INSIGHTS

Many US States fail at teaching high school students about money [TheStreet]

According to John Pelletier, director of the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College, states are waking up to the need for personal finance education by making modest improvements in education standards, but they still have a long way to go. Discover more data here  

Student loans outstanding surpass size of US junk market [ValueWalk]

he value of outstanding student debt has exploded in recent years, and debt balances have now reached $1.3 trillion in face value, roughly the same size as the US high-yield corporate bond market according to a recent report from Goldman Sachs analysts Marty Young and Lotfi Karoui.   Learn more here

College heads making $1 Million rise with tuition and student debt [Bloomberg]

President Nathan Hatch of Wake Forest University is one of 58 college presidents with total compensation of more than $1 million, up from 39 in 2014 and 32 in 2013, according to the Chronicle’s calculations. Average total compensation for school heads serving the full year was $569,932, up 9 percent from 2014’s average. The data were drawn from federal tax filings for 500 private, nonprofit […]

Student loan default may put American economy at risk [Business Insider]

More people than ever are defaulting on student loans — and it could put the US economy at risk Approximately 4.6 million Americans have defaulted on federal student loans, according to The Wall Street Journal. This figure includes an increase of 274,000 people over the last three months. At the end of the third quarter of […]

Basic money questions that most people can’t answer. [CNBC]

Most Americans can’t answer these 5 basic money questions Many young people never learn money basics. Less than half of U.S. states require high school students to take a personal finance classbefore they graduate, for example. And results on surveys and retirement IQ tests show a lack of financial literacy. Try the test here  

Back to School Week: Investment Education [Morningstar]

  Nine million students go back to school in the UK this week, after a long – and for many parents – exhausting summer holiday. The first few weeks of autumn term are often spent revising rather than learning anything new – struggling to remember times tables, capital cities and important dates. But what about […]

Financial Literacy: Taking the time to learn. [The Edge Markets]

The problem with millennial investors is that many of them still lack financial literacy while others tend to be overconfident when investing, says Rachel Lau, co-founder of venture capital firm RHL Ventures. These issues must be addressed so they can make more informed investment decisions. Discover more here  

They make less and live longer. That’s why retirement planning is so key for women. [The News Tribune]

With lesser earnings and savings, women must prepare for longer life expectancy.  Unless they have a job that provides a lifetime pension income, this means women need to save more to cover more years in retirement and likely higher medical costs. Read more here

Most people fail this simple money test: Can you pass? [WSCO-TV]

  The FINRA Foundation study asked participants a handful of questions about interest rates, investing, bond prices, mortgages and risk — all the basics. However, only 37% of people answered at least four out of five questions correctly. Take the test here    

My Money – Elementary Student Workbook [Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has released My Money – a student workbook for elementary schools, in order to provide a solid tool to teach elementary students about the basis of economics and finance. Topics include money, coin equivalents, jobs, goods, services and barter. Download the workbook here