To obtain a better understanding of personal finance, NEFE identifies and promotes in-depth exploration of financial issues of concern to the public. Learn more below about the different research NEFE has done through grants or with partners.
NEFE partners with New York-based research firm Harris Interactive to conduct its online polling. Through Harris’ QuickQuerySM omnibus product, NEFE utilizes the surveys to gauge the opinions of the general U.S. population on issues related to budgeting, spending and managing money.
Ongoing Grants:
Financial Behavior, Debt, and Early Life Transitions: Insights from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997
Debt is emerging as a typical accompaniment to early life transitions, such as college attendance, exiting the parental home, and establishing an independent household and family. Debt and challenges of financial management are thus becoming deeply embedded in the lived experiences of young Americans as they transition toward adulthood. Professors Randy Hodson and Rachel Dwyer have gathered a team of researchers to study the effects of debt on these transitions. The data that will inform the study is the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1997 cohort. Scheduled to complete in December 2013, updates will be posted here periodically.
An Investigation of the Effect of Financial Literacy on Downstream Financial Behaviors
Awarded in June 2011, this meta-analytic and psychometric investigation, conducted by John G. Lynch, Ph.D., of the University of Colorado – Boulder, seeks to examine how actual financial literacy relates to financial behaviors throughout the life cycle. This meta-analysis will help current and future financial education researchers to understand why some studies show strong effects of financial literacy and others weak effects. Project updates will be posted here, so check back often!
The Significance of Gender for Savings and Retirement in Latino Populations
This project is the third round of investigation with Latino Populations in Chicago, IL, conducted by Karen Richman, Ph.D., at the University of Notre Dame. The purpose of this project is to conduct an ethnographic study to illuminate how gender affects savings and retirement in diverse populations, including ethnic groups, classes, ages, families and generations. Findings will have broad application beyond Latinos. Awarded in June 2011, this project will complete in February 2013.
Completed Grants:
This grant, awarded in 2009, builds on results of a pilot study to further assess the effects of advertising on consumer attraction to debt consolidation products. The three-phase study tested different types of ads to understand consumer perceptions and likelihood of use. This research project sought to help prevent borrowers from falling prey to the lure of entering debt consolidation type programs as a means to lower monthly payments in order to take on more debt.
Drawing from more than 50 combined years of experience in the field of Adult Education, Elizabeth Tisdell, Ph.D., Edward Taylor, Ph.D., and Karin Sprow, Ph.D. - The Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg - compared and contrasted findings from their survey of financial educators against financial education curricula currently being used within the field of Financial Education.
Many college graduates will enter young adulthood poised for success. Some may stumble at first, and still others will fall. What sets them on different pathways? To answer this question, University of Arizona started a landmark longitudinal research study to look at the connections between financial success and well-being in a diverse group of first-year college students.
Did you know that Latino workers are more likely than other ethnic groups to rely heavily on Social Security for their retirement income? It’s true—Latinos also are far less likely to be covered by employer-provided pensions or to be contributing to employer based retirement savings plans. And, with limited individual assets, Latinos remain more vulnerable than other groups tolow income and poverty.
Dartmouth college researchers are optimistic that the workplace financial education program model they have identified and developed will increase participation in retirement savings accounts. Using video testimonials, researchers witnessed a 56 percent increase in enrollment in employer-sponsored retirement savings plans within 30 days of new-hire orientation.
In 2006, NEFE awarded a $104,807 research grant to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study how prepared teachers are to teach financial education in the nation’s schools and how educators’ personal issues with money management may affect their willingness and ability to effectively include personal finance in the curriculum.
An innovative tool to evaluate the effectiveness of financial education programs now is accessible to individuals and organizations involved in financial literacy activities. The new resource, called the NEFE Financial Education Evaluation Toolkit® , was developed by university researchers through a $137,000 grant from NEFE.
Dr. Michael Gutter of the University of Florida recently completed an independent evaluation of high school personal finance standards. Through research at 15 college campuses across the U.S., Gutter examined the relationship between exposure to varying state mandates for high school financial education and college students' financial knowledge, financial dispositions, and financial behaviors.
In an exclusive six-week series from Nov. 20 to Dec. 29, 2006, the National Endowment for Financial Education and USA TODAY® launched a study of the twenty-something generation titled “Young & In Debt,” which found that young adults are facing significant challenges in managing their money and their debt. The series paired five different young people with financial planners to give them—and readers—advice on maintaining order in their financial lives, while providing helpful tips on paying off debt, establishing a budget and saving for the future.
NEFE Grants Prior to 2006
Guidebook to Help Late Savers Prepare for Retirement
In 1999, NEFE funded the work of Cecilia Hayhoe, Ph.D. to develop a resource that detailed how to take advantages of mid-and-later-life saving opportunities; steps that can be taken in early retirement; a list of helpful print, internet, and government resources; and an easy-to-use workbook that motivates late savers to take action.
Smart Money Management
This two-pronged project was designed to meet the unique financial literacy training needs of clients of substance abuse treatment centers and half-way houses as well as develop an in-service seminar on integrating personal financial education to respond to the relevant training needs of counselors, case managers, and other professionals serving them.
Retirement Planning for Caregivers
This NEFE funded project developed a program for caregivers of elderly parents or children to help them maximize the retirement planning strategies that are open to them and to provide them with other financial information to assist them with their financial planning.
Increasing Financial Worth: Strategies for Minority Economic Development
A disparate number of minority individuals are charged a higher premium in fees and interest rates that they cannot afford based on their current credit standing. This project identifies and addresses the financial challenges that are disparately experienced by low to moderate-income predominately African American individuals and families. Through an award to Hampton University, Ruby Beale, Ph.D. led the development of a curriculum that helps to inform and to educate African Americans about strategies that increase knowledge and understanding of financial issues.
Capacity Building for Impact Evaluation of Financial Education Programs
It is no longer sufficient to measure the effectiveness of financial education programs according to the number of program participants. Funding agencies are now seeking to fund programs that move beyond program participation and measure changes in knowledge and financial behavior. To date, most financial educators evaluate financial education programs using output information such as number of curricula developed, number of programs delivered, and number of people who participated. These measures do not necessarily indicate program impact and may be misleading since they do not capture changes in knowledge or financial behavior. Measuring the effectiveness of financial education programs and initiatives is not easy. There is little consensus among financial educators on what measures should be used. In addition, there is a general lack of evaluation support and materials available to help financial educators build their evaluation capacity.
Facilitators' Materials for Guidebook to Help Late Savers Prepare for Retirement
This project developed three additional pieces to accompany the 'Guidebook to Help Late Savers Prepare for Retirement' including a PowerPoint program, Facilitators' Guide for community educators, and behavioral impact evaluation. In combination with the guidebook, this will create a complete packaged program to enable its inclusion in the Cooperative Extension Financial Security in Later Life (FSLL) national initiative 'tool kit.'
S.C.A.M. Busters - Stop, Calculate the Cost, Ask Questions, Mind your Money
The J.M.Murray Center and its partner - Access to Independence (ATL), addressed the problem of the predatory lenders, unscrupulous businesspersons and scam artists preying upon individuals with disabilities, particularly those with cognitive limitations by designing and implementing a multimedia project that will equip individuals with disabilities with the skills and resources to recognize and turn away from predatory lending and scam situations.
Medical Expenses as a Contributing Factor in Bankruptcy
When consumers lack adequate health coverage, they can face daunting medical expenses particularly when a catastrophic or chronic illness strikes. These medical expenses can jeopardize their economic security and, disproportionately for elderly and women-headed households, they can lead to bankruptcy. Avoiding or minimizing the financial burden of medical expenses is not always possible. When it is possible, understanding and finding the options available in our complex health system can be difficult and time consuming. This project explored how medical expenses contribute to bankruptcy and inform consumers about the formal and informal resources that may be available to prevent or minimize such financial devastation.
Borrowing for Assistive Technology: Making Smart Choices
One in five Americans has a disability. Millions of people of all ages who have disabilities need assistive technology to be safe, healthy and to work, learn, travel, communicate, and be independent. Alpha One, a nationally recognized organization run for and by people with disabilities and a creator and co-manager of mPower, developed a borrower's toolkit for people with disabilities and their families borrowing for assistive technology. The toolkit will enable at least 400 Maine people with disabilities to make informed choices about assistive technology loans. The project will conduct outreach to more than 200 loan programs and other disability groups nationwide and will give them free access to the toolkit for reproduction and distribution to their consumers. The project will also develop and distribute a professional user's guide to help Independent Living Specialists, loan officers and case managers of assistive technology leading programs and disability organizations to integrate the borrower's toolkit in financial education programs and other services.
Apprenticeship Financial Mentoring Project
Apprentices in the construction trades earn good wages that start at $14 per hour and can increase to more than $30 per hour. Apprentices face unique financial literacy issues because construction is seasonal and periods of unemployment are common. Port Jobs developed a trades-specific financial literacy model tailored to the unique nature of vocational trades.
Making Sense of Cents: Bankruptcy Debtor Education Pilot Project
The Coalition for Consumer Bankruptcy was awarded a grant to implement a pilot program on debtor education based on a financial literacy curriculum called 'Making Sense of Cents' in the Eastern District of New York. The program was designed to assure that debtors who attend an adult financial literacy program leave the bankruptcy system with meaningful new financial management skills.
Improving Parent-College Student Discussions About Credit
This project developed an interactive CD-ROM program that can be used by both parents and college students across the country to improve discussions about credit and other financial issues. Through improving such discussions, this program seeks to reduce the credit problems facing college students and better prepare them for a sounder financial future.
Protect Your Investment for Future
Research and design phases of a consumer-education project to help low-income and minority homeowners recognize and resist predatory lending practices.
Take Charge of Your Money
Northern Kentucky Technical College (NKTC) developed a series of instructional units designed to help students remedial or GED preparation student to acquire financial literacy competencies through activities that develop and reinforce reading, writing, math, research, problem solving, and critical thinking skills. Each unit includes a standalone project that can be integrated into academic instruction.
Rural/Colonia Housing Counseling Model
The El Paso Collaborative developed a Rural/Colonia Housing Counseling model that includes a customized Housing Counseling Manual. The Manual utilizes non-traditional counseling tools including novellas designed to inform and educate Colonia residents about key issues associated with borrowing, purchasing and ownership along with maintenance of real property; financial literacy, planning and predatory lending; plus a section on rental rights and responsibilities.
Financial Resources and Economics Education (F.R.E.E.)
California Literacy created a 12-hour, plain language Financial Resources and Economics Education (F.R.E.E.) curriculum focused on helping immigrants with low English literacy levels. The curriculum helps educators to convey the idea of economic awareness; a personal financial plan; the knowledge of how to open a bank account; apply for a home, business or auto loan; and how to create a credit history. The key documents have also been translated into Spanish.