Last month wasn't only tax time—it was also “Financial Capability Month.” I decided to share this link when I read that only 14% of Americans could pass the financial literacy quiz by FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority).
We take time to clean out our garages, homes, and offices, but do we ever take the time to clean up our investment portfolios? Do we even know how to do this? I think it is worth taking a short break to test your own knowledge in this area. Test Time
What I also found out as I researched this area was the following:
- Not enough savings – More that half of us indicated that we are worried about a lack of savings, many worry about not having enough “rainy day” savings for an emergency or retiring without having enough money set aside.
- Not being able to pay financial obligations – 1 in 4 of us are worried about servicing debt commitments, including concerns around paying credit card debt, student loans, monthly car payments, and medical debt.
- Health insurance – 1 in 4 are worried about health insurance (either not being able to afford it and/or not having any).
- Credit – 1 in 5 are worried about their credit score and/or lack of access to credit overall, suggesting that we continue to realize the importance of credit in our lives. However, most adults have neglected to review their credit report (65 percent) or score (60 percent) in the past year.
- Job loss – More than 42 million Americans indicated fear of job loss as a major concern—a number that is disturbingly high.
- Foreclosure – Surprisingly, the least of our concerns (among those listed), a comparatively small 4 percent of us are worried about losing our home to foreclosure, undoubtedly a positive signal for the housing industry and the economy as a whole.
Remaining stubbornly consistent over the past three years, 40 percent of adults gave themselves a grade of C, D, or F on their knowledge of personal finance. How would you grade yourself? Should you put yourself in a financial time-out?
Based on this poor report card, it is not surprising that most agree that they could benefit from additional advice and answers to everyday financial questions from a professional.
At BMM, we help folks like you every day work through these problems and questions and would like to do the same for you or anyone you know. Feel free to reach out to a member of the BMM Advisor team.
We offer 30-minute complimentary consultation…
& promise to use common sense when talking to you if at all possible.
Investment advisory services are offered through Berson Money Management, a registered investment adviser offering advisory services in the State of California and in other jurisdictions where exempted. The contents of the blog are not to be copied, quoted, excerpted or distributed without express written permission of the firm. Any other use beyond its author's intent, distribution or copying of the contents of this e‐mail is strictly prohibited. Nothing in this document is intended as legal, accounting, or tax advice, and is for informational purposes only.
