Investing

Building wealth is a top priority for “hardworking” Americans, according to a new survey from investing app Stash.
Despite political and social issues, money was the No. 1 concern for most respondents, who were polled during the first two weeks in October.
What’s more, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they thought “sometimes” or “all the time” about how wealthier people make money.

Klaus Vedfelt | Digitalvision | Getty Images

As the new year approaches, building wealth is a top priority for “hardworking” middle-class Americans, according to a new survey from investing app Stash.
Despite political and social issues, money was the No. 1 concern for most respondents, who were polled during the first two weeks in October amid House leadership uncertainty in Congress and the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

What’s more, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they thought about how wealthier people make money either “sometimes” or “all the time.”

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Money is “such a primary source of anxiety” and everyday Americans want to know how higher earners “achieved that financial security,” said Stash CEO Liza Landsman. 
The survey polled 2,000 Americans who work at least 30 hours per week and have an annual income between $50,000 and $150,000.
Those polled meet Pew Research Center’s definition of “middle class,” which is Americans making between two-thirds and twice the median American household income, or $74,580 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

How America’s top earners make money

The bottom 80% of U.S. households receive more than 93% of their adjusted gross income from wages and retirement income, according to a Brookings Institution analysis of the latest IRS data.

By comparison, the top 0.1% of households receive less than 25% of their earnings from wages or retirement income. These top earners receive most of their income from investments — such as interest, dividends and capital gains — and businesses, which often provide better tax treatment, experts say.

The tax code “incentivizes you to invest in yourself,” said Sheneya Wilson, a certified public accountant and founder of Fola Financial in New York. She encourages her salary and wage-earning clients to “diversify income.”
While most Americans pay regular income taxes on wages from each paycheck, with the top rate at 37% for 2023, long-term capital gains, applying to assets owned for more than one year, have more favorable rates, she said. Those top out at 20% for 2023.

“The more diversification you have in income, the more favorable the tax code becomes for you,” Wilson said.

Investing is a ‘game of inches’

Stash’s Landsman says that with a large chunk of investment income for top earners, “there’s an important unlock there for low- and middle-income consumers.”
“Access to the equity markets is the single greatest wealth creation engine the country has known for the last several decades,” she said.
Regardless of income, wage earners can leverage the power of investing by starting early. Still, Landsman warns that there’s no “fast pass” to lasting economic security.
“It’s really a game of inches where very small, very tiny behavioral changes can make a huge positive impact in your life,” she said. More

In October, the pandemic-era pause on student loan payments expired, and some 22 million people had their bills due again.
Just 60% of those borrowers had made a payment by mid-November, new U.S. Department of Education data shows.

Bymuratdeniz | E+ | Getty Images

Confusion between on-ramp period, payment pause

Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit, said she was not surprised that so many borrowers hadn’t paid their bill. In the past, default rates among student loan borrowers have skyrocketed when payments resumed after natural disaster-related forbearances.
“I also attribute some of it to some borrowers just not realizing payments have come due,” Mayotte said.
Former President Donald Trump first announced the stay on federal student loan bills and the accrual of interest in March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the U.S. and crippled the economy. The pause was extended eight times.

I also attribute some of it to some borrowers just not realizing payments have come due.

Betsy Mayotte
president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors

Nearly all people eligible for the relief took advantage of it, with less than 1% of qualifying borrowers continuing to make payments on their education debt, according to an analysis by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, a trade group for federal student loan servicers, said he worried that some student loan holders were confusing the Biden administration’s 12-month “on-ramp” to repayment — during which they’re shielded from the worst consequences of falling behind — for another extension of the payment pause.
“There is a fundamental difference here,” Buchanan said. “Interest is accruing now.”
Throughout the payment pause, the interest rates on most federal student loans were set to zero, but interest began accruing again on Sept. 1. As a result, borrowers who don’t make payments now will see their balances grow.

Borrowers struggle to reenter student loan system

Many borrowers describe challenges trying to get current on their student loans, with long wait times trying to reach their servicers, errors with their bills, lost account information and confusion over new options rolled out over the past three years.
There had been several warnings that borrowers could face problems when their bills resumed.
In a court filing last year, Kvaal wrote that President Joe Biden’s broad student loan forgiveness plan was necessary to stave off “a historically large increase in the amount of federal student loan delinquency and defaults as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The Supreme Court rejected the president’s plan in June.

Even prior to the pandemic, when the U.S. economy was in one of its healthiest periods in history, nearly half of student loan borrowers were behind on their payments or enrolled in relief measures for those struggling, including deferments or forbearances, according to Kantrowitz.
Outstanding education debt in the U.S. exceeds $1.7 trillion, burdening Americans more than credit card or auto debt. The average loan balance at graduation has tripled since the ’90s, to $30,000 from $10,000. Around 7% of student loan borrowers are now more than $100,000 in debt.
The current payment numbers from the Education Department show that the student loan crisis is only worsening, said Astra Taylor, co-founder of the Debt Collective, a union for debtors.
“Faced with the impossible choice of feeding their kids, keeping a roof over their head or throwing an average of $400 a month into the Department of Education incinerator, borrowers are rightly choosing to keep themselves and their families financially afloat,” Taylor said. More

There are steps you can take at the start of the new year to get the most out of your workplace health plan and to avoid surprising bills, experts say.
You’ll want to make sure you know the full cost of your coverage, including co-insurance rates and deductibles.
You may also find your coverage has changed in 2024.

Drs Producoes | E+ | Getty Images

Most employees sign up for the workplace health-care plan during open enrollment and then don’t think much about it afterward.
But there are steps you can take at the start of the new year to get the most out of your coverage and to avoid surprising bills, experts say.

Here are some of them.

Learn all of your plan’s costs

The costs of your health insurance plan go far beyond your premium, or the monthly amount you pay an insurer to participate in a health plan, which your employer typically deducts from your paychecks.
You also need to learn about your deductibles, co-insurance, copays and out-of-pocket maximums.
It’s complicated. So if you are confused, you are most likely not alone.

Deductible: How much you’ll have to shell out before your employer’s plan kicks in. 
Coinsurance: the share you’re on the hook for with covered services. 
Copayments: The fixed amount you’ll pay for certain health-care services after you’ve paid your deductible.

Your out-of-pocket maximum is a limit on the total amount you’ll have to pay during the year — including copays, co-insurance and deductibles. After you’ve hit this ceiling, your insurer can’t ask you to pay any more.

Remember, these charges reset every year.

Check for changes from 2023 to 2024

It’s likely that your employer-sponsored health plan is a little different in 2024. As a result, you should review your coverage come January.
“Usually, when you sign up for a plan, you receive in the mail a full plan benefit guide,” said Caitlin Donovan, a spokesperson for the National Patient Advocate Foundation.

You should also be able to learn about your covered benefits on your plan’s website. If you don’t know how to access this information, contact your human resources department.
On the positive side, you might find your coverage has expanded.
For example, 15% of large companies offered menopause benefits in 2023 or planned to do so in 2024, compared with 4% in the years before, according to benefits consulting firm Mercer. More firms are also extending pet insurance and elder caregiving benefits to workers, it found.
Meanwhile, Donovan said she’s seen a “rapid expansion” in the coverage of alternative services, “like doulas, acupuncturists, reiki and massage therapists.”
Many health-care plans will cover all or part of a gym membership, Donovan said.
“Others may cover certain types of wellness apps, from Weight Watchers to meditation,” she said.
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On the flip side, you may discover that your plan has rolled back its coverage in a way that affects you. Still, that’s important to know.
“You don’t want to go to a doctor and find out they are not in your insurance network, as that can get very costly,” said certified financial planner and physician Carolyn McClanahan, founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida. 
You should be able to check if a certain provider is covered under your plan on their website or portal. If you see a doctor is in-network, Donovan recommends taking a screenshot.
If the information turns out not to be accurate, you shouldn’t be held liable for out-of-network charges under the No Surprises Act, she said.

Plan your care for the year

In January, you want to make a list of your medical needs for the upcoming year, said McClanahan, who also is a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.
“If it is enough to hit the deductible, I go ahead and get it done, knowing that the rest of the year will be deductible free,” she said. “Then towards the end of the year, I get as much done as possible so I can hopefully decrease my utilization the next year. This includes filling up on all my prescription medications as much as can be allowed.”
It’s also best to schedule any particularly expensive treatments or procedures once your deductible has been met.

Remember that your health insurer likely must cover preventive services, including mammograms, colonoscopies and wellness visits, at no charge to you, whether or not you’ve hit your deductible. More

The Powerball jackpot has jumped to an estimated $543 million without a winner from Saturday night’s drawing.
There are two grand prize options: a lump sum of $272.2 million or an annuitized payout of $543 million.
The next Powerball drawing is on Monday at 10:59 p.m. ET.

Scott Olson | Getty

Lump sum distribution may be ‘a mistake’

“Virtually everybody who wins the lottery picks the lump sum distribution,” said Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago-based lawyer who has represented several lottery winners. “And I think that’s a mistake.”
In many cases, the annuity is a better option because “the typical lottery winner doesn’t have the infrastructure in place to manage such a large sum so quickly,” he said.

The typical lottery winner doesn’t have the infrastructure in place to manage such a large sum so quickly.

Andrew Stoltmann

Stoltmann said the annuity protects winners from first-, second- or third-year financial mistakes while keeping the majority of the proceeds safe. 

Make a long-term plan for the windfall

“Flexibility and control over assets is a really good thing, but it’s not necessarily for everybody,” said certified financial planner and enrolled agent John Loyd, owner at The Wealth Planner in Fort Worth, Texas.
While the lump sum payout could be a good financial move for some winners, he said that others may benefit from the spending guardrails of annuitized payments.

However, some winners may later decide to sell the annuity to a third-party company for a lump sum payment. “The issue is they don’t get the best bang for their buck on that payoff,” Loyd warned.
Monday’s Powerball drawing comes roughly two months after a single ticket sold in California won the game’s $1.765 billion jackpot. Meanwhile, the Mega Millions jackpot is back down to $41 million, and the odds of winning that prize are roughly 1 in 302 million. More

Asia’s family offices used to have a far bigger appetite for risks compared to their global counterparts — but that could be changing, according to a recent survey.
What sets family offices apart from traditional wealth managers is that they solely offer services to an affluent individual or family.
On a global scale, 9% of the world’s family offices are located in Asia, according to KPMG Private Enterprise and family office consultancy Agreus.

Singapore city skyline on September 18, 2016.
Rustam Azmi | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Asia’s family offices used to have a far bigger appetite for risks compared to their global counterparts — but that could be changing, according to a recent survey.
A Citi Private Bank global survey in the third quarter of the year showed there has been a shift out of cash and into risk assets by family offices around the world — but with one notable exception, Asia.

A family office is a private wealth management advisory firm that caters to high net worth individuals. Citi’s survey was conducted on its family office clients, who collectively had a total net worth of $565 billion, and hailed from across the globe — with two-thirds coming from outside North America.
What sets family offices apart from traditional wealth managers is that they solely offer services to an affluent individual or family.

Asian family offices allocated far more funds into risky assets than low-risk assets in the first half of the year, Hannes Hofmann of Citi Private Bank told CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia in late November.
As such, “it’s harder for them to add to risk at this point,” he added.

About 44% of assets held by Asian family offices were private and public equity, compared to 30% to 33% in cash and fixed income, according to Citi’s Hofmann.

That’s a much bigger differential than family offices in the U.S., Europe, or in Latin America.

Hungry for risks

There are several reasons for the comparatively huge risk appetite of Asian family offices, including a historically low interest rate environment and bets on China’s post-Covid recovery, which has since lost ground.
Citi also noted that the potential slowdown in China and disruption of supply chains had a strong impact on the portfolio allocation of Asian family offices.
Another factor is that equity markets in Asia have fallen so far this year, compared with the U.S. or Europe.

Stock chart icon

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has slumped about 15% year-to-date, while mainland China’s CSI 300 has fallen more than 13% during the same period. Both were the worst performing major Asian stocks gauges so far this year.
On the other hand, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index has rallied 23% this year, while Europe’s Stoxx 600 has gained more than 12%.

Singapore a bright spot

On a global scale, 9% of the world’s family offices are located in Asia, according to KPMG Private Enterprise and family office consultancy Agreus.
In Asia, Singapore ranks first as a hub for family offices around the world, with about 59% of them based in the city-state so far in 2023, the report showed.
About 14% were based in Hong Kong, 13% in India and the rest were located in Malaysia, Thailand and Pakistan, Agreus said.
Singapore’s proactive regulatory stance and attractive tax rates have made it a top pick among the wealthy. The island nation also acts as a strategic base to access other investment opportunities in Asia in order to diversify investment portfolios.
“I think in Singapore, the MAS as a regulator is very proactive. Which is a great thing,” said Tayyab Mohamed, co-founder of Agreus, referring to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the country’s central bank and financial regulator.
“So they’ve gone out there and really marketed Singapore and to bring family offices from all over the world to set up there,” he told CNBC. More

Your Money

Among generations, Gen Z is the most confident they’ll be financially prepared for retirement when the time comes, according to the 2023 Planning and Progress Study by Northwestern Mutual. 
Women of this age group especially reflect this outlook: Nearly 6 in 10, or 59%, of Gen Z women believe they will be financially prepared for retirement, the study found. 
“This generation almost has no filter,” said certified financial planner Veronica Fuentes, a managing director at Northwestern Mutual based in Washington, D.C.

Luis Alvarez | Digitalvision | Getty Images

While some recent reports have painted Generation Z as taking a relaxed “soft saving” approach to retirement, new research finds this generation is the most confident they’ll be able to retire. Gen Z women are especially optimistic. 
Almost two-thirds, 65%, of Gen Z respondents are confident they’ll be financially prepared for retirement when the time comes, according to the 2023 Planning and Progress Study by Northwestern Mutual. This is the highest percentage of all the generations, compared with 54% of millennials, 45% of Gen X and 52% of baby boomers. 

Gen Z women are particularly confident compared with women of other generations. Nearly 6 in 10, or 59%, of women in this age group believe they will be financially prepared for retirement, versus 43% of millennials, 38% of Gen X, and 48% of baby boomers, the study said.
The results are based on 2,740 conducted interviews among U.S. adults between Feb. 17 and March 2, the study said.
Gen Z includes people born in 1997 or later, according to the Pew Research Center.

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A positive attitude toward planning is behind this generation’s retirement confidence.
“This generation almost has no filter,” said certified financial planner Veronica Fuentes, a managing director at Northwestern Mutual based in Washington, D.C.

“They will say anything that is on their minds and they will ask any questions,” Fuentes said. “They’re just open to people guiding them in the right direction and they’re not scared to ask for help.”

Asking questions gives Gen Zers ‘a leg up’

Gen Z investors are open to taking advice from experts and show a willingness to make changes in their financial plan, Fuentes said.
Members of Gen Z are also more apt to vet financial information they see online or on social media, according to both Fuentes and certified financial planner Clifford Cornell.
Social media “gets the gears turning for people because they’re getting exposure to things they otherwise wouldn’t have, and then they’re able to ask the right question,” said Cornell, an associate financial advisor at Bone Fide Wealth in New York.
In the age of information, financial education is more accessible to Gen Zers than prior generations.
“Our ability to use those tools to our advantage … really gives our generation a leg up. Older generations didn’t really have those tools to use to their ability,” said Cornell.

How to ‘mitigate fear’ and stay on track for retirement

This openness may help Gen Z women speak more comfortably about their finances and take the steps to keep them on track to retire comfortably, advisors say.
“The positivity towards planning is really what drives that,” Fuentes said.

Starting to plan for retirement and investing early helps younger investors make strides to avoid a fear many older, less prepared workers have. On average, Americans say there is a 45% chance they outlive their retirement savings, and 33% haven’t taken the steps to address the possibility, Northwestern Mutual found.
“The top thing you could do to mitigate fear is to start as early as possible,” said Fuentes. “Even if you think a $50 savings into your 401(k) every month is small, something is better than nothing.”
Here are two steps to help:

Regularly revisit your retirement savings plan. Ideally, you ought to revisit your plan every year or so. That helps you make sure you’re on track for your targets, especially if you hope to retire early. Doing so will give you the opportunity to pivot if your goals or timelines change.
Boost your retirement contributions. Most advisors recommend setting aside 15% of your annual pay for retirement. That can seem like a tall order, especially for workers starting out their careers. If you can’t hit that target immediately, aim to regularly boost your contributions. “Really challenge yourself to do better every year,” said Fuentes. Set a new savings target every year. Even a small adjustment of 1% annually has an impact. “That compounding over the year over a 10-year, 20-year, 30-year period is going to make a huge difference,” she said.  More

A person walks by a CVS pharmacy store in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 15, 2021.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters

Several dividend stocks had a rough year due to elevated interest rates. With the Federal Reserve signaling rate cuts in 2024, dividend stocks are expected to regain their shine.
Keeping a long-term investment horizon in mind, here are three attractive dividend stocks, according to Wall Street’s top experts on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

OneMain Holdings

This week’s first dividend pick is OneMain Holdings (OMF), a financial services company that provides non-prime customers access to credit. Last month, the company paid a quarterly dividend of $1 per share. OMF offers an attractive dividend yield of about 9%.
Following the company’s recent Investor Day, RBC Capital analyst Kenneth Lee reiterated a buy rating on OMF stock with a price target of $50. The analyst stated that following the event, he is more confident about the company’s underwriting and analytics, and has gained additional insights into the benefits of its omnichannel presence.
In particular, OMF’s management indicated that the company’s underwriting models, which leverage machine learning, alternative data, and cash flow data, have two times more predictive power than bureau credit scores. Lee also highlighted that the company’s recent entry into auto financing has significantly expanded its total addressable market to about $1.3 trillion.
The company expects its annual capital generation per share to be about $12.50 in the medium term, with nearly 5% capital generation return on receivables. “Importantly, after factoring in capital retained for organic growth and paying dividends, there could be ~$6/share in excess capital generation annually,” said Lee.
Lee ranks No. 115 among more than 8,600 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 65% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 14.3%. (See OneMain Financial Statements on TipRanks) 

CVS Health

We move to the retail pharmacy chain CVS Health (CVS), which announced an around 10% hike in its quarterly dividend to 66.5 cents earlier this month. With this hike, the company’s forward dividend yield stands at about 3.5%.
CVS hosted its Investor Day on Dec. 5. Following the event, Mizuho analyst Ann Hynes noted that the company’s long-term adjusted EPS growth floor of over 6% was below her high-single-digit forecast.
That said, Hynes sees the possibility of an upside to the company’s guidance if it gains market share through the execution of its growth strategies and the success of the new pharmacy reimbursement model. The analyst also expects CVS’ focus on health care delivery to boost its growth, as the company continues to enhance its Signify and Oak Street businesses.     
“CVS remains committed to a balanced capital deployment strategy with growing dividend,” added Hynes.
Notably, the company expects to have $40 billion to $50 billion of deployable cash from 2024 to 2026, with an expected annual average free cash flow of $7 billion. It intends to allocate 35% towards capital expenditures and 25% towards dividends, with the remaining 40% available for flexible deployment, including share repurchases.
Overall, Hynes remains bullish on CVS and reaffirmed a buy rating on the stock with a price target of $86. Hynes holds the 489th position among more than 8,600 analysts on TipRanks. Her ratings have been successful 61% of the time, with each delivering a return of 7.2%, on average. (See CVS Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks).

Devon Energy

Last month, oil and gas producer Devon Energy (DVN) declared a fixed plus variable dividend of 77 cents per share, payable on December 29. This dividend payment marked a 57% increase from the second quarter of 2023. Considering total dividends of $2.87 declared over the past 12 months, DVN offers an attractive yield of 6.5%.
Recently, Goldman Sachs analysts, led by Neil Mehta, hosted meetings with Devon’s management. Importantly, management acknowledged that 2023 has been a challenging year for the company with negative revisions to production, partly due to underperformance in the Bakken region and well selection and appraisal activity in the Delaware basin (including weather-related issues) and Eagle Ford.
That said, Mehta highlighted that management sees the opportunity to regain its capital efficiency relative to peers in 2024, by allocating more capital to the Delaware basin than to Bakken.
DVN reiterated plans to allocate 70% of its 2024 free cash flow towards cash returns, with the intention of growing the fixed dividend and deploying excess FCF towards share repurchases and variable dividends. The analyst noted that management plans to prioritize share repurchases over variable dividends, given that DVN stock has underperformed its large-cap peers year-to-date.
Mehta reiterated his rating on Devon stock with a price target of $52, saying, “We are Buy-rated on the shares and see potential for mean reversion with favorable production/cost execution.”
Mehta ranks No. 346 among more than 8,600 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 61% of the time, with each delivering a return of 10.6%, on average (See Devon Energy Technical Analysis on TipRanks) 

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Pennsylvania is the 25th state to pass legislation guaranteeing its high school students will take a semester-long course in personal finance before graduation. 
Now 53% of students will have a mandatory financial education course in high school, according to Next Gen Personal Finance. 
Since 2013, there has been a more than 700% increase in states requiring students to take a personal finance course before graduation, according to John Pelletier, director of the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College.

CNBC’s senior personal finance correspondent Sharon Epperson speaks with high school students as part of Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee’s Finance Park financial literacy program.
Sam Wiseman

High schools are increasingly offering real-world financial lessons to students — and soon more than half of U.S. high schoolers will be required to take a personal finance course before graduation.
This week, Pennsylvania became the 25th state to guarantee a personal finance course for high school students. Starting in the fall of 2026,  Pennsylvania schools will provide a mandatory course in personal financial literacy for students in the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grades. On Wednesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed into law an omnibus bill that included this provision.

“As a result of this legislation, more than half of high school students in the U.S. — 53% — will have guaranteed access to a standalone personal finance course,” said Yanely Espinal, Director of Educational Outreach at Next Gen Personal Finance, a non-profit financial education advocacy organization. Eight states currently guarantee that students will take a personal finance course and 17 states are implementing these policies.
The momentum for financial education in schools has picked up significant steam this year. Eight states have adopted policies in 2023 guaranteeing students will take a personal finance course before graduation. 
Earlier this month, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a bill that requires high school students to take a personal finance literacy course to graduate, starting with the class of 2028. “We have to make sure our kids have the tools and skills to make smart financial and budgeting decisions to prepare for their future, so ensuring our kids have strong financial literacy is essential to setting them up for success as adults,” Evers said in a press release.
The latest “report card” from the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, shows seven states — Alabama, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia — made the top grade. They earned an “A” because, in those states, high school graduates in the class of 2023 were required to have taken a personal finance course before graduation. 
By 2028, when new laws and policy changes are fully implemented, 25 states are projected to earn an “A,” said Pelletier of the Center for Financial Literacy. “Tremendous change is on the horizon. States are rapidly passing laws and changing regulations.” 

High school personal finance courses generally teach students real-world lessons about earning income, spending and savings, credit and credit scores, investing, and managing risk, among other topics. These are financial lessons for life. 

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‘Not a day will go by that you don’t think about money’

“Once you graduate from high school, not a day will go by that you don’t think about money, how to make it, how to spend it, how to save it. You will be thinking about this until the day you die,” Pelletier said. 
Although some schools and school districts have mandated students receive financial education, experts say the recent increase in the number of states that now guarantee high school students will take a financial literacy course before they graduate is partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which underscored the financial fragility of many Americans.

“If you leave it up to local control, the districts most likely to unilaterally do this locally, they’re white, and they’re rich. So you would argue the folks that need it the most are the least likely to get it unless the state requires everyone gets it,” Pelletier said. 
Studies show personal finance education can make a significant difference in young adults’ financial behaviors, from improving credit scores and lowering loan delinquency rates to reducing payday lending and helping students make better decisions about college loans.

A few states still have ‘virtually no requirements’

Meanwhile, four states — California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and South Dakota — and Washington, D.C., got failing grades, receiving “Fs in this report because they have “virtually no requirements” for personal finance education in high school. Still, advocates in these “failing” states are working to change the laws to ensure students are guaranteed financial education. 
“We are currently collecting signatures in support of financial education for all high schoolers,” said California resident Tim Ranzetta, co-founder of Next Gen Personal Finance. “We are far outpacing our estimates, demonstrating what we all inherently know: that personal finance is an impactful and easy-to-implement course with strong demand from both students, parents and the general public.”
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