How to improve financial knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among consumer science constituencies

Consumer science educators, especially those involved in personal financial management education, are the first to acknowledge that poor personal financial knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors can lead to lower financial wellness (e.g., O'Neill, 1996). Although consumer science educators already know that proactive financial education is effective in changing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, little empirical evidence exists to substantiate the argument that "financial education works." It has been widely reported that Americans lack the necessary financial preparedness to meet many short- and long-term financial objectives such as retirement and other financial events (Atchley, 1998; Joo, 1998). This weakness in financial preparedness is a growing concern for consumer science educators and their constituencies, because while the concern is well documented, viable solutions are often expensive and untested. The question that still remains to be thoroughly answered is "how can financial knowledge, attitudes, an