Your employees know less about money than they think they do: survey

Nearly everyone believes at least one false money myth. And most think they know more than their parents, no matter what generation.

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Americans think they know more about their finances than they actually do.

From believing carrying a credit card balance improves a credit score to young people thinking they don’t need to save for retirement, 96 percent of consumers have at least one false belief about money, according to a recent survey by LendingTree.

About a fifth of people believe they are extremely financially literate, while 5 percent said they’re not at all financially literate.

Twenty-seven percent of men rated themselves as extremely financially literate, compared to 15 percent of women. Baby boomers were the most likely to rate themselves as extremely financially literate, while Gen Z were the most likely to rate themselves not at all financially literate.

Among the other key findings:

  1. When asked to rate their financial literacy on a scale of 1 to 5, most (87 percent) rated themselves at a 3 or higher. However, when asked if they believe six different money myths, 96 percent thought at least one was true.
  2. Nearly everyone believes at least one false money myth. For example, nearly half of Americans believe carrying a credit card balance will improve their credit score. And more than a quarter of Americans 40 and younger think there is no reason to save for retirement at their age.
  3. Americans are taught financial literacy at home, not at school. About half learned about finances from their parents or other family members, and 39 percent are self-taught. Just 29 percent learned about money in high school, even though 56 percent of people think they should have.
  4. Twenty-seven percent of Gen Z learn about money from social media. That’s nearly double the overall average of 14 percent across all respondents. Fifteen percent of Gen Z who learned a false money myth said that they learned it on social media, while 21 percent of millennials said the same.
  5. More than a third of Americans think they know more about money than their parents do. Those most likely to believe so include six-figure earners (54 percent), baby boomers (45 percent), college graduates (47 percent) and men (42 percent).

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