January 2015

Financial well-being: 

The goal of financial 

education
2 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

Table of contents

Table of contents.........................................................................................................2

Executive summary.....................................................................................................4

1. Introduction...........................................................................................................8

2. Research design and methods..........................................................................12

2.1 Literature-based research ...................................................................... 13

2.2 Qualitative research................................................................................ 16

2.3 Consultation with a panel of experts.......................................................17

3. Defining financial well-being .............................................................................18

3.1 What financial well-being is ................................................................... 18

3.2 Differences between working-age and older consumer perspectives on 

financial well-being ................................................................................ 21

4. What influences individual financial well-being...............................................23

4.1 Financial behaviors.................................................................................24

4.2 Financial knowledge ............................................................................... 31

4.3 Personal traits......................................................................................... 37

4.4 Social and economic environment ......................................................... 41

4.5 Life stages ...............................................................................................42

5. Discussion ..........................................................................................................44
3 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

5.1 Implications for financial capability practitioners.................................45

5.2 Implications for research........................................................................ 47
4 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

Executive summary

Consumers of financial products and services need both a safe, transparent marketplace, and 

the financial capability to navigate that marketplace effectively. The Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau (CFPB) addresses the first aspect through its supervision, enforcement, 

rulemaking, and other functions. Helping consumers acquire financial capability is also an 

integral part of the CFPB’s consumer financial protection mission, as reflected in numerous 

provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The Act 

charges the Bureau with researching, developing, promoting, and implementing financial 

literacy programs and activities.1

In this report we describe our initial research – conducted with a team of expert researchers2 –

into how people acquire financial capability, which we undertook specifically to inform financial 

education and improve consumer outcomes. Our overarching objective is to determine how to 

define and measure the success of different financial literacy strategies so that we have a basis 

for measuring different strategies’ effectiveness. And for this, we need to define the end goal of 

financial education. 

A growing consensus is emerging that the ultimate measure of success for financial literacy 

efforts should be improvement in individual financial well-being. But financial well-being has 

 

1 An important financial literacy mandate is set forth in Section 1013(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act, which directs the 

Bureau, through its Office of Financial Education, to develop and implement initiatives intended to “educate and 

empower consumers to make better informed financial decisions” and to “develop and implement a strategy to 

improve the financial literacy of consumers.” (12 U.S.C. § 5493(d)(1)&(2)). The Dodd-Frank Act also mandated the 

creation of other offices within the Bureau that are responsible for, among other things, developing financial 

education and policy initiatives to support the financial well-being of particular segments of the consumer population 

(12 U.S.C. § 5493(b),(e),(g)).

2 The research team responsible for conducting the research and analysis described in this report includes Bureau 

staff as well as a team of research contractors led by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), including 

the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Financial Security, the Urban Institute, ICF International, and Vector 

Psychometrics.
5 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

never been explicitly defined, nor is there a standard way to measure it. Overall, the literature 

paints a picture of nuanced, complex interactions between financial knowledge, understanding, 

and actions taken. However, rigorously identified links between these factors and financial 

outcomes have yet to be established.

Our project provides a conceptual framework for defining and measuring success in financial 

education by delivering a proposed definition of financial well-being, and insight into the factors 

that contribute to it. This framework is grounded in the existing literature, expert opinion, and 

the experiences and voice of the consumer garnered through in-depth, one-on-one interviews 

with working-age and older consumers.

Financial well-being

The definition of financial well-being that we propose is based on the consumer perspective 

revealed by the nearly 60 hours of open-ended interviews our research team conducted. Our 

research suggests financial well-being can be defined as a state of being wherein you:

 Have control over day-to-day, month-to-month finances;

 Have the capacity to absorb a financial shock;

 Are on track to meet your financial goals; and

 Have the financial freedom to make the choices that allow you to enjoy life.

Because individuals value different things, traditional measures such as income or net worth, 

while important, do not necessarily or fully capture this last aspect of financial well-being.

We then sought to identify the specific types of knowledge, behavior, and personal traits that 

help people achieve greater financial well-being. Our research focused on those personal drivers 

of well-being that may be influenced by financial education and other decision-making supports. 

Of course many factors beyond an individual’s control play a significant role in financial 

outcomes, but our research asks, “Given people’s current financial circumstances, how can they 

make the best of their situation?” 

The hypotheses we propose about key drivers of financial well-being were developed by 

synthesizing three methodologies in this project—literature reviews, consumer and financial 

practitioner interviews, and ongoing and iterative consultation with an expert panel. The 
6 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

hypotheses fall into three categories: financial behaviors, financial knowledge, and personal 

traits.

Financial behaviors

Four types of behaviors are hypothesized to support financial well-being: 

 Effective routine money management, which encompasses often unconscious habits, 

intuitions, and decision-making shortcuts (heuristics);

 Financial research and knowledge-seeking, which support purposeful, informed financial 

decision-making; 

 Financial planning and goal-setting, which give purpose and structure to individual 

financial decisions; and 

 Following through on financial decisions, the final step between intentions and desired 

outcomes.

In other words, our research suggests that people have higher levels of financial well-being when 

they Ask, Plan, and Act, coupled with a strong habit or tendency to live within their means in 

terms of their day-to-day financial choices.

Financial knowledge 

In both published research and our interviewees’ responses, we found that the link between 

knowledge and behavior is always affected by individual characteristics like personality, 

attitudes, and non-cognitive skills, and by context. Our primary hypothesis about the type of 

knowledge that supports financial well-being is a set of skills we call “financial ability,” which 

encompasses:

 Knowing when and how to find reliable information to make a financial decision;

 Knowing how to process financial information to make sound financial decisions; and

 Knowing how to execute financial decisions, adapting as necessary to stay on track.

A growing consensus points toward this notion of financial ability: that in addition to a 

knowledge component, financial literacy has an action component—that is, the ability or skills to 

put financial knowledge to use.
7 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

Personal traits

Personal attitudes and beliefs, non-cognitive skills, and personality traits all influence financial 

behavior and play a role in mediating the connection between knowledge and behavior. Based 

on our research, we hypothesize that the following four types of personal traits are likely to 

affect financial well-being through their influence on behavior and/or preferences and 

expectations:

 Comparing yourself to your own standards, not to others (internal frame of reference);

 Being highly motived to stay on track in the face of obstacles (perseverance);

 Having a tendency to plan for the future, control impulses, and think creatively to 

address unexpected challenges (executive functioning); and

 Believing in your ability to influence your financial outcomes (financial self-efficacy).

Discussion

Taken together, this set of hypotheses suggests how particular behaviors, skills, and traits 

appear to support or predict financial well-being, given a certain level of opportunity. This 

suggests fascinating possibilities for meaningful research into approaches that could powerfully 

enable individuals to achieve and maintain financial well-being.

The CFPB seeks to use this research to engage with the financial education field toward 

collectively establishing a set of best practices in financial literacy and capability that are 

grounded in evidence-based research and able to make a difference in consumers’ lives. Using 

the findings of the research reported here, the CFPB is committed to furthering its consumer 

financial literacy mission through fostering approaches grounded in an understanding of 

financial well-being as a key measure of effective financial education. This work presents a 

unique opportunity to move consumer financial capability practices forward.
8 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

1. Introduction

An essential part of the mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) 

is empowering consumers to take control over their financial lives. In addition to needing a safe, 

transparent marketplace, which we address through our supervision, enforcement, rulemaking, 

and other functions, consumers need the financial capability3to navigate that marketplace 

effectively to serve their own life goals. This aspect of our mission is reflected in numerous 

provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (DoddFrank Act) that charge the Bureau with researching, developing, promoting, and implementing 

financial literacy programs and activities.4

Fulfilling this aspect of our mission requires that we know what approaches are effective in 

promoting financial literacy and capability. According to a 2011 Government Accountability 

Office (GAO) report on financial literacy, “[r]elatively few evidence-based evaluations of 

financial literacy programs have been conducted, limiting what is known about which specific 

methods and strategies are most effective.”5 The CFPB is taking up this challenge to provide 

stronger evidence of what works, in order to support and guide efforts to improve the 

 

3

The charter establishing the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability defines financial capability as “the 

capacity, based on knowledge, skills and access, to manage financial resources effectively.” See 

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/financialeducation/Documents/PACFC%202010%20Amended%20Charter.pdf (2010) (accessed October 13, 2014).

4 An important financial literacy mandate is set forth in Section 1013(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act, which directs the 

Bureau, through its Office of Financial Education, to develop and implement initiatives intended to “educate and 

empower consumers to make better informed financial decisions” and to “develop and implement a strategy to 

improve the financial literacy of consumers . . . consistent with the National Strategy for Financial Literacy . . ..” (12 

U.S.C. § 5493(d)(1)&(2)). The Dodd-Frank Act also mandated the creation of other offices within the Bureau that are 

responsible for, among other things, developing financial education and policy initiatives to support the financial 

well-being of particular segments of the consumer population (12 U.S.C. § 5493(b),(e),(g)).

5 U.S. Government Accountability Office. “Financial Literacy: A Federal Certification Process for Providers Would 

Pose Challenges.” GAO-11-614. http://www.gao.gov/assets/330/320214.pdf (2011) (accessed October 13, 2014).
9 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

effectiveness and quality of financial education, and therefore improve consumers’ financial 

decision making to achieve their life goals.6

A foundational step is a well-grounded way to define success for financial literacy initiatives. 

Reaching the goal of consumers making better informed decisions requires identifying 

educational and informational strategies that can change consumer behavior in the marketplace 

in ways that help them achieve their life goals—not merely improve their knowledge of financial 

facts in a classroom. A major task for the CFPB is therefore determining how to define and 

measure the success of different financial literacy strategies in a way that corresponds with our 

ultimate objective of helping consumers to effectively manage their financial lives in ways that 

move them toward their life goals.

A growing consensus is emerging that the ultimate 

measure of success for financial literacy efforts 

should be individual financial well-being. The vision 

for the U.S. National Strategy for Financial Literacy 

is “[s]ustained financial well-being for U.S. 

individuals and families.”7 This vision is consistent 

with that of the OECD8’s International Network on Financial Education (INFE), in which the 

CFPB participates, which describes the ultimate goal of financial literacy as “individual financial 

well-being.”9 However, this concept has not been explicitly defined, nor does a standard way to 

measure it exist in the financial literacy field. Significant and ongoing efforts have been 

 

6

The CFPB’s financial literacy and capability research work is described broadly in Section 4 of the CFPB’s 2014 

“Financial Literacy Annual Report.” Available at http://www.consumerfinance.gov/reports/financial-literacy-annualreport-2014/ (2014) (accessed October 13, 2014).

7 See Financial Literacy and Education Commission, “Promoting Financial Success in the United States: National 

Strategy for Financial Literacy.” Available at http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/financialeducation/Documents/NationalStrategyBook_12310%20(2).pdf (2011) (accessed October 13, 2014): p. 7.

8 The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a unique forum where the governments of 

34 democracies with market economies work with each other, as well as with more than 70 non-member economies 

to promote economic growth, prosperity, and sustainable development. To learn more, see 

http://usoecd.usmission.gov/mission/overview.html.

9

See OECD INFE, “Measuring Financial Literacy: Questionnaire and Guidance Notes for Conducting an 

Internationally Comparable Survey of Financial Literacy.” Paris: OECD. Available at 

http://www.oecd.org/finance/financial-education/49319977.pdf (2011) (accessed October 13, 2014): p. 3.

The ultimate measure of 

success for financial literacy 

efforts should be individual 

financial well-being. 
10 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

undertaken to understand and measure financial literacy and capability10, but not the state of 

being that is meant to result from high levels of financial literacy and capability.

Accordingly, the Bureau has undertaken a rigorous set of research activities11 to understand and 

formally define financial well-being—for the first time—in ways that allow it to be measured and 

that allow meaningful comparisons between approaches to achieving it. Our goal was a 

definition that could gain widespread acceptance across varied relevant professions and 

disciplines; could be effective across a range of different economic, geographic, life-stage, and 

other contexts; and would not need to change over time.

In addition, we sought to identify the specific types of knowledge, behavior, and personal traits

that help some people navigate the financial ups and downs of life particularly effectively. This is 

an important area of inquiry because it not only helps us identify which financial-capability 

tools, habits and skills may be helpful for consumers to acquire, but it also reveals which 

intermediate outcome measures we can rely on for measuring the success of financial capability 

initiatives—that is, which intermediate outcomes tend to precede real improvement in 

individual financial well-being.

This research focuses on the areas where the CFPB’s and others’ financial capability efforts can 

most effectively help to empower consumers—on those personal drivers of well-being that may 

be influenced by financial education and other decision-making supports. While factors beyond 

an individual’s control, such as structural opportunities, macro-economic context, and family 

resources, of course play a significant role in financial outcomes, our research focuses on a 

complementary question: Given people’s current financial circumstances, how can people make 

the best of their situation?

 

10 See, for example: The World Bank (2013). “Making Sense of Financial Capability Surveys around the World: A 

Review of Existing Financial Capability and Literacy Measurement Instruments.” Available at 

http://responsiblefinance.worldbank.org/~/media/GIAWB/FL/Documents/Misc/Financial-Capability-Review.pdf. 

(accessed October 13, 2014) 

FINRA Investor Education Foundation (2013). “Financial Capability in the United States: Report of Findings from the 

2012 National Financial Capability Study.” Available at http://usfinancialcapability.org/ and,

OECD. PISA 2012 Results: Students and Money: Financial Literacy Skills for the 21st Century (Volume VI). PISA, 

OECD Publishing. http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/PISA-2012-results-volume-vi.pdf (2014) (accessed October 

13, 2014).

11 The research team responsible for conducting the research and analysis described in this report includes Bureau 

staff as well as a team of research contractors led by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), including 

the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Financial Security, the Urban Institute, ICF International, and Vector 

Psychometrics.
11 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

We seek to lay the groundwork for further empowering consumers to take control of their 

financial lives. Our work to do so includes recognizing financial well-being as the ultimate goal 

of financial education; helping to establish a common understanding of what constitutes 

financial well-being; examining what specific types of knowledge, skills, behavior, and personal 

attributes tend to help one achieve greater financial well-being; and developing rigorous tools to 

measure outcomes related to achieving financial well-being. This paper reports on the design, 

findings, and implications of this research to date.
12 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

2. Research design and 

methods

This research on financial well-being follows directly from, and is intended to inform, the 

CFPB’s larger consumer financial literacy mandate. We have started by studying working-age 

and older consumers to learn about financial well-being as they understand it. What financial 

outcomes have they achieved, and what do they believe led to those outcomes? From that 

vantage point, we hope to be able—in a later stage of research—to identify approaches we can 

employ with youth that will affect their financial outcomes later in life.

The key topics this project explores are:

 What is financial well-being?

 What behaviors (given a certain level of opportunity) lead to greater financial wellbeing?

 What knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and traits lead to these behaviors?

 How do social and economic contexts influence these personal factors?

To ensure that the factors we identify pertain broadly to consumers in America across life stage, 

we examine whether and how the above may differ between working-age and older consumers. 

Studying older consumers also offers the benefit of learning how older consumers view their 

working-age life stage in hindsight. 
13 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

2.1 Literature-based research

To gain expertise in the state of current research, we reviewed more than 150 articles from a 

dozen fields.12 We targeted topics of particular relevance, which can be expressed as a series of 

questions:

 What is understood (and what is agreed among experts) about what financial well-being 

is, what behaviors lead to it, and what knowledge and skills and attitudes support those 

behaviors?

 How does financial knowledge translate into financial behavior?

 What can we learn about how knowledge translates into behavior generally, from 

research in areas other than household finance?

 Do particular classes of knowledge translate into behavior differently or more effectively 

than others—and if so, how should we classify different aspects of financial knowledge to 

best help us examine such dynamics?

There exists a rich literature to draw from, but interpreting its implications can be a challenge, 

especially regarding ultimate outcomes such as financial well-being. For example, explicit 

knowledge of financial concepts such as inflation or the time value of money or compound 

interest have all been shown to be correlated with better financial decisions in multiple studies.13

In contrast, several studies have shown that exposure to financial education (i.e., the 

dissemination of just such knowledge) does not necessarily lead to improved financial 

knowledge after the fact,14 although financial education that closely precedes a financial decision 

 

12 These include Consumer Finance, Economics, Behavioral Economics, Psychology (cognitive and developmental), 

Health, Education, Philosophy, Conservation, Environmental Science, Sociology and Marketing.

13 Gerardi, Kristopher, Lorenz Goette, and Stephan Meier. “Financial literacy and subprime mortgage delinquency: 

Evidence from a survey matched to administrative data.” Federal Reserve of Atlanta. 

https://www.frbatlanta.org/research/pubs/wp/working_paper_2010-10.aspx (2010) (accessed October 9th, 2014).

Hung, Angela A., Andrew M. Parker, and Joanne K. Yoong. “Defining and Measuring Financial Literacy.” RAND 

Corporation. http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2009/RAND_WR708.pdf (2009) 

(accessed October 9th, 2014).

Lusardi, Annamaria, and Olivia S. Mitchell. “How ordinary consumers make complex economic decisions: Financial 

literacy and retirement readiness.” http://www.nber.org/papers/w15350.pdf (2009) (accessed October 9th, 2014).

14 Fernandes, Daniel, John G. Lynch, Jr., and Richard G. Netemeyer. “Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and 

Downstream Financial Behaviors.” Management Science. 60(8) (2014): 1861–1883.
14 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

has more impact on behavior than education which is more remote from the behavior it seeks to 

support15, and adding years of general education—particularly college education—does correlate 

with improved financial knowledge.16 Still other 

research suggests that financial training based on 

rules of thumb (i.e. heuristics17) can lead to greater 

improvement in financial behavior than does 

training that focuses on formal financial concepts.18

Most research into individuals’ financial 

knowledge, education, and behavior has been 

published in the field of household finance, but relatively little has been published on a causal 

relationship between financial knowledge and financial behavior. Therefore, we began by 

casting a wide net to garner more general insights into the relationship between knowledge and 

behavior and the factors that mediate that relationship. The range of fields studied included 

health, health counseling, energy consumption, education, cognitive psychology, sociology, and 

social marketing. In none of the fields we surveyed, however, has the relationship between 

knowledge and behavior been fully determined and explained.

Moreover, the field of household finance lacks generally accepted definitions and measurements 

of financial knowledge, financial well-being, and financial behavior. With rare exceptions, 

financial knowledge has typically been defined only in terms of factual knowledge of specific 

financial concepts or as specific levels of numeracy. Only a handful of studies have looked at how 

different types of financial knowledge influence financial behavior or what circumstances either 

limit or catalyze the translation of financial knowledge into behaviors conducive to financial 

well-being. Overall, we found understanding of financial well-being to be very limited; often 

 

Yates, Dan, and Chris Ward. “Financial literacy: Examining the knowledge transfer of personal finance from high 

school to college to adulthood.” American Journal of Business Education. 4(1) (2011): 65–78.

Mandell, Lewis, and Linda Schmid Klein. “The Impact of Financial Literacy Education on Subsequent Financial 

Behavior.” Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning. 20(1) (2009): 15–24.

15 Fernandes, Daniel, John G. Lynch, Jr., and Richard G. Netemeyer. “Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and 

Downstream Financial Behaviors.” Management Science. 60(8) (2014): 1861–1883.

16 Yates, Dan, and Chris Ward. “Financial literacy: Examining the knowledge transfer of personal finance from high 

school to college to adulthood.” American Journal of Business Education. 4(1) (2011): 65–78.

17 Tversky, Amos, and Daniel Kahneman. “Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases.” Science.185(4157) 

(1974): 1124–1131.

18 Drexler, Alejandro, Greg Fischer, and Antoinette Schoar. “Keeping it simple: Financial literacy and rules of thumb.” 

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 6(2) (2014): 1–31.

Relatively little has been 

published on a causal 

relationship between financial 

knowledge and financial 

behavior.
15 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

well-being is conflated with behaviors considered “positive” because they are presumed to lead 

one in the direction of financial well-being, but with little or no evidence from robust 

longitudinal studies. Nor has the relationship between attitudes and financial well-being been 

extensively studied,19 although findings in health-related fields and elsewhere suggest that such 

links could be important.

Overall, our literature reviews revealed critical gaps in existing research from the perspective of 

the CFPB’s specific need for broadly applicable, evidence-based measures through which to 

identify effective financial education approaches. Few studies in the field of household finance 

have combined large samples, long time spans, and control populations. In many cases, the 

relevant concepts have been loosely defined,20 and the majority of studies have focused on 

correlation, rather than causation.21 Results have seemed inconsistent, with different studies 

appearing to point in different directions. Our examination of the relevant literature—and 

published discussions22 of the issues we encountered—underscored the need for widely agreedupon definitions and measures of financial well-being and its key drivers as a necessary first step 

toward research into effective education strategies. 

Our project attempts to address these issues by delivering a proposed definition of financial 

well-being, and insight into the personal factors that may contribute to it, which together 

provide a conceptual framework for further research to illuminate the bigger picture and 

identify the missing links. This framework is grounded in expert opinion, the existing literature, 

and—most importantly—the experiences and voice of the consumer.

 

19 For examples of where it has been, see:

Lown, Jean M. “Development and validation of a financial self-efficacy scale.” Journal of Financial Counseling and 

Planning. 22(2) (2012): 54–63.

Forbes, James, and S. Murat Kara. “Confidence mediates how investment knowledge influences investing selfefficacy.” Journal of Economic Psychology. 31(3) (2010): 435-443.

20 Huston, Sandra J. “Measuring financial literacy.” The Journal of Consumer Affairs. 44(2) (2010): 296–316.

21 Fernandes, Daniel, John G. Lynch, Jr., and Richard G. Netemeyer. “Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and 

Downstream Financial Behaviors.” Management Science. 60(8) (2014): 1861–1883.

22 Fernandes, Daniel, John G. Lynch, Jr., and Richard G. Netemeyer. “Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and 

Downstream Financial Behaviors.” Management Science. 60(8) (2014): 1861–1883.

Hastings, Justine S., Brigitte C. Madrian, and William L. Skimmyhorn. 2013. “Financial literacy, financial education 

and economic outcomes.” Annual Review of Economics. 5(1): 347–373.

Hung, Angela A., Erik Meijer, Kata Mihaly, Joanne K. Yoong. “Building Up, Spending Down: Financial Literacy, 

Retirement Savings Management, and Decumulation.” RAND Corporation. 

http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2009/RAND_WR712.pdf (2009) (accessed October 

10th, 2014).
16 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

2.2 Qualitative research

Our qualitative research comprised in-depth, one-on-one interviews23 conducted with 59 adult 

consumers24 and an additional 30 financial practitioners—professionals who provide financial 

advice, education, services or products to consumers.25 These one-hour interviews focused on 

how each person defined financial well-being for themselves (or their clients) and what factors 

they felt related to different levels of financial well-being based on their own personal 

experiences and the experiences of those around them. The research team transcribed and 

analyzed 1,600 pages of interview transcripts, from which responses were sorted, coded, and 

then catalogued using computer-aided qualitative data analysis software. This software helped 

us identify themes and understand how concepts related to one another and played out in the 

larger context of respondents’ comments.

Our consumer interviewees—who will be referred to henceforth in this report as “consumers,” 

were regionally and socio-demographically diverse, with interviews conducted in California, 

Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., and Wyoming. There were somewhat more 

women than men, with persons from a full range of working age and older consumer age groups 

represented. Study participants were ethnically and racially diverse, had different marital and 

employment statuses, a wide range of incomes, and, within the older group, a variety of income 

sources. They had varied educational backgrounds, although persons with at least a college 

degree were over-represented relative to the U.S. adult population. The financial practitioners 

we interviewed—referred to in the rest of the report as “practitioners”—represented a range of 

professions and clientele characteristics, but also frequently spoke from their own experience as 

individuals.

 

23 This information collection was approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB No. 3170-

0036.

24 Forty-one of the consumers were between the ages of 18 and 61 and another 18 over the age of 61.

25 Self-identified professions included: financial planner, elder lawyer, credit counselor, consumer loan officer, 

financial educator, financial advisor, social worker, financial coach, tax preparation adviser, and financial service 

professional.
17 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

2.3 Consultation with a panel of experts

The research team next shared both the findings of the project literature review and a summary 

of catalogued comments and themes extracted from the interview transcripts with a panel of a 

dozen leading academic and practitioner experts in the fields of consumer finance and financial 

capability. While the results of the qualitative research were already converging toward a 

common set of themes, collaborative discussion with the expert panel further elucidated the 

themes, and helped place them in the context of the broader existing literature. Ultimately, the 

research team and panel jointly distilled the results into a set of hypotheses about key drivers—

that is, about the contributing influence of various personal attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors 

on financial well-being. Our research team then constructed a conceptual framework for 

understanding how these key drivers may relate to one another and to financial well-being. This 

framework is presented below, in the Discussion section.

The CFPB chose to frame the insights about what influences financial well-being as hypotheses, 

for two reasons: first, because many of the themes arose from the interviewees’ own views about 

financial well-being and how it works—in a real sense, their own personal hypotheses—and 

second, to facilitate testing. Framing the results of this initial research as testable hypotheses 

will facilitate the design of future studies to help identify which hypotheses can be shown to be 

valid, which are most important, and which are perhaps less relevant.
18 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

3. Defining financial well-being

3.1 What financial well-being is

What emerged in the course of our research is that financial well-being describes a continuum—

ranging from severe financial stress to being highly satisfied with one’s financial situation—not 

strictly aligned with income level. For example, some people seem to have, and feel they have, a 

high level of financial well-being, even though they may be far from affluent. On the other hand, 

some people with much higher incomes do not appear to have or feel they have a high level of 

financial well-being at all. Moreover, through learning and effort, and given reasonable 

opportunity and supports, it appears that people can move along the continuum to greater 

financial well-being.

The definition of financial well-being that we propose is based on the consumer perspective and 

flows from the open-ended interviews our research team conducted with a broadly diverse set of 

consumers across the United States, reinforced by interviews with financial practitioners. The 

specific individual goals and vision of a satisfying life differed greatly among respondents, yet 

there were two common themes that arose consistently: security and freedom of choice, in the 

present and in the future.

In summary, financial well-being can be defined as a state of being wherein a person 

can fully meet current and ongoing financial obligations, can feel secure in their financial 

future, and is able to make choices that allow enjoyment of life.
19 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

More specifically, analysis of the interview transcripts and discussion with the panel of experts 

suggests that the concept of financial well-being has four central elements:

 Having control over day-to-day, month-to-month finances;

 Having the capacity to absorb a financial shock;

 Being on track to meet your financial goals; and

 Having the financial freedom to make the choices that allow you to enjoy life.

These elements of financial well-being have strong time-frame dimensions: the first and fourth 

pertain mainly to one’s present situation, and the second and third elements pertain to securing 

the future, as discussed below.

FIGURE 1: THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF FINANCIAL WELL-BEING

3.1.1 Having control over day-to-day, month-to-month 

finances

Individuals who have a relatively high level of financial well-being feel in control of their day-today financial lives. These individuals manage their finances; their finances do not manage them. 

Such individuals are able to cover expenses and pay bills on time, and do not worry about having 

enough money to get by. This is the aspect of financial well-being that was mentioned most 

frequently during the qualitative interviews.

3.1.2 Having the capacity to absorb a financial shock

Individuals who have a relatively high level of financial well-being also have the capacity to 

absorb a financial shock. Because of a combination of factors such as having a support system of 
20 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

family and friends, owning personal savings, and holding insurance of various types, their lives 

would not be up-ended if their car or home needed an emergency repair or if they were laid off 

temporarily from their job. They are able to cope with the financial challenges of unforeseen life 

events.

3.1.3 Being on track to meet your financial goals

Individuals experiencing financial well-being also say they are on track to meet their financial 

goals. They have a formal or informal financial plan, and they are actively working toward goals 

such as saving to buy a car or home, paying off student loans, or saving for retirement.

3.1.4 Having the financial freedom to make choices that 

allow you to enjoy life

Finally, individuals experiencing financial well-being perceive that they are able to make choices 

that allow them to enjoy life. They can splurge once in a while. They can afford “wants,” such as 

being able to go out to dinner or take a vacation, in 

addition to meeting their “needs,” and they are able 

to make choices such as to be generous toward their 

friends, family and community.

This fourth element came through strongly in the 

interviews, and was notable in the variety of ways it 

was expressed. For example, financial freedom might 

mean being able to be generous with family, friends and community; or having the ability to go 

back to school or leave one job to look for a better one; or to go out to dinner or on vacation; or 

to work less to spend time with family. Because individuals value such different things, 

traditional measures such as income or net worth, while important, do not fully capture this 

aspect of the concept of financial well-being. It is these deeply personal preferences and 

aspirations that give meaning and purpose to the often challenging day-to-day financial 

decisions and tradeoffs we all must make to achieve it.

Traditional measures such as 

income or net worth, while 

important, do not fully capture 

this aspect of the concept of 

financial well-being. 
21 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

3.2 Differences between working-age and 

older consumer perspectives on 

financial well-being

Overall, thoughts expressed by working-age and older consumers about the meaning of financial 

well-being were remarkably similar. As the table below illustrates, eight of the 10 themes most 

frequently mentioned by each group appeared for both groups, though the intended meanings 

may have differed somewhat.

TABLE 1: RANKED THEMES ASSOCIATED WITH FINANCIAL WELL-BEING

Source: Consumer interviews

For example, older consumers, when they mentioned being on track to meet financial goals, 

were most often focused on end-of-life expenses or the related issue of whether their savings 

would last them to the end of their lives. Working-age consumers, on the other hand, were most 

often focused on preparing for retirement or paying off debt. The two themes that ranked highly 

Rank Working-age Consumers Rank Older Consumers

1 Able to afford “wants” 1

Spouse/partner (knowledge + 

resource)

2 Family (knowledge + resource) 2 Family (knowledge + resource)

3 Good employment 2 Lack of financial stress/worry

4 Savings 4 Able to pay bills

5 Able to pay bills 4 Having a financial plan

6 Lack of financial stress/worry 6 Able to afford “wants”

7

Spouse/partner (knowledge + 

resource) 7 Good employment

8 Home ownership (or lack thereof) 8

Afford or have access to 

healthcare/health insurance

9

Afford or have access to 

healthcare/health insurance 9 Provide for family

10 Lifestyle 10 Savings
22 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

only among the working-age cohort but not the older cohort were “home ownership (or lack 

thereof)” and “lifestyle.” Conversely, the older cohort mentioned the themes of “having a 

financial plan” and “provide for family” more frequently than the working-age cohort did.

Differences in focus between working-age and older consumers were revealed in how often they 

mentioned the various themes. Access to healthcare and health insurance was brought up more 

often by the older group, as was the importance of having a financial plan. When family was 

mentioned in older respondents’ interviews, it was generally in the context of avoiding the need 

for support from the family for the older consumer. Older consumers brought up quality 

employment somewhat less frequently than working-age consumers did, but it was still one of 

their most common themes. For example, older consumers often mentioned paid employment 

in the context of providing a financial cushion (being able to go back to work if their investments 

performed poorly), or alternatively as a strategy for providing resources to be able to afford 

vacations and other “wants.”
23 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

4. What influences individual 

financial well-being

While the definition of financial well-being that emerged from this research derives solely from 

qualitative interviews with consumers and financial practitioners, our hypotheses about what 

likely influences financial well-being come from synthesizing all three methodologies pursued in 

this project: the review of existing literature, the qualitative interviews, and discussion with 

academic and practitioner experts.

This section begins with a discussion of the behaviors that, given an individual’s opportunities, 

seem to support financial well-being. To be sure, structural opportunities like macro-economic 

context, family wealth and connections, access to education, and geographic location play a 

major role in financial well-being. Such factors create a set of options available to an individual. 

Our view is that individual behavior interacts with opportunity to produce a resulting level of 

financial well-being. While opportunity plays a huge role in well-being, our research focuses on 

the individual factors that support well-being, given a certain level of opportunity. Therefore, 

our focus is on how do we—the CFPB and others working in financial education and financial 

capability—help people make the best of their situation? The sections that follow explore 

different avenues for approaching that question.

We go on to describe the types of knowledge and skills that likely support the identified 

behaviors, recognizing the existence and influence of mediating factors like decision context26

and personal traits. We then discuss those personal traits, which include personal attitudes, 

 

26 We are referring here to the widely established Social Psychology principle that human behavior is a function of 

both the person and the situation in which the action is taken (or not taken). See, e.g. Ross, Lee and Richard E. 

Nisbett. The person and the situation: Perspectives of social psychology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book 

Company. (1991)
24 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

non-cognitive skills, and personality traits, that also appear to support the identified behaviors. 

Finally we describe what we learned about how social and economic context provides or limits 

opportunities for achieving financial well-being, and how life stage relates to financial wellbeing.

4.1 Financial behaviors 

The qualitative interview process asked consumers to identify decisions made or not made, and 

actions taken or not taken, that they felt had influenced their financial well-being. We similarly 

asked practitioners to describe what their more successful clients tended to do and the kinds of 

decisions they tended to make, and in many cases practitioners offered their own personal 

experiences as well.

Through the course of the qualitative research we heard people describe a multitude of 

strategies that they as consumers have developed and adopted for navigating their financial 

lives. People flexibly deploy various strategies depending on the problems they encounter or the 

goals they are trying to achieve. In some cases actions we had thought of as singular, such as 

“saving,” turn out to encompass a wide range of behaviors in consumers’ minds. Consumers and 

practitioners described similar behaviors; the most salient difference was that even though 

consumers discussed budgeting fairly frequently, financial practitioners even more consistently 

mentioned and discussed both budgeting and tracking where your money has gone as behaviors 

or strategies likely to support financial well-being.

Overall, all categories of interviewees—financial practitioners, older consumers, and workingage consumers—tended to organize their responses around similar topics. Those that arose most 

often included saving, being frugal or cheap, budgeting, buying “needs” and not “wants,” 

managing debt, making sound financial decisions with respect to home ownership, having a 

financial plan, and investing.

The topics tended to fall into thematic groups—managing money, research and knowledgeseeking, planning and goal-setting, and following through—used to organize the discussion of 

their responses below, while acknowledging inevitable overlap in the mapping of responses onto 

themes. These four themes—the first three of which will look particularly familiar to financial 

capability researchers and practitioners—form the basis for our hypotheses about the key 

behaviors that likely support financial well-being. Specifically, it appears that individuals who 

engage in the following behaviors are more likely to have higher levels of financial well-being.
25 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

4.1.1 Behaviors related to effective, routine money 

management

I think you’ve got to think restraints, spending restraints. You know, I think that above 

all. You got to know how much money you have, what’s coming in, what’s going out, 

and restrain yourself to what you’ve got. Make sure you can really manage your debt 

well. I think that’s probably the biggest thing. - Older consumer, Los Angeles

While the ability to make conscious financial decisions is likely a key factor in achieving higher 

levels of financial well-being, most often people rely on unconscious decision-making strategies 

to navigate their day-to-day financial lives. Effective routine money management encompasses 

two high level concepts: managing the money that goes out, i.e., “living within your means”;

and managing the money that comes in, i.e., making sure you have enough income to cover your 

needs.

Concepts related to living within means

 Being frugal or cheap. Interviewees described frugality as a learned skill, usually 

acquired during one’s upbringing or through personal experience. For many, being 

frugal describes a lifestyle that organizes other behaviors around a central focus of being 

disciplined and consciously choosing to spend less money, especially early in life to save 

for retirement. Some reported relying on budgets and other tools to enforce frugality. 

Many discussed, often in the context of budgeting, the personal importance of 

differentiating between “needs” and “wants” as a simple binary approach to prioritizing 

spending, although particulars varied markedly with individuals’ social and 

environmental contexts.

 Maintaining an intentional lifestyle. Consumers and practitioners both said that being 

content with what you have, or dismissing the allure of a free-spending lifestyle, is one 

way to achieve financial well-being. The focus here is on contentment rather than on 

sacrifice as with frugality. Some interviewees suggested that a free-spending lifestyle 

poses a detriment to one’s financial well-being because it represents not thinking about 

the future.

 Using credit cards prudently if at all. Many persons interviewed expressed strong 

opinions about credit cards. Most interviewees believed carrying credit card debt affects 
26 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

financial well-being negatively. In fact when discussing the importance of managing 

resources effectively on a routine basis, many brought up credit card debt as a specific 

symptom of failure. Others described carrying credit card debt as a behavior revealing an 

inability to plan ahead.

 Avoiding and managing debt. More generally, many consumers thought of nonmortgage debt as a major threat to their financial well-being. Some described how being 

in debt made them feel that their finances were out of control. Both consumers and 

practitioners said that many people are unsure of the best way to effectively manage their 

debt, but as with other financial behaviors, consumers report gathering information 

from their social networks and from their own personal experience to develop strategies 

to fit their own debt situations.

Concepts related to maintaining income

 Doing whatever it takes to find work. One of the most commonly mentioned drivers of 

financial well-being was having stable employment. Many interviewees said that in the 

event of a job loss it is important to do whatever you have to do to provide for yourself 

and for your family. For some, this meant taking jobs that they would not normally 

expect to take, in order to secure a paycheck. Some spoke of doing what it takes to find 

work as being entrepreneurial and taking risks. Often consumers talked about doing 

what it takes to find work in the same way they talked about being hardworking or being 

driven. Consumers often spoke of such focus on bringing in income as a skill they 

acquired by watching their parents struggle and survive hard times.

 Using credit for liquidity to avoid loss of earnings. Some consumers and practitioners 

felt that credit cards can form part of one’s safety net—that having access to credit means 

one has the financial resources to allow them to continue working in the face of 

unexpected costs. For example, inability to afford a car repair can compound into loss of 

employment. Having credit card credit available in such a case can help maintain 

income.
27 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

4.1.2 Behaviors related to researching decisions and 

seeking knowledge

Yeah, you have to do your research. You have to be willing to read about it. It’s not 

through osmosis. I still like to read an actual newspaper every day, I always read the 

business section. - Working-age consumer, Los Angeles

Okay, cautious means you don’t just jump into something, you do your research. 

Prepared, you’ve done the research; you’ve done the planning and have thought about 

the pros and cons of a particular financial move. So now I’m ready to make that move, 

to make a decision, either pro or con. - Working-age consumer, Atlanta

Consumers reported relying first and foremost on those close to them for financial information. 

When people face financial questions, they most frequently seek information from family and 

friends, then cast a wider net. They also learn passively from those close to them; interviewees 

reported observing and learning from both positive and negative examples of behaviors from 

those around them. Many reported having an identified financial go-to person among the people 

they know.

 Relying on family and spouse for knowledge. Spouses or partners in particular were 

described as a valuable source of financial knowledge because they can offer a different 

perspective and serve as a trusted sounding board. For many working-age consumers, 

parents were seen as particularly useful because they are trusted and understand their 

children’s specific context. Older consumers similarly felt that their children provide 

valuable financial guidance. Such advice from (and to) one’s family members or spouse is 

often exchanged by way of informal conversations. Some consumers solicit advice by 

asking specifically what seems like the best option or how they should go about engaging 

in a particular financial behavior. Others use their family members simply as sounding 

boards in order to feel more confident they are doing the right sorts of things and making 

the best choices.

 Watching others or seeking advice from others. People commonly described the 

importance of more broadly using those around them as resources—including in a 

negative sense: many described gaining knowledge from observing the mistakes of 

people they know. For example, many people talked about soliciting advice from 

extended family and from friends in their social networks. For others just having such 
28 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

acquaintances to use as a sounding board was important. Consumers commonly 

mentioned seeking out information when it comes time to make plans for investing, 

saving strategies, buying a car, or buying a home; but many also brought up how 

challenging they felt it was to find someone they could trust to give them financial 

advice.

 Doing formal financial research. Consumers and practitioners agreed that doing formal 

financial research, in the sense of studying a topic or looking it up, is important. Many 

consumers, however, said they felt intimidated by the sheer volume of financial 

information available and often “did not know where to start.” With this in mind, many 

defined doing formal research as the dual act of seeking out information and then 

evaluating its fit for one’s particular situation. How and where people reported doing 

formal financial research varied. Some read books by popular financial professionals. 

Others read the business section of the newspaper regularly. Some said that when they 

need information they can go to the library. Many interviewees said that almost anything 

you need to know is available on the internet. Finally, some consumers reach out to a 

financial professional either as a source of knowledge or to use as a sounding board.

 Getting a good education as a route to financial literacy. In addition to its other 

benefits, interviewees felt that education, even when not explicitly financial in content, 

provides knowledge—including knowledge about how to do research—that allows one to 

make better-informed financial decisions. Research supports this notion: indicators of 

general knowledge such as years of education have proven to be highly correlated with 

positive consumer financial behavior and outcomes, such as having a higher credit score 

and reduced likelihood of experiencing bankruptcy or foreclosure.27

4.1.3 Behaviors related to financial goal-setting and

planning

Well, the reason I said retirement and not short-term because I have watched too many 

people that have retired that I have talked to and they've said, "Look, we've retired now 

 

27 Cole, Shawn Allen and Paulson, Anna L. and Shastry, Gauri Kartini, “Smart Money: The Effect of Education on 

Financial Behavior” (April 11, 2012). Harvard Business School Finance Working Paper No. 09-071.
29 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

and we don't have any money to fall back on." They didn't think ahead like me. 

- Working-age consumer, Washington, D.C.

Financial security in a short statement is – it means that you are not going to panic if 

something happens. Most people starting don’t have that luxury so you’ve got to plan 

for it. Have to plan for it. - Older consumer, Wyoming

Financial practitioners and consumers alike felt one has to be future oriented in order to achieve 

financial well-being. Future orientation manifests itself in behaviors such as planning, financial 

goal setting, and budgeting. Research has found that future oriented, planning behaviors are 

associated with an array of positive financial outcomes.28

 Budgeting. Many interviewees reported using some form of budget, although the ways 

people go about creating and adhering to budgets vary widely. Some consumers develop 

very short-term, week-to-week budgets, while others focus on a longer time horizon. 

Having a budget made interviewees feel more secure because it gives them something 

against which to track where their money goes even when they don’t adhere to it—that is, 

even when they do not actually succeed at the money-management aspect of having a 

budget.

 Having financial goals. The importance of having a financial goal arose as a topic in a 

majority of the qualitative interviews. For many, a financial goal gave meaning to 

particular financial behaviors such as saving or creating a budget. However, consumers 

and practitioners alike stated—and the health behavior change literature29 reinforces—

that financial goals only affect behavior if they feel realistic and attainable; financial 

practitioners commonly said that the hardest task for most people is to set realistic 

financial goals. Some of the consumers and practitioners also suggested that the kinds of 

financial strategies that an individual adopts are guided by the kinds of financial goals 

that they set for themselves. Many working-age consumers set long-term goals, like 

having a secure retirement or paying off their mortgage. Others set shorter-term goals, 

 

28 Lynch, John G. Jr., Richard G. Netemeyer, Stephen A. Spiller, and Alessandra Zammit. “A generalizable scale of 

propensity to plan: The long and the short of planning for time and for money.” Journal of Consumer Research. 37(1) 

(2010): 108–128.

29 See the National Institutes of Health “Guide to Behavior Change,” available at 

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/behavior.htm(accessed October 31, 2014.)
30 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

like paying off credit card debt. Some consumers spoke of goals such as travel or a new 

car that guided their financial behavior. As people’s situations change over time, so do 

their goals. For example some people said their financial goals changed after they had 

children. Older Americans’ financial plans tended to involve ensuring they didn’t spend 

down their savings before they passed on, and making sure they had the financial 

resources or insurance to afford end-of-life care.

 Having a financial plan. Many people similarly talked about the importance of having a 

financial plan to manage one’s spending. In this sense a financial plan is seen as 

encompassing all of the strategies and behaviors consumers employ to achieve their 

goals. Interviewees differentiated between financial plans and budgets; they thought of 

financial plans as longer-term and as more general than household budgets, which are 

seen more as an immediate tool to keep spending habits in line with plans. Both 

consumers and practitioners agreed that having a financial plan requires having a 

financial goal.

 Getting a good education as a financial plan. Interviewees suggested that one of the best 

things one can do for oneself to promote financial well-being is to get a good education. 

Many noted that income and education are positively correlated, and talked about 

education opening doors to higher paying, more stable employment. Younger working 

consumers in particular said that getting an education was very important—but that 

taking out the necessary student loans has negatively affected their financial well-being.

4.1.4 Behaviors related to following through on decisions 

and intentions

Create a plan. Well, first—be realistic. Being realistic in where you are in your life at 

that given time. And then creating a plan short term to mid-term and long term to get 

to the point where you want to be. And then, you know, take steps a little bit at a time to 

get there. - Financial Practitioner, Los Angeles

Interviewees clearly recognized the gulf between deciding and executing, between intending to 

adopt a strategy or alter a behavior and successfully carrying through with the intention. The 

idea they expressed is that often it is after we gather reliable information to study, or after we 

fully comprehend the ramifications of a financial topic, or after we have reached a logical, well-
31 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

intentioned and informed decision, or after we have decided on a rational plan—or even after we 

have embarked on our plan—that we fail.

 Saving. Consumers and practitioners alike spoke about the importance of saving as a 

means of securing one’s future and protecting against unforeseen expenses. For many, 

saving is a conscious decision and a daily activity—but one that in practice encompasses 

several execution skills and rigorously followed habits chosen according to individuals’ 

circumstances and time horizons. “Saving” for some interviewees meant literally 

depositing money in a bank account; for others it meant spending less or comparison 

shopping, investing generally or, for many working-age consumers, investing in a 

retirement account. Consumers and practitioners both brought up budgeting as an 

important saving strategy, but it requires following through on intentions to turn 

budgets into money saved.

 Investing. Many interviewees felt that investing is critical to both long- and short-term 

wealth creation, and is thus a key ingredient in securing one’s financial future. People 

with and without investments both expressed this view. As with savings, interviewees 

described a range of intentional behaviors, carried through diligently, as “investments,” 

including participation in the stock market, purchasing real estate, starting a business, 

and more. One practitioner suggested that all purchases should be viewed as 

investments, as a way of encouraging people to think more strategically about how they 

spend their money.

 Getting a good education as a task to complete. As noted, interviewees felt that one of 

the best things one can do for oneself financially is to make sure to get a good education, 

and in part this implies following through with completing an educational goal as an 

investment in your future earning potential. Interviewees also talked about how being 

future oriented when young enables one to make better decisions with respect to 

engaging in or completing one’s education.

4.2 Financial knowledge

For this research project, we have focused on trying to understand what kind of knowledge is 

most likely to influence financial behavior, and how it does so. We reviewed existing research on 

the connection between knowledge and behavior from a number of different fields. We also 

asked our interview respondents to share with us the most valuable financial lessons they had 
32 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

learned over the years, where they learned those 

lessons, and what information had proven most 

helpful in their financial decision making. We 

similarly asked financial practitioners to identify 

the knowledge they considered most important for 

their clients to have.

Our first key finding in this area is that factual knowledge in and of itself is not sufficient to drive 

behavior or behavior change.30 Our review of existing literature suggests that the link between 

knowledge and behavior is always mediated by individual characteristics like attitudes and noncognitive skills, and by the context in which a decision is made or action is taken.31 Even when 

one possesses knowledge of a topic, whether that knowledge is processed in such a way as to 

inform behavior depends on a number of intermediary factors: personal efficacy; subjective 

norms (one’s perception of what is appropriate or expected); one’s attitude toward the 

contemplated behavior; and one’s intention.

 

30 Ajzen, I., N. Joyce, S. Sheikh, and N. Gilbert-Cote. “Knowledge and the prediction of behavior: the role of 

information accuracy in the theory of planned behavior.” Basic and Applied Social Psychology 33 (2011): 101-117.

Kiviat, Barbara, and Jonathan Morduch. “From financial literacy to financial action.” Financial Access Initiative: 

Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University, and McGraw-Hill Research Foundation. 

http://www.mhfigi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Financial_Literacy_WP.pdf (2012) (accessed October 10th, 

2014).

Robb, Cliff A., and Ann S. Woodyard. “Financial knowledge and best practice behavior.” Journal of Financial 

Counseling and Planning. 22(1) (2011): 60–70.

Mandell, Lewis, and Linda Schmid Klein. “The Impact of Financial Literacy Education on Subsequent Financial 

Behavior.” Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning. 20(1) (2009): 15–24.

Serido, Joyce, Soyeon Shim, and Chuanyi Tang. “A developmental model of financial capability: A framework for 

promoting a successful transition to adulthood.” International Journal of Behavioral Development 37(4) (2013): 287–

297.

31 Thaler, Richard H., and Cass R. Sunstein. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. 

New Haven: Yale University Press. (2008).

Duflo, Esther, and Emmanuel Saez. “Participation and investment decisions in a retirement plan: The influence of 

colleagues’ choices.” Journal of Public Economics. 85(1) (2002): 121–148.

Duflo, Esther, and Emmanuel Saez. “The role of information and social interactions in retirement plan decisions: 

Evidence from a randomized experiment.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 118(3) (2003): 815–842.

Bettman, James R., and C. Whan Park. “Effects of prior knowledge and experience and phase of the choice process on 

consumer decision processes: A protocol analysis.” Journal of Consumer Research. 7(3) (1980): 234–248.

Costanzo, Mark, Dane Archer, Elliot Aronson, and Thomas Pettigrew. “Energy conservation behavior: The difficult 

path from information to action.” American Psychologist. 41(5) (1986): 521–528.

Holden, Karen. “The emotions and cognitions behind financial decisions: The implications of theory for practice.” 

Center for Financial Security. http://www.cfs.wisc.edu/papers/Holden2010_EmotionsPaper.pdf (2010) (accessed 

October 10th, 2014).

Factual knowledge in and of 

itself is not sufficient to drive 

behavior or behavior change.
33 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

In addition, while this report focuses on the behaviors and attributes of individuals, the 

importance of decision context—the domain of social psychology and behavioral economics—

must be acknowledged. Context structures opportunity and influences individual choices. For 

example, employers who offer automatic payroll deduction into a retirement account provide 

their employees with a simple, streamlined way to save; however, individuals who do not have 

this infrastructure provided for them must take additional steps to save, which reduces the 

likelihood that they will do so.32

In the course of the qualitative research, both consumers and practitioners were far more likely 

to mention the importance of knowing how to do things than knowledge of particular facts. 

Fundamentally, the concept of skill means knowing how to do things, not just knowing what 

they are. The primary hypothesis in the financial knowledge domain suggested by our research 

is that the type of knowledge most likely to support or predict financial behaviors supportive of 

financial well-being—holding mediating factors constant—is a set of skills we call “financial 

ability.”

4.2.1 Financial ability

Our research suggests that the concept of financial ability, as defined below, captures in a 

general sense the “skill” component that is widely understood to be a key element of financial 

literacy and capability. The finding is not that domain-specific knowledge is not needed by 

consumers in specific situations and for particular tasks: clearly it is. The point is rather that 

domain-specific knowledge per se is not a comprehensive indicator of financial skill for all 

people in all situations and life stages.

Financial ability is conceptualized as the set of skills that supports the behaviors identified in the 

prior section on financial behaviors and strategies, and encompasses:

 Knowing when to seek out and where to find reliable information to make a financial 

decision;

 Knowing how to process financial information to make sound financial decisions; and,

 

32 Madrian, Brigitte C., and Dennis F. Shea. “The power of suggestion: Inertia in 401(k) participation and savings 

behavior. The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 116(4) (2001): 1149–1187.
34 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

 Knowing how to execute financial decisions, including monitoring and adapting as 

necessary to stay on track.

People with strong financial ability know where to start looking for the information they need to 

make a financial decision—whether that information is advice from an experienced friend, 

multiple quotes for a mortgage, or professional investment advice. Once they obtain financial 

information, persons with financial ability know how to process it—for example, they know how 

to run the numbers to figure out which auto loan 

would work best for their budget. And finally, people 

with financial ability know how to get themselves to 

execute and stick to their financial plans over the long 

term and adjust those plans as necessary.

A growing consensus in the broader financial literature33 also appears to point toward this wider 

notion of financial ability: the idea that in addition to a knowledge or information component, 

financial literacy has an action component—that is, the ability or skills to put financial 

knowledge to use. The dual elements of knowledge and action in CFPB’s own mandate to 

“improve the financial literacy of consumers” and “educate and empower consumers to make 

better informed financial decisions” reflects this growing understanding.

Ultimately, neither information, knowledge, deciding, planning, nor even starting on a course of 

action is alone sufficient to succeed in a task. Beyond good beginnings we face the immense 

human challenge of following through with the next step and the next, despite challenges and 

distractions. What our interviewees expressed is the notion that overcoming that challenge is a 

skill—a skill like any other for which a person may have an inborn aptitude, but which for most 

people requires learning and mastering.

This ability—to get oneself to do whatever it takes to make desired choices repeatedly—is critical 

to success in a wide range of finance-related behaviors that require discipline: behaving frugally, 

actively saving, making the time to research and plan, adhering to a budget, resisting impulsive 

 

33 Examples include:

Atkinson, Adele, Stephen McKay, Sharon Collard, and Elaine Kempson. “Levels of financial capability in the UK.” 

Public Money and Management. 27(1) (2007): 29–36.

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment. PISA 2012 Assessment and Analytical Framework: 

Mathematics, Reading, Science, Problem Solving and Financial Literacy. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264190511-

en(2013) (accessed October 10th, 2014).

Financial literacy has an action 

component—the ability or skills 

to put financial knowledge to 

use. 
35 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

purchases or lifestyle-related temptations or simple “wants.” Accomplishing a goal or other 

desired behavior is rarely a matter of just doing it, but also of knowing how to get oneself to do 

it. In the course of the qualitative research, consumers and practitioners shared a number of 

techniques that have worked for them in their financial lives and the importance to them and to 

their financial well-being of having acquired that skill.

What influences financial ability?

How do people develop the financial skills and expertise they do have? Some of our 

interviewees, both consumers and practitioners, said 

that schools, from primary through trade schools and 

college, should emphasize financial education and 

literacy to a greater extent, and there is research to 

support this view.34 Many of them, based on either 

their own experience or the observations of others, 

clearly felt that young adults often lack the financial ability they need to succeed. At the same 

time, when reflecting on their own experiences, the interviewees suggested that other modes of 

learning and types of knowledge had influenced their level of financial ability. Instead of formal 

financial knowledge, they placed major emphasis on the roles of upbringing, social context, or 

personal networks in providing experiential learning that promotes familiarity with and 

confidence in key skills and behaviors.

Upbringing was one of the themes brought up most often in the qualitative interviews, and 

many saw upbringing as their most important source of learning practical financial ability 

(though interestingly, no older consumers mentioned “upbringing” in their list of most 

 

34 Brown, Meta and van der Klaauw, Wilbert and Wen, Jaya and Zafar, Basit. “Financial Education and the Debt 

Behavior of the Young.” (September 2013). FRB of New York Staff Report No. 634.

Brown, Alexandra J., Michael Collins, Maximilian Schmeiser, and Carly Urban. “State Mandated Financial Education 

and the Credit Behavior of Young Adults.” Finance and Economics Discussion Series, Federal Reserve Board, 

Washington, D.C. 2014-68.

Serido, Joyce, Soyeon Shim, and Chuanyi Tang. “A developmental model of financial capability: A framework for 

promoting a successful transition to adulthood.” International Journal of Behavioral Development. 37(4) (2013): 

287–297.

Shim, Soyeon, Jing J. Xiao, Bonnie L. Barber, and Angela C. Lyons. “Pathways to life success: A conceptual model of 

financial well-being for young adults.” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. 30(6) (2009): 708–723.

Upbringing, social context, and 

personal networks promote 

familiarity with and confidence 

in key skills and behaviors.
36 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

important factors affecting financial well-being). Watching one’s parents navigate their financial 

lives deeply informs how one navigates one’s own financial life—one absorbs not only financial 

facts, but also behaviors, skills, and contextual cultural norms about money. Interviewees did 

not always follow in their parents’ financial footsteps: many noted that upbringing can teach and 

reinforce bad behaviors just as easily as good behaviors; and for some, watching their parents or 

others struggle motivated them to lead their own financial lives differently.

Many consumers reported that they gained much of their financial ability through personal 

experiences or the experiences of persons in their personal networks or broader social contexts, 

in particular from mistakes they or others had made. This was especially true of early experience 

with credit cards. Consumers noted that those bad decisions, as long as they were not too 

extreme, were critical to improving their financial well-being because they learned from them.

Many of the financial behaviors that consumers described as beneficial for financial well-being 

are strategies they synthesize from financial information gathered from different sources and 

from personal experience. “Correct” or “beneficial” financial behaviors are often communicated 

in the form of rules of thumb, such as “pay yourself first.” Some consumers talked about 

learning rules of thumb from their parents as part of their upbringing; others develop their own 

or pick them up from peers or others. Teaching rules of thumb has been shown to influence 

financial behavior.35 This fits with what we know from other research: decision-makers are apt 

to use the information available or accessible at the moment of decision, like a remembered rule 

of thumb, rather than pausing to engage in research.36

Finally, in the very broadest sense, one’s level of general knowledge is positively correlated with 

positive financial behaviors.37 This finding suggests that perhaps one’s general scope of 

knowledge and skill, everything acquired from family and others, from personal experience, and 

from formal education quite apart from the specialized financial expertise one gains, may 

enhance one’s financial ability.

 

35 Drexler, Alejandro, Greg Fischer, and Antoinette Schoar. “Keeping it simple: Financial literacy and rules of thumb.” 

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 6(2) (2014): 1–31.

36 Tversky, Amos, and Daniel Kahneman. “Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases.” Science. 185(4157) 

(1974): 1124–1131.

37Cole, Shawn Allen and Paulson, Anna L. and Shastry, Gauri Kartini, “Smart Money: The Effect of Education on 

Financial Behavior” (April 11, 2012). Harvard Business School Finance Working Paper No. 09-071. 
37 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

4.3 Personal traits

Personal attitudes, non-cognitive skills, and personality traits, which we refer to collectively as 

personal traits, all influence behavior directly and play a role in mediating the connection 

between knowledge and behavior. These might include, for example, whether a person is driven, 

is a planner, is materialistic, or possesses that quality often termed “grit”—a propensity to 

persevere in the face of challenges. Although humans appear to be born with many such 

personality-related characteristics already defined—or defined so early in life that it is difficult 

to know whether they were in-born or not—certain of these attributes remain quite malleable for 

a time,38 or in some cases appear to be more malleable during certain windows of time in 

childhood or youth.39 Regardless of their malleability, it is important to state and test 

hypotheses about the role of these characteristics in order make sure that tests of the role of 

other factors, such as knowledge and skills, control for the relevant personal traits. 

Several such personal traits particularly relevant to financial well-being emerged in our 

qualitative research or have been identified in other research, particularly in the fields of 

cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. These include attitudes and non-cognitive 

skills that mediate the transmission of factual knowledge into behavior, or in some cases drive 

behavior on their own. Research suggests they could potentially be influenced—to varying 

degrees and at different times of life—by well-designed programs, opportunities and supports. 

We discuss them below, divided into four groups.

 

38 Moffitt, Terrie E., Louise Arseneault, Daniel Belsky, Nigel Dickson, Robert J. Hancox, HonaLee Harrington, Renate 

Houts, Richie Poulton, Brent W. Roberts, Stephen Ross, Malcolm R. Sears, W. Murray Thomson, and Avshalom Caspi. 

“A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety.” Proceedings of the National 

Academy of Sciences. 108(7) (2011): 2693–2698.

Pathak, Payal, Jamie Holmes, and Jamie Zimmerman. “Accelerating financial capability among youth: Nudging new 

thinking.” New America Foundation. 

http://www.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/AcceleratingFinancialCapabilityamongYouth.pdf

(2011) (accessed October 10th, 2014).

39 Moffitt, Terrie E., Louise Arseneault, Daniel Belsky, Nigel Dickson, Robert J. Hancox, HonaLee Harrington, Renate 

Houts, Richie Poulton, Brent W. Roberts, Stephen Ross, Malcolm R. Sears, W. Murray Thomson, and Avshalom Caspi. 

“A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety.” Proceedings of the National 

Academy of Sciences. 108(7) (2011): 2693–2698.
38 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

4.3.1 Internal frame of reference

How do you judge your own success? Do you compare yourself to others, or, in the words of 

some of our interviewees, do you measure yourself by your own yardstick? The latter reflects 

having an internal frame of reference, a well-researched topic in the psychology literature that 

also emerged from our qualitative research interviews, signifying strong awareness of the 

concept in the public mind. Interviewees appeared to see this characteristic or attitude as 

learned, sometimes as children from one’s family or social context, sometimes, perhaps with 

more difficulty, as adults.

Many interviewees equated low self-esteem—that is, judging oneself harshly in comparison with 

others—with emotion-driven spending; they saw being insecure or not feeling good about 

oneself as leading to impulsive spending or spending to make yourself feel better in the moment. 

Respondents often referenced frame of reference in the context of talking about frugality, 

indicating that making do with less requires ignoring social pressure, and that some people are 

better able to do this than others, and that such frugality is a skill that one often learns to feel 

proud of as a personal attribute during one’s upbringing or from one’s spouse or partner.

Others referenced social pressure directly. A number of interviewees described materialism as a 

form of giving in to external social pressures. Many framed social pressure as “needing to keep 

up with the Joneses” and identified it as one reason people overspend. Some respondents 

described the ability to not give in to outside perceptions as critical to financial well-being.

4.3.2 Perseverance

Drive, grit, perseverance, and being a hard worker, which we refer to together as perseverance, 

are words offered by respondents in our qualitative research that all refer to complex attributes 

that may, in combination with other aspects of personality and habit, define highly motivated 

people. Cognitive researchers share our respondents’ interest, although vocabularies may differ: 

for example, the scientific concept of “willingness to persevere” relates to the concept of “grit” 

described by respondents. Such attributes are a function of both genes and experience.40

 

40 Duckworth, Angela. “Can Perseverance Be Taught?” Big Questions Online (August 5, 2013). Available at: 

https://www.bigquestionsonline.com/content/can-perseverance-be-taught.
39 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

Many of those interviewed felt that hard-working or conscientious individuals are more likely to 

achieve financial well-being. Some felt that being hard-working leads to more opportunities in 

the workplace; others used the concept in more personal terms to signify actions like having a 

spending plan or using a budget consistently over time. Interviewees also used the word 

“driven” to describe individuals who are highly motivated to achieve a goal such as saving or 

budgeting. Driven individuals were also perceived as more likely to overcome adversity.

More generally, some interviewees suggested that individuals who are more inherently 

responsible will have better abilities to, for example, distinguish between needs and wants, pay 

their bills on time, not fall into debt, or avoid risky behaviors such as over-reliance on credit 

cards.

4.3.3 Executive functioning

Particularly relevant to behaviors supportive of financial well-being are personal attributes that 

relate to executive function, a multifaceted suite of mental operations involved in self-control, 

planning, and focus that are seated, in neurological 

terms, primarily in the late-maturing pre-frontal 

cortex of the human brain.41 Several such attributes 

are strongly involved in the kinds of personal 

characteristics and attitudes that relate to financial 

well-being. The fact that they are late-maturing opens 

the possibility of designing effective approaches to 

help children’s and young adults’ brains mature optimally to establish strong executive functionrelated attributes.

Several characteristics that were mentioned by respondents, such as being a planner or having 

good self-control, have been shown in current research to relate directly to executive function. 

Interviewees often expressed the idea that having a plan for coping with unforeseen events or 

shocks is critical to achieving financial well-being, or referenced planning more generally, 

 

41 Moffitt, Terrie E., Louise Arseneault, Daniel Belsky, Nigel Dickson, Robert J. Hancox, HonaLee Harrington, Renate 

Houts, Richie Poulton, Brent W. Roberts, Stephen Ross, Malcolm R. Sears, W. Murray Thomson, and Avshalom Caspi. 

“A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety.” Proceedings of the National 

Academy of Sciences. 108(7) (2011): 2693–2698.

Being a planner and having 

good self-control have been 

shown to relate directly to 

executive function.
40 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

touching on the cognitive-science concepts of being future-oriented and having a propensity to 

plan.

Similarly, people reported constantly feeling tempted to spend rather than save; respondents 

felt that achieving financial well-being requires sufficient self-discipline to make choices that 

support their financial goals. Having self-control and not being impulsive are both well 

recognized aspects of executive function, as is managing risk. Figuring out how to balance risk 

was another common theme in the interviews. Many respondents recognized that financial 

behaviors such as investing are inherently risky, but nonetheless considered them important to 

achieving financial well-being.

4.3.4 Financial self-efficacy

Finally, we highlight a key topic drawn from the psychology literature that, although it did not 

come up directly in the consumer interviews, has been shown in other research to affect 

financial behavior. Self-efficacy describes a person’s confidence in her ability to influence her life 

outcomes. In the context of financial behavior, this means confidence in one’s ability to manage 

finances without being overwhelmed,42 including one’s perception of one’s own ability to achieve 

financial goals or stick to a spending plan. Efficacious people have an internal locus of control, 

meaning a belief that they themselves can influence their life outcomes, which underpins their 

belief in their ability to complete financial tasks and reach financial goals. Conversely, believing 

one is not in control of the forces that shape one’s life—having an external locus of control—is 

associated with less responsible financial behavior and weakens the positive relationship 

between financial knowledge and financial behavior,43 depending to some degree on social 

contextual factors.

Individuals who have higher levels of financial self-efficacy may be more likely to act on their 

financial knowledge and, for example, start a business or invest in the stock market.44 In our 

 

42 Lown, Jean M. “Development and validation of a financial self-efficacy scale” (2011 Outstanding AFCPE® 

Conference Paper). Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning. 22(2) (2012): 54–63.

43 Perry, Vanessa Gail, and Marlene D. Morris. “Who is in control? The role of self-perception, knowledge, and 

income in explaining consumer financial behavior.” The Journal of Consumer Affairs. 39(2) (2006): 299–313.

44 Chen, Gilad, Stanley M. Gulley, and Dov Eden. “Validation of a new general self-efficacy scale.” Organizational 

Research Methods. 4(1) (2001): 62–83.
41 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

study, consumers tended to discuss self-esteem in the contexts in which practitioners were more 

likely to use the term financial self-efficacy.

Taken together, all of these various personal characteristics and traits, when viewed broadly 

from the dual perspectives of popular understanding as revealed in our qualitative research and 

emerging scientific findings in the fields of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience, 

describe a set of hypotheses about how particular traits, attitudes, and non-cognitive skills 

appear to support or predict financial well-being. This suggests fascinating possibilities for 

meaningful research into interventions that could powerfully enable individuals to achieve and 

maintain financial well-being.

4.4 Social and economic environment

Our respondents brought up many examples of social and economic contextual dynamics that 

they believe are important influences on financial well-being. They often referenced family, 

friends, community, upbringing, their home life, and many aspects of the world we live in as 

sources of financial knowledge, examples of positive and negative financial behaviors, and much 

more. Our interviewees referenced society broadly as shaping us through mass culture, social 

media, government programs and policies, advertising media45 that tempt us to indulge 

ourselves to the detriment of our financial well-being, and in other ways. Our respondents also 

frequently acknowledged the importance, for themselves or others, of benefits or resources that 

may help support people’s lives in difficult times. Examples included rent-controlled housing, 

social security, and unemployment insurance.

Some respondents also expressed the belief that 

chance steps into our lives in many ways. The 

economy—how our personal life trajectories 

happen to align with business cycles and other 

dynamics of the economy—was mentioned as profoundly influencing people’s lives. Good 

employment (especially with benefits) was viewed by many consumers and practitioners as one 

 

45 The CFPB’s report 2013 report “Navigating the Market” found that for every dollar put towards financial education 

in the United States, $25 is spent on financial marketing, which can make it difficult for consumers to find objective 

information. Available at: http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201311_cfpb_navigating-the-market-final.pdf.

Good employment was viewed 

as one of the key drivers of 

financial well-being.
42 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

of the key drivers of financial well-being, yet one that does have an element of luck associated 

with it. 

Life events such as accidents, health and sickness, births and deaths, marriage and divorce, were 

mentioned as things that can change our financial lives significantly and often without warning, 

and have also been noted by researchers. 46 Interviewees expressed concern about their ability to 

cope financially with major life events; older consumers were particularly concerned that endof-life events could force them to drain their savings and become financially dependent upon 

family members.

4.5 Life stages

4.5.1 Differences between working-age and older consumer 

perspectives

A number of thematic differences emerged between the outlooks of working-age and older 

consumers during the course of the qualitative research interviews. Many of these differences 

related to life-stage issues, but a few instead reflected the period of history with which their lives 

coincide, and the life experiences they have had and continue to have as a result.

Older individuals had much more to say about the financial realities of retirement, especially 

savings and investments, abrupt financial challenges like health crises, and end-of-life expenses 

(including cognitive decline); and they also frequently discussed, with the benefit of hindsight, 

the decisions and choices they had made earlier in life that affect their situation now that they 

are older, such as saving effectively or failing to do so. Many working-age individuals also 

expressed awareness of issues surrounding retirement savings, but they tended to focus more on 

immediate mid-life challenges such as losing a job, experiencing a health crisis within their 

 

46 Brobeck, Stephen. “Understanding the emergency savings needs of low- and moderate-income households.” 

Consumer Federation of America. Manuscript available at 

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/economics/pdfs/understandingTheEmergencySavingsNeedsOfLow_102908.pdf

(2008) (accessed October 13, 2014).

Chase, Stephanie, Leah Gjertson, and J. Michael Collins. “Coming up with cash in a pinch: Emergency savings and its 

alternatives.” Center for Financial Security. Available at 

www.cfs.wisc.edu/briefs/chasegjertsoncollins2011_cashpaper.pdf (2011) (accessed October 13, 2014).
43 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

immediate family, or paying for their children’s education. Among younger respondents, 

student loan debt loomed large among their concerns.

Working-age consumers tended to feel more strongly that one’s job and one’s education level 

were more critical to financial well-being than older consumers did. Older consumers expressed 

more awareness of the life-altering effect that a single unexpected life event can have on one’s 

situation. Otherwise, however, working-age Americans and older Americans for the most part 

identified very similar sets of life forces that enable or hinder financial well-being.

4.5.2 Starting early in life

Both older and working-age consumers stressed the 

difficulty of changing one’s habits or significantly 

improving one’s fundamental financial abilities as an 

adult. People arrive at adulthood, they implied, with 

their financial personae already defined. To the 

extent that this is true, the behaviors, habits, and 

attitudes developed in youth, positive and negative, appear to strongly affect adult financial 

well-being. For instance, once one reaches adulthood, there are some changes that one might 

wish to make, but in many arenas the possibility of actually doing so becomes, according to our 

respondents, progressively smaller with time.

This also suggests that the capabilities, knowledge and understanding, personal attributes, and 

other tools that can positively influence or enable helpful financial behaviors for attaining a high 

level of financial well-being—these aspects of what one brings from youth into adulthood—are 

with them to stay. Since many are learned, or at least remain malleable for a time in youth, 47 it 

provides encouragement for the efforts that the CFPB and others are focusing on youth financial 

capability. From the viewpoint of the CFPB, this is critical as we turn from this initial phase of 

looking at adults toward examining, in a next phase of research, the processes that, during 

childhood and youth, dominate the formation of people’s financial-behavior personae.

 

47 Kautz, Tim, James J. Heckman, Ron Diris, Bas ter Weel, and Lex Borghans. “Fostering and Measuring Skills: 

Impoving cognitive and non-cognitive skills to promote lifetime success.” National Bureau of Economic Research, 

Working Paper No. 20749 (December 2014).

Behaviors, habits, and attitudes 

developed in youth appear to 

strongly affect adult financial 

well-being.
44 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

5. Discussion

The CFPB aims for this research to open a conversation with practitioners, researchers, 

policymakers and other stakeholders toward collectively establishing a set of best practices in 

financial literacy and capability that are grounded in evidence-based research. The initial 

research we report here offers a new way to understand the ultimate goal of financial education: 

financial well-being. By identifying behaviors, skills and traits that likely lead to improved 

financial well-being, it suggests potentially effective pathways for strategies and approaches that 

can develop and sustain financial literacy among consumers.

The research we report here reflects a first step. We do not yet offer quantitative data, or specific 

guidance on how to implement new strategies or programs. Moving this research forward 

effectively and thoughtfully will require many thoughtful participants. We want feedback. We 

need others to innovate, iterate, and help to take this work forward.

With that in mind, we believe the important contributions of this project are:

 A consumer-derived definition of financial well-being; 

 Testable hypotheses about the personal characteristics and attitudes that support

positive financial behaviors; and 

 A concept of “financial ability” to explain how knowledge supports financial behavior.

The foremost implication of our findings is that we need to reframe our understanding of what it 

means to improve financial literacy. Our research 

tells us that increasing consumers’ knowledge of 

financial facts is not enough. Rather, in order to 

reach the end goal of increased financial well-being, 

we need to help consumers develop the skills, 

We need to reframe our 

understanding of what it means 

to improve financial literacy.
45 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

experience and familiarity, and self-confidence to meaningfully engage in those behaviors that 

will help increase their financial well-being. With a definition of financial well-being, we now 

have a clear target to move toward.

5.1 Implications for financial capability 

practitioners

Financial capability practitioners are uniquely positioned to motivate and empower the people 

they interact with to engage in behaviors to improve their financial well-being—by connecting 

those behaviors to their personal goals and aspirations, by evoking their personal vision of a 

“good life,” and by fanning their sense of purpose. Practitioners can empower consumers by 

helping them develop key skills, offering proven strategies, and sharing the experiences of many 

others. They can help people connect their goals to financial plans, their plans to day-to-day 

behaviors, and their behaviors to decisions carried through to completion.

Because knowledge alone does not automatically equate to behavior, the practitioner and client 

alike must pay attention to the key attitudes and beliefs that will enable the client to engage in 

the behaviors that will allow them to succeed. A financial advisor needs to think like a personal 

trainer. For example, does the client possess the skills that define financial ability—that is, the 

ability to translate financial intentions into financial actions? These include knowing how to:

 Obtain reliable financial information;

 Process financial information to make sound financial decisions; and

 Execute financial decisions, monitoring and adapting as necessary to stay on track.

Similarly, does the client have the attitudes, structural opportunity, and decision context 

conducive to taking an action? The following diagram shows how multiple factors interact to 

influence an individual’s level of financial well-being. 
46 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

FIGURE 2: WHAT INFLUENCES FINANCIAL WELL-BEING

Based on our framework of factors that influence financial well-being, to make it likely that a 

person will accomplish something, a person needs to:

 Know how to do it (knowledge and skills);

 Feel confident in knowing how to do it effectively (attitude);

 Believe that doing it is valuable (attitude);

 Have the opportunity to do it (opportunity); and

 Encounter a decision context that is conducive to doing it (decision context).

All ways of gaining knowledge are not equally powerful. Experiential learning and just-in-time 

learning, in the sense of being immediately decision-relevant, are likely to be far more powerful 

ways for people to gain functional skills than financial learning encountered without any 

immediate applicability.

Finally, informal influences are tremendously important to most people’s financial lives. With or 

without a financial practitioner to use as a resource, people overwhelmingly get most of both 

their factual and their normative knowledge about financial topics from their family, their 

friends, and their community.
47 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

Overall, we encourage practitioners to take these ideas and consider how they might be 

incorporated into your one-on-one interaction strategies or program designs. The field needs 

practitioners to experiment inventively—and to report back on what you are learning.

5.2 Implications for research

The most salient conclusion for research is the need for more work in this area. The literature 

review showed that sample sizes in most studies are small, control groups are often lacking, 

longitudinal studies are rare, and very few, overall, establish causation. Furthermore, the 

interviews with consumers and practitioners together with our interdisciplinary synthesis of 

existing literature bring to our attention a new array of concepts, and new ways of thinking and 

explaining financial knowledge, behaviors and outcomes that require further research.

In particular, we envision work in three areas:

 Measurability of key concepts. To judge how and whether changes occur in key skills, 

attitudes, and behaviors—and in financial well-being itself—in response to interventions 

or simply over time, we need to be able to quantify those conceptsin a meaningful way. 

This means, in some cases, measuring what people do, which is standard in consumer 

finance. But measuring attitudes is a more novel direction in the field of financial 

education. And we presently have no tools to directly measure key concepts like financial 

ability and financial well-being. Acquiring them will require completion of an iterative 

evidence-based development process that we currently have underway.

 Personal factors as predictors. From our qualitative research and literature reviews, 

abetted by the experience and knowledge of our expert panel, we have compiled an 

extensive list of personal skills, attitudes, habits, behaviors and other individual 

attributes that are hypothesized to affect financial well-being to some degree. They, and 

other hypotheses of interest to others in the field about different potential drivers of 

financial well-being, need to be tested, with the goal of determining which are most 

predictive of well-being, for whom, and under what circumstances.

 Success of interventions. As a field, we need to develop innovative programs and 

interventions and specifically test them (and our implementation strategies) in terms of 

their efficacy—their efficacy in supporting the development of the key factors we have 
48 FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: THE GOAL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION

identified that may lead to and underlie financial well-being, and their efficacy in 

improving financial well-being itself.

Using the findings of the research reported here, the CFPB is committed to furthering its 

consumer financial literacy mission through fostering approaches grounded in an 

understanding of financial well-being as a key measure of effective financial education. This 

work presents new pathways and opportunities to move consumer financial capability practices 

forward in ways that can broadly benefit American consumers, and, through their collective 

impact, the stability and prosperity of the American economy as a whole.