In honor of National Financial Literacy Month, Erik Sussman, co-founder and CEO of the Institute of Financial Wellness, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the importance of financial literacy on the U.S. economy. 

Opening Bell

The Importance Of Financial Literacy On The U.S. Economy

here to talk more about it. Eric Sussman, co founder and Ceo of the Institute of Financial Wellness erIC first of all, thank you so much for joining us. Can you talk a little bit more about financial literacy and why the average americans should care? Absolute. one of the things about financial literacy in the United States of America, There was a survey done by the standard and poor's global financial literacy survey and they found that 57% of Americans are financially literate and I think there's a lot of room for improvement in that. But the interesting fact is that it's about half of that in emerging countries. So in emerging countries it's it's more like 28%. So it shows you that a healthy economy is really, really funded more so by financially literate people than less, less financially educated people really interesting just a little bit over half here domestically in the US. And I mean it goes without saying that sounds like it's common sense, but how exactly does financial literacy help an economy like here in the US and help drive economic growth. You know, I can really relate to this individually as a person growing up in my household, there was a lot of financial stress. Um you know, my mom and dad would fight about money, they were always struggling and they didn't make the right decisions and they had a lot of good years where they made good money. So if they were smart and literate and understood, you know strategically how they could save money, how how they could automatically save money, Things like dollar cost averaging tax advantages through Roth Iras and Ira's um basic investment fundamentals. When times got tough for them, they would have had a cushion, they would have been much better off. You. Magnify that. I mean there's so many people through doing what we do at the Institute of Financial Wellness. We need so many people that don't make good decisions with their money and it's not just about being, you know, in a lower socioeconomic class that we have to educate people. It's all people, there's people In, in my line of work, we meet people that make $500,000 and they spend $501,000 and then things get more difficult for them later on down the road so I can speak to it really firsthand. I think the financial stress is something that so many americans can relate to, especially right now and the reality is that having financial literacy as a tool can help you to weather future crises. I do think that makes it more concerning that there's a lack of access and there's a disparity in terms of access to financial literacy tools, financial education, depending on ethnic background, racial background. I'm sure class also plays into this as well to your point. Um, so how do we close that gap and make sure there's more access, sorry, just about 30 seconds left here. Yeah, well I'll answer it two ways number one, we've got to get people educated in schools. I'm proud to be a resident of florida where like the 11th or 12th state that is putting it in the curriculums, so making it mandatory to have financial literacy. The other thing is, you know, that's exactly why we created the Institute of Financial Wellness to provide financial education resources and services two americans from all different facets of America. So um not only are we, you know, completely agnostic and all that, but we show people how to implement strategies through connecting them with financial professionals, which makes it unique. So it's not just about getting the financial information, you've got to use it. Eric Sussman, co founder and Ceo of the Institute of Financial Wellness. So good to have you on the show. Thanks so much.