Financial literacy is key to preparing for the future, and now—more than ever—understanding economic concepts is essential for achieving financial wellness.
April is Financial Literacy Month, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is helping raise awareness with its annual financial literacy lecture series.
This year’s lecture, titled “Coping with Complexity,” took place over Zoom on Wednesday, April 2. The Scott L. Probasco Jr. Distinguished Chair of Free Enterprise, the Center for Economic Education, and the Department of Finance and Economics in the Gary W. Rollins College of Business co-hosted the conference.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Terry Odean, the Rudd Family Foundation Professor of Finance at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business.
Odean touched on topics such as health care, retirement savings, mortgage rates and the use of credit cards. He used his parents as examples of the ever-changing financial landscape.
“My parents did not have credit card debt,” Odean said. “Nobody in White Bear Lake (Minnesota) had credit card debt. That might seem miraculous, but nobody had a credit card, so they didn’t have to make sure they paid their credit card off every month. They didn’t have to cope with that complexity.
“Another example is when my parents bought the house I grew up in. They did not have to decide between an adjustable rate mortgage or fixed rate mortgage.”
Odean has a YouTube channel and posts helpful financial advice, hoping to educate the next generation on financial literacy.
Dr. Bento Lobo
At UTC, the personal finance course is one of the most popular courses on campus for teaching students about financial literacy. The course has been reclassified to a general education level course to accommodate all students.
Dr. Bento Lobo, the First Tennessee Bank Distinguished Professor of Finance, helped organize the Financial Literacy Month event and has been a part of the lecture series since its inception four years ago.
“We feel deeply in the Department of Finance and Economics that we have a role to play in spreading financial literacy and helping people understand how to make fairly complex decisions in their everyday life,” Lobo said.
“We are close to having four full sections of the personal finance course, almost 150 students every semester. That’s very heartening. It’s very good news for us because that’s one way we can make an impact. The financial literacy lecture was designed to be a broader concept that would reach the entire campus, students, faculty and staff. Also, it’s for the community at large and our extended networks.”
Lobo added that learning financial concepts early makes decision-making easier and increases the likelihood of success.
“I hope people become more aware of their financial wellness as a key to their overall wellness and a key to good mental health,” Lobo explained. “Understanding financial knowledge and education is a short step to get you there.”
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