Households with more objective financial knowledge are more likely to engage in good financial practices.
With the knowledge of a strong correlation, students must realize they should both create a budget and also be educated. At the very least, the education should include budgeting, managing loans and credit cards, and diversifying investments.
If college students understand the importance of financial knowledge and establish healthy financial practices when they are young, these habits will extend into adulthood and potentially allow them to achieve real, lasting financial security.

Bibliography
“40 Money Management Tips Every College Freshman
Should Know.” National Endowment for Financial
Education. 2010. https://www.geneva.edu/docs/IO/16958/40-MoneyMgmt-Tips-for-Students.pdf Alhenawi, Yasser and Khaled Elkhal. 2013. "Financial
Literacy of U.S. Households: Knowledge Vs. LongTerm Financial Planning." Financial Services Review 22
(3): 211-244. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1505352402?accoun tid=4488.
Dagher, Veronica. 2013. "Money Moves Every College
Freshman should make; A Little Budgeting, Saving and
Smart Spending Helps Develop Good Financial
Habits." Wall Street Journal (Online), Aug 24. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1427514209?accoun tid=4488.
Hastings, Justine S., Brigitte C. Madrian, and William L.
Skimmyhorn. 2012. Financial Literacy, Financial
Education and Economic Outcomes. Cambridge:
National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w18412. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1687864678?accoun tid=4488. LaBorde, Pamela M., Sandra Mottner, and Pamela Whalley.
2014. "Personal Financial Literacy: Perceptions of
Knowledge, Actual Knowledge and Behavior of College
Students." Journal of Financial Education 39 (3): 1-30. .
Xiao, Jing Jian, Sun Young Ahn, Joyce Serido, and Soyeon
Shim. 2014. "Earlier Financial Literacy and Later
Financial Behaviour of College Students." International
Journal of Consumer Studies 38 (6): 593-601. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12122. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1613904161?accoun tid=4488.

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