Bruce Predicts Trends in Financial Education

January 7, 2009

Top Five: Bruce’s Picks for Trends in Financial Education for '09

The Financial Meltdown of 2008 had everyone consumed with all things financial as the economic landscape we were used to morphed into something else entirely. Despite the many questions still lingering around the consequences of this monumental change, we can say with certainty that much change in the way money is handled and perceived is in store for us in 2009. Bruce Nofsinger, Topics’ in-house expert on financial literacy, shares his top five predictions for trends within financial education in 2009.

1. The Bad: Frozen credit will squeeze college students who are dependent on student loans. The Good: There will be a more concerted effort to provide meaningful counseling (entrance & exit) to loan recipients.

2. The Bad: Financial service providers will suffer revenue losses and will cut budgets from financial education efforts. The Good: Some financial service providers will become more strategic in their efforts, differentiating themselves from their competitors through customer service via meaningful financial education efforts.

3. The Bad: Student credit card debt levels will continue to climb and will continue to represent the highest percentage of charge offs for credit card issuers. The Good: The spotlight will be especially bright on the marketing practices as well as the financial education practices on college campuses (see "Colleges Profit as Banks Market Credit Cards to Students" from the New York Times, 12/31/08).

4. The Bad: The average savings rate in the U.S. will drop into negative territory again (as it did a few years ago when people spent more than they earned for the first time since the Great Depression). The Good: More and more people will consciously consider opportunity costs in their spending priorities.

5. The Bad: Higher levels of consumer debt and economic concerns will exacerbate stress levels. The Good: More employers will offer employees financial education, and more counselors and therapists will point their patients toward effective financial education and counseling.