Education makes a people easy to lead but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.
– Peter Brougham
The Financial Literacy Index & Quiz
We believe that financial education is the foundation of opportunity, security, and independence. Our mission is to measure and improve the state of financial literacy in America by providing continuous data on how much people truly understand about money and personal finance.
Why Financial Literacy Matters
Tracking the State of Financial Literacy in America
Financial literacy is the ability to understand and apply essential financial skills, such as budgeting, saving, investing, and managing personal finances. It empowers individuals to make informed decisions about money, avoid financial pitfalls, and build a secure financial future.
A financially educated society is a stronger society—one where individuals have greater control over their financial destinies rather than being manipulated by any power that might profit from financial ignorance.
Source: “Financial Illiteracy Cost Americans $1,015 in 2024,” National Financial Educators Council, 2024
The number one problem in today’s generation and economy is the lack of financial literacy.
– Alan Greenspan
Source: “10 Eye-Opening Financial Literacy Statistics,” OppU, Sep 2023
What We Do
The Financial Literacy Index
We collect and analyze continuous data from our open quiz to create the Financial Literacy Index, a comprehensive numerical representation of our society's average financial knowledge.
By delving deeper into the index data, we gain valuable insights into specific timeframes, knowledge categories, and a diverse range of demographics, offering an unprecedented ability to assess the financial literacy strengths and weaknesses of distinct groups within our society. These insights enable the development of tailored educational programs that address the unique needs of each population segment.
The Financial Literacy Quiz
The Financial Literacy Quiz presents each respondent with 25 randomized questions selected from a pool of 100 total questions, organized into 5 key knowledge categories.
This structure ensures that every respondent is assessed across a broad spectrum of financial knowledge. After completing the quiz, respondents have the option to provide their demographic data, which offers them a more complete personal analysis and the opportunity to support our global research.
Question Categories
Our pool of 100 quiz questions are organized into five categories, each representing a key knowledge area essential for a well-rounded financial education.
Financial Literacy Quiz Categories:
- Wealth Building
- Resource Management
- Foundational Concepts
- Financial Systems
- Protection & Risk
Respondent Demographics
The index is designed to reflect the broadest possible diversity of individuals, providing data that can enhance and expand financial education across the widest range of communities in America.
Demographic Data Collected:
Basis for Quiz Questions and Categories
The questions and categories in the Financial Literacy Quiz have been meticulously developed from WealthWave’s financial education book series, training tools, and curriculum—the foundation of the Financial Literacy Index research project.
WealthWave’s team of experts, each with decades of experience in personal finance and education, designed the quiz to reflect real-world financial knowledge and best practices. This carefully refined set of questions is the result of years of successfully teaching financial education to almost a million individuals across diverse markets and communities. The categories are based on core principles of financial literacy and the 7 Money Milestones—a proven wealth-building model utilized by thousands of WealthWave financial educators throughout North America.
After training countless students through our books and educational materials, we’ve built a well-founded basis for the precise questions used in the Financial Literacy Quiz. This ensures that the quiz provides a credible measure of an individual’s financial literacy and that the index reflects an accurate approximation of the state of financial literacy in America.
– Tom Mathews, Founder/CEO of WealthWAve
With each quiz response, we gain deeper insights into the constantly changing state of financial literacy in America and where improvements in financial education are needed. This is the purpose of the Financial Literacy Index.
Even a little financial knowledge can make a big difference.
– Sharon lechter
Our Mission
Our mission is to empower the advancement of financial education in North America.
Before we can improve financial literacy, we must first understand where Americans stand. The Financial Literacy Index and Quiz exists to create a baseline with useful data about the current state of financial literacy that can help individuals, educators, policymakers, and organizations take meaningful action to improve financial knowledge and opportunity for all.
Join us in building a more financially educated and empowered society. Take the quiz today and be part of our movement to democratize financial knowledge!
“As a financial educator, I’m committed to advancing financial education by sharing the Financial Literacy Quiz. I work closely with individuals to uncover their financial literacy score, identify strengths and areas for growth, and empower them with the knowledge to build financial confidence and well-being.”
– James Cadzull
