Taking Financial Literacy Downtown: Leveraging Community Partnerships to Increase Communication of Essential Financial Information in an Urban Area

Abstract

Financial illiteracy is a systemic issue across the country, especially among lower-income individuals in urban communities. This low level of financial literacy often leads to higher levels of debt, lower credit scores, less wealth accumulation, and poor retirement planning. Increasing financial literacy in these priority populations can be effective in combatting some of these negative financial outcomes. This study emerged from a partnership between community organizations in a large urban metropolitan area and scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. Guided by formative research principles, this manuscript reports on research findings derived from several focus groups with community members. These focus groups helped to identify existing perceived financial knowledge levels, categorize barriers to enhancing financial literacy, and illuminate potentially pathways to effective financial literacy program development.