Fixing Our C Average of Financial Literacy

By. Bryce Roth, CitizensFirst Credit Union

Whether you’ve been a part of the credit union industry for fifteen years or only a couple of years, you are probably well aware that industry leaders everywhere have been talking about how to attract the next generation of credit union members.  The real problem, however, is more complex than simply reinventing our services to make them more appealing to a younger group of consumers. While there are many fires to be put out, in my opinion, the most pressing is that of basic financial literacy, or rather, the lack thereof.

For decades, we have been sending staff into schools to introduce the subject of personal finance, but for all that we do the problem grows each passing year. Why? According to the 2008 study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, the adults tested scored a C (70-79%) on a 24-item questionnaire.  Unfortunately, it appears that young people do not have a reliable source for this sort of information.

As for learning about effective money management in schools, a study done by the U.S. Treasury Department of Education found that respondents born after 1970 scored an unimpressive 69% on average. Other studies paint an even more despairing picture for the future of financial literacy in this country. The Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Finance Literacy, for example, conducted a similar test that produced a truly dismal score that averaged only 48%.

While school systems across the country have recognized the seriousness of this problem, efforts by educators to address financial literacy have been limited.  In Ohio, for example, the state recently mandated that all high school graduates in 2014 and after must receive at least one credit hour of personal finance education.  The legislative order, however, was not accompanied by either the financial backing or curriculum for teachers needed to be effective.

So where does that leave us in the credit union industry? As purveyors of personal financial accountability, it is our duty to fill this gaping void.  Speaking in classrooms is a good first step by introducing credit unions to students who may have no clue about what we do. But ask yourself – do you remember anything a guest speaker in high school had to say? Somehow we need to take things a step further and make these learning opportunities more memorable to a younger generation of future credit union members.

And are schools really the best place for this learning to occur? From what I’ve seen, most personal finance classes fail to truly engage young people with meaningful content that is relevant to their current stage in life.  With that said, we need to recognize that those same distractions also extend outside the classroom and that entertainment has become the most effective way to be noticed – provided that we deliver our message in a unique and memorable way. Remember, the average American adolescent is exposed to more than 40,000 advertisements in a year (109.6/day). That’s a lot of static to overcome in the pursuit of a clear message.

So, instead of lecturing in the classroom, why not create new opportunities to build lasting impressions? Instead of telling people what we do, why not show them how we are different?  Financial literacy education is a great way for your credit union to not only innovate, but to demonstrate how much you care and how far you are willing to go to invest in the future of the people and communities you serve.  Since we cannot count on others to pick up the baton and run with it, it is time we take the lead and do our part to provide young people with the skills that they will need to lead successful and financially secure lives – to secure their future and ours.