BERKSHIRE, U.K.–A new survey has uncovered the financial terms with which Americans are most and least familiar, and also offers insight to how many Americans are familiar with credit unions.
In a survey of more than 1,100 Americans conducted by TheKnowledgeAcademy.com, it was found that:
- American public are most confident (88%) about the meaning of a “savings account”
- 76% of Americans are assured by the true connotation of a “credit union”
- The term a majority of Americans (52%) are most uncertain about is “Bitcoin”
- Just 67% of Americans know what a “recession” is, despite the depth of the recession just a decade ago
- Shockingly, only 16% of Americans have a high level of financial literacy
“As we navigate through different life stages, the urgency to acknowledge and grasp what numerous financial terms mean becomes ever apparent when making tough financial decisions,” TheKnowledgeAcademy.com said in releasing the findings. “Considering words and phrases in areas such as banking, investment, mortgages and savings are more than likely to feature a lot in an individual’s management of their personal finances – the hope would be for them to have a firm education of commonly used financial jargon. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case, as shockingly only 16% of Americans have a high level of financial literacy according to research by financial services organization TIAA: Investing, Advice, Retirement and Banking.”
Other Findings
Among the other findings:
- 72% of Americans feel confident enough to know what “net worth” represents
- 70% of Americans said they understand the two components of net worth: assets and liabilities
- 49% are unsure about the proper connotation of an “index fund”
- 44% of Americans lack certainty about what an “asset allocation” is