By Billy J. Hensley, Ph.D., President and CEO National Endowment for Financial Education For the second year in a row, we have observed National Financial Literacy Month during the global pandemic — an era in which our physical, mental, societal and financial vulnerabilities have been greatly exposed. While we are…

By Billy J. Hensley, Ph.D., President and CEO National Endowment for Financial Education It is intolerable, and frankly immoral, to ignore the outrage, sorrow and torment within our fragmented and unequal society. The epidemic of social and economic injustice persists as our country’s attempts to halt prejudice and build inclusivity…

The National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) recently spoke with Annamaria Lusardi, Ph.D., academic director of the George Washington University School of Business’ Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC), about her aspiration to make financial education accessible and why it is important for young women and girls to become financially literate. — Lusardi states that women are not constrained by the present data as she expresses,“the gender difference does not have to be there…we can do better, we can change those numbers.” In both developed and rising economies, 35% of men are financially literate compared with 30% of women, according to The…

Billy Hensley, president and CEO of NEFE, writes financial education is not a conservative nor liberal issue and should be free from debate within the political arena. — Financial literacy is an important and necessary life skill. While we don’t widely see it on the classroom agenda, many are surprised to learn that it has been a formal part of the American education system for more than a century.

The National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) and Invest In Girls (IIG) are building connections to address the gender gap in financial literacy. NEFE recently spoke with Invest In Girls about how they are achieving their goal of helping girls become financially confident. — Betsy Kelder has strategically expanded learning opportunities for undeserved populations throughout her career. Now, in her role as executive director at Invest In Girls, Kelder is pushing to make sure that girls are financially literate and confident. Since 2010, Invest In Girls has provided girls with access to learning about…

Billy Hensley, president and CEO of NEFE, challenges critics who say personal finance education is useless, ineffective and a waste of time. — I expect the predictable articles proclaiming personal finance education simply doesn’t work. Pundits point to poor proficiency in financial literacy “tests,” and programs that show minimal change in consumer’s behaviors to support their position. Their assessment: personal finance education is useless, ineffective and a waste of time. Their solution: stop…