January 5, 2009

The nation's economic crisis continues apace, and much of the focus remains on the government's efforts to shore up the financial services sector.But there is another important aspect to the problem that has gone largely unmentioned: the poor financial literacy of Americans.

The crisis has highlighted the importance of everyday Americans understanding the basics of their own personal finances - especially among young people. A survey by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy found that the average high school senior could only answer about half of the questions on a basic financial knowledge test.