Using data from the Surveys of Consumers, we explore patterns of financial behaviors (cash flow management, saving, and investing) and the characteristics and learning preferences of households exhibiting these patterns. We find a wide range in diversity of financial behaviors among U.S. households. The only variables that consistently influenced having a high score for cash flow, saving, and investing behaviors were financial knowledge and financial learning experiences – those who knew more and those who learned from family, friends, and personal experiences had higher scores. The implication is that increases in knowledge and experience can lead to improvements in financial behaviors. We argue that one way to increase knowledge is to gain additional education, although we acknowledge that education is only one mechanism for influencing behavior. We conclude that a “one size fits all ” and a “one delivery technique fits all ” approach to financial education will be less effective than more targeted, tailored approaches. 1.

A review of the literature and of specific education initiatives reveals a broad range of approaches to economic and financial education. What knowledge areas and skills are targeted and how content is presented very much depends on the motives and goals of the various education providers. Central banks, for instance, provide economic and financial education basically for five reasons: (1) to enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy, (2) to ensure the smooth functioning of financial markets, (3) to support sustainable economic policies, (4) to promote economic and financial literacy as a public good and, (5) by doing so, build their reputation and promote acceptance for their actions. Economic and financial literacy tests have generally uncovered substantial knowledge gaps among citizens. Yet given the methodological deficiencies of the existing analyses, test scores must be interpreted with caution. Improving methodology remains a challenge for future research.

In this paper, we apply basic principles from the domain of design and architecture to choices made by employees saving for retirement. Three of the basic principles of design we apply are: (1) there is no neutral design, (2) design does matter, and (3) many of the seemingly minor design elements could matter as well. Applying these principles to the domain of retirement savings, we show that the design of retirement saving vehicles has a large effect on saving rates and investment elections, and that some of the minor details involved in the architecture of retirement plans could have dramatic effects on savings behavior. We conclude our paper by discussing how lessons learned from the design of objects could be applied to help people make better decisions, which we refer to as “choice architecture.” * Benartzi is grateful for financial support from Reish Luftman McDaniel & Reicher and Vanguard. We are also

Preliminary–please do not cite without permission In the US, women tend to have lower levels of financial literacy than men. This is consistent with a household division of labor in which men manage finances. However, women also tend to outlive their husbands, so they will eventually need to take over this task. Using a new survey of older couples, I find that women acquire additional financial literacy as they approach widowhood. At an estimated increase of 0.04 standard deviations per year approaching widowhood, 80 % of women in my sample would catch up with their husbands prior to the expected onset of widowhood. I also demonstrate that these findings are due to actual increases by women and are not merely an artifact of cognitive decline among older men. These results are consistent with a model in which the household division of labor breaks down when a spouse dies. The model shows that women have an incentive both to delay acquiring financial knowledge and also to begin learning before widowhood. This paper represents the first empirical examination of the financial literacy of both membersofcouplesandprovidesalife-cycleinterpretationofthegendergapinfinancial literacy. This paper employs data that is generously supported by NIA grant P01 AG026571. Many thanks to