If you notice yourself double-checking account balances more frequently at the end of each month before that next paycheck arrives, you’re probably not alone.
In a 2003 statewide survey of Wisconsin adults, just over half (52 percent) of the respondents said they believed they had less money left over at the end of each month than they had 12 months before. By July 2007, the number had risen to the point where more than three-fourths (79 percent) of Wisconsin adults reported having less disposable income at the end of each month than they did in the previous year.
It’s not that we’re not earning more. According to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, state personal income growth continues to outpace inflation. The latest summary from the department’s Wisconsin Economic Outlook (August 2007) pegs per capita personal income growth in Wisconsin at 4.4 percent for 2006; after factoring in a 3.2 percent increase in prices, real per capita income still grew 1.6 percent.
Unfortunately, this modest level of real income growth isn’t enough to give Wisconsin residents a sense of confidence about where things are headed or a great deal of optimism about their long-term financial security. More than 80 percent of citizens report that the cost of basic necessities ranging from groceries to utilities to health care is climbing for them and 62 percent report they’ve started to change their purchasing habits by spending less on leisure activities and at retail stores.
If there’s one thing we know about Wisconsin, however, it’s that people here are fairly quick to recognize when we have a problem. We’re also generally fortunate enough to have someone, somewhere close to home working on a solution that will make things better for the future. Such is the case with the complex financial issues facing many families.
While we’d all wish for a level of sustainable economic growth that would simply make the current challenges disappear, Wisconsin residents are nearly unanimous in their views about the need to prepare the next generation to take a more active role in managing their personal finances. According to a recent Wood Communications Group Checkpoint Survey, 97 percent of state residents agree that given how complicated money management has become today, it is somewhat or very important to begin tackling the issues by teaching financial education in high schools throughout Wisconsin.
The question, part of a broader economic and public affairs survey of 400 state residents, conducted Sept. 25-30, was sponsored by the Wisconsin Credit Union League. The survey carries a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points with a higher margin of error for subsets of the total sample.
Support for the idea of improving financial literacy at the high school level runs strongest among residents aged 25-34, with more than nine out of 10 (94 percent) saying it is very important. It seems likely that people in this age group — suddenly faced with the prospect of paying back student loans at the same time they are beginning their careers and starting families — may wish they had the benefit of more financial training and knowledge in navigating these challenges.
The Wisconsin Credit Union League recently sought out opinions on the subject of financial literacy because of a new program it is supporting that is consistent with the goals of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Called the Brass Student Program, the effort marks another step forward in Wisconsin’s leadership to provide students with the money management skills they need to manage monthly expenses and save for the future.
Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to develop content and performance standards for personal finance at the elementary, middle and high school levels. State DPI Secretary Elizabeth Burmaster has said the Brass program has the potential to put Wisconsin students a step ahead when it comes to learning the financial basics they need to complete their educations and start their adult lives.
The program, which includes a quarterly magazine and resources for teachers featuring real-life money management challenges, is being provided free to the more than 35,000 juniors and seniors at Wisconsin’s public high schools. The program’s moniker “brass” was chosen to signify boldness as well as achievement — using the financial savvy learned in the classroom.
Will efforts like the Brass Student Program make a difference in how confidently Wisconsin’s next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders approaches the future? We should all hope so. Currently, it’s some of our young adult residents — men aged 18 to 34 — who have the most negative outlook on the months and years ahead.
The same Checkpoint survey that showed such strong support for financial literacy programs also revealed that more than half of our young men (54.5 percent) feel things in Wisconsin are on the wrong track.
Sereno, former business editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, is a senior manager at Wood Communications Group in Madison. E-mail jenny.sereno@wcgpr.com or call (608) 770-8084.
