A good question to start your school year which is sure to motivate your students. 

Answer: $1,389 per person ($352 billion in aggregate)

Questions: 

• Are there times that your lack of financial knowledge has cost you money? Explain.
• What are specific examples that come to mind of how lack of knowledge about finance can cost people money?  
• Do you find this question motivational in wanting you to learn more about personal finance? 

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (National Financial Educator's Council)

Lacking financial literacy and not knowing how to manage one’s personal finances carried a high cost in 2021. The NFEC conducted a survey asking American adults to estimate how much money they had lost during the year due to lack of financial knowledge. The single-question survey asked U.S. residents across the country, “During the past year (2021), about how much money do you think you lost because you lacked knowledge about personal finances?”

A total of 3,389 people responded to the survey between November 23rd, 2021 and December 23rd, 2021. Six different age groups across the U.S. were represented among those surveyed. Among this diverse group of respondents, the estimated average amount of money that lacking knowledge about personal finances cost people was $1,389 in 2021.

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About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.