Many adults lack financial education and are trying desperately to control their finances.

• From 1990 to 2000, the rate of personal bankruptcy in the U.S. rose by 69 percent.
• 1,557,651 bankruptcies were filed in the U.S. in 2001, up 5.7 percent from 2001. Non-business filings accounted for 97.6 percent of all filings in 2002.
• Over 75 percent of undergraduate college students have credit cards; most have multiple cards with an average total balance of $2,748.
• Conservative estimates put the number of households who do not use banks at 10 percent of the U.S. population, and greatest among the poor, young, seniors, immigrants and minorities.
• Financial education was more common in many American schools in the early 1900s than it is today.
• 82 percent of students failed a basic quiz on financial concepts like interest rates, savings, loans, credit cards, and calculating net worth.  Students did best on quiz questions about income and worst about savings and investments.
• 94 percent of youth ages 16 to 22 cite parents as their primary resource for financial information.

Managing Personal Finances

Some basic guidelines for creating a budget of your after-tax (net) income include:

• 35 percent = housing
  Spend no more than 35 percent of new income on housing, including mortgage or rent, utilities, taxes and home maintenance.
• 20 percent = transportation
  Spend no more than 20 percent of net income on car payments, auto insurance, vehicle license, maintenance, gasoline, parking, bus cards, etc.
• 20 percent = other
  Spend no more than 15 percent of net income on all other expenses such as food, clothing, childcare, medical expenses, entertainment and charitable giving.
• 15 percent = debt
  Spend no more than 15 percent of net income on all consumer debts such as credit cards, student loans, personal loans, tax debts and medical debts.
• 10 percent = savings
  Save at least 10 percent of your income throughout your working life.

Resources: United Way 2-1-1™ is a free and confidential, 24-hour information/referral line that can connect you to over 40,000 community programs and resources.  Just dial 2-1-1 or 651-291-0211.