The mission of our financial literacy campaign is to teach financial literacy to 100,000 students across America, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
The focus of the Teach It Forward Campaign is two-fold:
Increase Knowledge
Students are taught core concepts and practical information most schools ignore.
Encourage Action
Students are challenged to take short-term and long-term actions to begin healthy money habits.
Financial literacy is only taught in 23 out of 50 states. Of those that do, few teach the most critical concepts of personal finance.*
ā Council for Economic Education
*āSurvey of the States: 2022 Economics and Personal Finance Education in Our Nationās Schools,ā Council For Economic Education, 2022
4 Lifelong Effects of Financial Illiteracy
A life of foolish spending
At HowMoneyWorks, we call the habit of mindless spending the Sucker Cycle. Itās often the reason so many families can be financially ruined by a single emergency and never overcome the pressure of living paycheck-to-paycheck.
A future of debilitating debt
The average university student exits college with an average of $28,950 in debt.1 Debt can prevent students from enjoying the career, home, hobbies, relationships, goals, and retirement they have for their future.
A marriage full of disruption
According to Marriage.com, 41% of couples who get divorced state financial incompatibility as a āfinal strawā reason.2 Disagreements over financial goals and spending between spouses can cause tension, resentment, and arguments that can fester for years.
A retirement of broken dreams
The median retirement savings for American families is just $65,0003ābarely enough to cover the first few years of retirement. Millions of Americans enter their golden years unprepared, forced to scale back their lifestyle and continue working for a wage.
All four of these disasters can be avoided with one simple change:
Financial Literacy Taught in Schools.
If learned by adulthood, the knowledge of how money works and the actions to take throughout the various stages of life could mean the difference between poverty and prosperity in every community in North America.
1. ā2023 Student Loan Debt Statistics: Average Student Loan Debt,ā Forbes, July 2023
2. āReasons for Divorce:Ā Top 10 Reasons Why Marriages Fail,ā Marriage.com, Aug 2023
3. "What is the Average Retirement Savings by Age,ā NerdWallet, June 2023
HowMoneyWorks Financial Educators are partnering with local school systems, private schools, homeschools, colleges, and universities to end financial illiteracy in North America.
Tom Mathews
Author, HowMoneyWorks: Stop Being A Sucker
For whatever reason, schools donāt teach healthy spending habits, short-term money management, and building and protecting wealth for the long-term. If they wonāt teach it, we must.
Andy Horner
Author, HowMoneyWorks: Stop Being A Sucker
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