As the cost of living continues to rise, financial literacy has become more important than ever. Kyla Scanlon, Author, ‘In This Economy?, joined TheStreet to discuss areas where consumers need more financial awareness as well as the lack of financial confidence among Gen-Z.
Full Video Transcript Below:
CONWAY GITTENS: And so what are some key areas where you think people need more education and more awareness, awareness when it comes to their finances?
KYLA SCANLON: I really think it is dealing with interest rates. I used to sell cars and I think that there’s sometimes a little bit of confusion around, you know, what is financing a car actually look like and what is an 84 month payment actually costing me. So I would say, like that’s a big thing. Auto is a huge part of people’s budget. And oftentimes, you know, having such extended payments can be very painful for people as well. I think the second thing is housing. You know, mortgages are great, but then you have all these other things that oftentimes come as a surprise, I think, to homeowners when you’re buying a home like property taxes, insurance, et cetera. And so I’d say those two things, which are kind of like the core part of an economic experience, which is buying a car and buying a house. There could always be more education around. It’s not people’s fault that they don’t know it. It’s not something that we’re necessarily taught in school, but it’s super important to understand.
CONWAY GITTENS: And what about the generational differences. A recent survey showed that Gen Z lacks financial confidence. How can we bridge how can this gap be bridged?
KYLA SCANLON: Sure Yeah. I think that the lack of financial confidence probably comes from student loan debt. You know, you’re 18 years old and you’re signing a huge loan for, you know, $100,000 or such. And so I think that can maybe be addressed, like actually walking people through what student loan debt is, what impact that it can have. It would be a great first step. I’m a big advocate of policy like public policy. I think that setting people up with some sort of stock market account would love to see it return to baby bonds. I just think that having a financial foundation, to use that word again would help reduce some of this financial uncertainty that we see. I think a lot of people just worry about the lack of safety net because if something happens like like, you know, where do you where do you go. What do you do. And so I just think that the more that we can help people sort establish a financial foundation, the less uncertainty that we could see.
