I thought CUVA CEO Laura Enock's opinion piece (CU Times, April 23, 2008, page 16) was very provocative. While I don't agree 100% with what she said or how she said it, I do agree that it takes more than education. It takes personal responsibility and motivation and self discipline, which should be addressed in our educational programs.
I disagree that other than the "truly ignorant" Americans know everything that they need to know regarding personal finance. I also don't think name calling is the way to go to gain support among credit unions.
I have been working with credit unions for about three years through my former employer BALANCE Financial Fitness, and as the financial education program manager at Tinker Federal Credit Union. I have been all over the country presenting workshops on various personal finance topics. I have taught engineers, HR professionals, government employees, city employees, public school teachers, etc., and I can tell you that they all do not understand what constitutes a credit score, why credit scores are important, and what behaviors and actions they can take to improve their score, for example. And these are professional people, not the "truly ignorant" but very educated. Another example is that I took advanced mathematics in high school but never learned how to balance a checkbook in high school--that I learned the hard way.
The opinion piece cites "too many studies have shown that financial education isn't working." I have not seen all these studies referred to. I have seen inconclusive studies, and I have seen several case studies (within the credit union movement) that financial education does make a difference.
The article says that folks inside financial institutions "know a whole lot more than the average American" in regards to personal finance, and there is at least one study that shows that is not true. Precision Information did a study on this, and the result is that credit union staff did just a hair better (not statistically significant) on a personal finance quiz than the average citizen.
I believe that financial education is vital to credit union programs but I also think education should address financial responsibility, self-discipline and motivation. I agree that there is a problem with some folks who would rather blame the system and play victim rather than be gut-level honest with themselves and take responsibility for their financial actions. I don't think that real change can take place until people do take responsibility, but I think that true education leads to taking responsibility--I know it did for me 20 years ago when I was the Princess of Plastic. In my workshops, I address the psychology behind over-spending and lack of discipline and provide as many practical tools as I can to help credit union members stay motivated as they take control of their financial situation. A true educator is a motivator.
Laura also lacked solutions to the problem she presented. I would like to hear what she and others suggest in regards to helping members take personal responsibility for their situation.
Thanks for an op-ed that caused me to think about the goals of the education we provide. It must be honest and confront both issues: lack of knowledge and lack of responsibility.
Cynthia Campbell
Financial Education Program Manager
Tinker Federal Credit Union
Oklahoma City, Okla.
