Walk down the street in virtually any neighborhood in Arkansas. In nearly two out of every three houses you see, it would be hard for the families who live there to come up with $1,000 to cover an unexpected emergency without going into debt. One out of two of those families has less than $10,000 saved for retirement. And in the wallets of those Arkansans, 24 percent of their take-home pay is eaten up by non-mortgage debt payments for credit cards, car payments and student loans.
For the third consecutive year, the financial website “WalletHub” has given Arkansas the dubious distinction of being the third dumbest state in the nation when it comes to financial knowledge. The website uses a number of benchmarks in the study, but it makes it clear that only Nevada and Alaska are less financially savvy than residents of The Natural State.
WalletHub says the problems created by a lack of financial wellness showed up strongly during the recession of 2008 and the site opines that we haven’t done much to correct those problems since.
Information on the website says the national figures tell the story: “Since the beginning of 2012, we’ve collectively racked up roughly $153 billion in new credit card debt, unsurprising given that only 2 in 5 adults actually have a budget. Ultimately, there’s really no shortage of statistics that one can quote to illustrate our money management shortcomings — from the 20 percent of Americans who spend more than they make to the 54 percent of folks who don’t have a rainy day fund.”
It would be easy to dismiss all this as just another statistically saturated story telling us what we already know; but, real lives are affected by the problems at the root of the story and those problems are pervasive in almost every corner of Arkansas. Poor financial habits force families into bankruptcy and out of their homes. A lack of financial skills impact the state’s economy and jobs, dooming many workers to spend their retirement years with little more than Social Security to provide monthly income.
We spend a significant amount of our state’s wealth educating our young people, ostensibly to be able to earn a paycheck. But there seems to be scant effort put forth to teach those earning a paycheck how to properly use it to become financially secure.
It’s time for a change.
GenWealth Financial Advisors has announced a strategic partnership with Ramsey Solutions to offer a comprehensive education and planning program designed to improve financial wellness. GenWealth advisors will work with clients to implement the five basic principles taught in Dave Ramsey’s SmartDollar education program. “With so many Americans living paycheck to paycheck, it’s no wonder that employees are not on track for retirement,” said Brian Hamilton, vice president of Financial Wellness for Ramsey Solutions. “SmartDollar is designed to get to the root of the problem and helps families have a step-by-step plan to get on a budget, build their emergency savings and get out of debt so they free up their largest wealth-building tool: their income.”
SmartDollar is an innovative program delivered online to participants, on their schedule, around the clock to any computer or mobile device. The program also includes a personal website where participants can track their progress toward their goals. Participants will also have access to online budgeting software that can integrate with their bank accounts, allowing for easy tracking of expenses.
“We believe it’s time for a financial revolution across the state of Arkansas and it all begins by taking a stand and declaring 'No more dumb money!' ” Shrewsbury said.