Thread by @NdamukongSuh

A lot of people ask me why I care so much about financial literacy.

It's because people are struggling to get ahead and lack of basic financial understanding is a big part of it.

Over the next few decades, I'll be putting millions of dollars toward solving this.

Here's why 🧵

A few stats to set the stage:

💸 Financial illiteracy cost our country $415bn in 2020

🏫 Only 17% of high schoolers are required to take a personal finance course

🥉Just 34% of Americans can answer at least 4/5 basic financial literacy questions

Those fancy numbers translate into one thing: most Americans don't understand basic financial concepts.

Concepts like interest, credit, diversification, debt, and investing show up in our every day lives.

Nobody needs to know it all, but not getting it has real world impact.

Like how in 2020 the median retirement savings for Americans between ages 55 and 64 was $134,000.

That's an annual income of $7,500.

Or how total student loan debt was at $1.71 TRILLION in 2020, more than double the previous decade 🤯

There's a lot of reasons for all the scary stats about the financial situation of Americans.

But one of the huge ones is a lack of standard education.

We've got more companies selling credit cards on college campuses than teachers explaining what credit is.

And that's a damn shame, because education works.

Young adults who take personal finance course are less likely to do things like borrow high interest loans.

That's why I'm laser focused on teaching our kids (starting to do this in Portland already).

We have more control over our personal finances than ever.

Robinhood, Klarna, Stash, Coinbase, Sofi, all those friendly consumer fintech companies have made it easier than ever to save, trade, invest, borrow, etc.

But access without education can cause problems.

Here's how I plan on tackling this:

1) Start young by bringing financial education to middle and high schools across the US

2) Work with fintech companies to better educate their consumers

3) More access to financial resources for young professionals as they start out

There's a lot of work to be done, and I won't be doing all of it.

But as with any big problem, the thing to do is get started, even if you start small.

Stay tuned for an announcement on this 👀

One of the most important guiding principles in my life is to pay it forward.

I had access to resources and mentorship that allowed me to become financially successful (and stay that way).

I want others to have that same opportunity, without needing an 8-figure contract.