We were delighted to work with Champlain College on its groundbreaking National Report Card on Adult Financial Literacy in late 2016.
Since the release of the 250-page report on December 12th, it has made headlines across the media landscape, from TV to print to web. With over 100 media mentions across the country in its first ten days, it has sparked articles in publications such as The Houston Chronicle, Forbes, The Oregonian, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, and on 37 websites including Yahoo News and Yahoo Finance. It even sparked a political cartoon in a Mississippi publication (below).
Working closely with John Pelletier, Executive Director of Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy, we designed this data-rich document to help the Center expose the problem of low adult financial literacy. The report assigns grades to each state based on data collected from national organizations that track American adults’ financial knowledge, credit, saving and spending, retirement readiness, investing, and levels of insurance. Each state is given a grade for each of these data points, as well as an overall grade.
The report shows that American adults earned an overall average C grade for financial literacy, and more than ¾ of adults live in states with poor grades. This shows that too many adults are deficient in financial knowledge, which leads to uninformed and poor decisions about their money.
“The goal of this report is to inform,” says Pelletier. “We need to make adult personal finance education a priority among policymakers, financial institutions, the educational establishment and others, so that we can begin to build a financially savvy citizenry.”
The content-dense, colorful report is easy to read and comprehend for journalists and lawmakers alike, and features an interactive web presence. Check it out and see the full report here.
