OLYMPIA – Recognizing the importance for all of our state’s residents to have an in-depth and well-rounded financial education, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) is a proud supporter of Washington’s Financial Literacy Month, as proclaimed by Governor Chris Gregoire.
What today is a full month focusing on financial education began as Financial Literacy Day, part of the National Endowment for Financial Education’s high school financial planning program. The Jump Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy (a partnership of national organizations sharing an interest in advancing financial literacy among K-12 students) adopted the day, expanding it into a full month of financial education promotion recognized by the President of the United States, Congress and most state governors. Washington has long been a supporter of Financial Literacy Month, with the amount of outreach, number of workshops and participating partners ever increasing.
Statistics from the Jump Coalition’s 2010 “Making the Case for Financial Literacy” emphasize the need for more financial education – for youth and adults:
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"41% of U.S. adults, or more than 92 million people living in America, gave themselves a grade of C, D, or F on their knowledge of personal finance, suggesting there is considerable room for improvement."
- 2009 Financial Literacy Survey of adults, conducted on behalf of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, Inc.
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"55% of parents with children aged 16-24 voiced concern over their children's ability to become financially independent without monetary assistance from them."
- 2008 survey by The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
- "Only about one in three parents (34%) have taught their teen how to balance a checkbook, and even fewer (29%) have explained how credit card interest and fees work."
- "While 71% agree that the best way for teens to learn about money is from guided, hands-on experience or their own example, only one in five parents (20%) involves their teen to a great extent in the family’s budgeting and spending decisions."
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"More than one in four parents surveyed (28%) are not currently saving for either their own retirement or for their child’s college education."
- Charles Schwab’s 2008 “Parents & Money” survey
"Plain and simple, a lot of people don’t know what they don’t know until they make the commitment to assess their financial lives, talk about their finances openly as a family and start working to improve their financial fitness," DFI Director of Communications, Financial Education and Outreach Lyn Peters notes. "I believe information is power and the power should be in the hands of the people. That’s what Financial Literacy Month is all about – empowering people."