I associate it with Dr Annamaria Lusardi’s efforts
I saw a post on LinkedIn by the extremely distinguished Dr Annamaria Lusardi on April 23, saying it was the start of Financial Literacy Month. Given my huge admiration for Anna, I did a little bit more research, and discovered that different countries have different months in which they promote financial literacy. In the US it’s April, but for example in Canada it’s November. Never mind: the cause is, I believe, hugely important.
Her post said:
“ Financial Literacy Month starts today. And this year, we have a simple message: those who know better, do better. Let’s talk about money, now.
“Too many people are making consequential financial decisions without the knowledge to make them well. That is not a personal failing. Financial literacy is not something most of us are simply born with — it has to be taught, practised, and made accessible to everyone, regardless of where they grew up or what conversations happened at home.
This month, we are committed to keeping that conversation going. Watch the video and share it with someone who needs to hear it.”
Somehow I can’t reproduce the link to the video, but I played it, and here’s what she says, with a banner headed Stanford Initiative for Financial Decision-Making:
“Many young people will graduate high school and even college without ever taking a course in personal finance. They will manage student loans, build credit, navigate volatile markets and make decisions that shape their financial lives for decades without the knowledge they need to do it.
“The research is clear. Young people who receive financial education make better decisions. They save more, manage debt more effectively, and are more financially resilient when life throws them a curve ball. And the impact doesn’t stop with them. Students bring this knowledge back to their families and communities. The effect multiplies.
“And yet access to education still depends too much on where a young person was born and what conversations happen at home. Personal finance education belongs in every school and every university, not as an elective but as a foundation.
“Financial literacy month is a reminder that this cannot wait. As an initiative for financial decision-making we are working to make personal finance education widely accessible because every young person deserves the tools to build the future they dream of. Those who know better do better.”
Wow, every sentence packs a punch!
I remember interviewing Anna in 2021 and writing a blog post about it. I went back to it, and saw that I identified all the questions I asked her. In the blog post I added a link to the video of our conversation, because her responses were deep – but the link no longer gets you to the video, and I no longer have the notes I took at the time. What a shame – Anna is a gem. Fortunately she has published widely and her work is accessible.
And, as she says (and has always said): we need to broaden financial education so that financial literacy becomes the norm rather than the exception.
Thank you (yet again), Anna.
PS: Wonderful Mirjam Guldemond, the Conference Manager at Pensions & Investments (and, to me, the embodiment of the World Pension Summit) found the link to the chat I had with Anna and sent it to me. As I watched it again, I realized that are gems in there that I haven’t written up, I’ve merely referred to them. Clearly an obvious subject for a future blog post.
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I have written about retirement planning before and some of that material also relates to topics or issues that are being discussed here. Where relevant I draw on material from three sources: The Retirement Plan Solution (co-authored with Bob Collie and Matt Smith, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009), my foreword to Someday Rich (by Timothy Noonan and Matt Smith, also published by Wiley, 2012), and my occasional column The Art of Investment in the FT Money supplement of The Financial Times, published in the UK. I am grateful to the other authors and to The Financial Times for permission to use the material here.