Money Skills Report Card
Nation's High School Seniors Fail at Finance Fundamentals
A survey conducted on behalf of ACEC underscores the need for financial management studies in our nation’s schools. Findings from the survey on personal finance management indicate that America’s future leaders have little conception of their own finances and how to prepare for their future.
When it comes to understanding money management basics - getting the best return on savings, saving for retirement and the least expensive way to purchase items like a car - students who receive personal finance instruction in the classroom outperform their peers.
A representative sample of 800 high school seniors across the nation was surveyed for America’s Money Skills Report Card. The Tarrance Group of Alexandria, Virginia and Lake, Snell, Perry & Associates of Washington, D.C. conducted the survey for ACEC. Here are some highlights from America’s Money Skills Report Card:
- Two thirds of high school seniors believe that financial issues do not have a strong impact on their lives.
- While 46 percent of respondents surveyed said they were responsible for providing the majority of funds for their retirement, three in ten believed that responsibility rested with the federal government.
- Only 32 percent of parents/guardians regularly talk to their children about personal finance or money matters.
- Four in ten seniors believe that credit card and car loans have lower interest rates than mortgage loans.
- Four in ten of those students surveyed believe you can earn more money from a savings account than a certificate of deposit.
- Approximately one in four high school seniors who responded knows that the federal government deducts income tax from your paycheck.
- Some 77 percent of respondents have a savings account though their balances are modest. Nearly half of high school seniors have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts. Thirty percent have more than $1,000 in savings.