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The fourth quarter college plans have continued to decrease due to the economic crisis. The assets in 529 college savings plans fell over 21% from last year. Investors are optimistic and the data shows that people are still attempting to save for college. Unfortunately many parents do not know how to save or how much they will need for college. College expenses continue to increase faster that wages and have increased at a rate of 5.7% a year. If this trend continues the gap between income and college tuition is going to be even more difficult to cope with.

Currently many states are slashing budgets which is forcing families to face higher college costs. College 529 plans come in a variety of configurations based on a childs age, and investment style. This article examined several 529 plans to determine the best and the worst. The best offered conservative plans for a child between the ages of 15-17 and earned around 2.7% while some other plans lost money

It is shocking to see the statistic that almost 2/3 of individuals over the age of 50, still in the working environment, have not thought about their retirement. This failure to plan has lead Americans to financial illiteracy. Almost half of people in the workforce are unaware of pension and retirement funds that they as employees qualify for. The author suggests requiring proper planning aid information upon new employee orientation, educational programs as well as a personal incentive for individuals to think and plan for the future.

Free online personal financial advisor to help you manage your finances. Save money, decrease debt and make plans with Thrive. One of a number of websites popping up, designed to make users financially literate in a hands-on way.

Discusses the importance of future savings such as retirement funds. The article also discusses common reasons for failed retirement plans. The source is a good reference point to compare the different issues facing adults and young people.

The article suggests planning financial literacy programs for students. Furthermore, the author shares with the reader that that there are laws in Oklahoma, Colorado, and other states requiring high school students to show financial literacy in order to graduate. In addition the article shares that Capital One has created branch banks operated by students at several schools as well as the National Endowment for financial education has created a personal finance curriculum that can be integrated into regular school curriculum. Research suggests that personal finance courses have not improved student financial literacy. Lewis Mandell suggest that students should be taught about finance and savings at an earlier age than high school.

This article focuses on the financial education of American consumers. The researchers have labeled Americans as having excess debt, poor retirement planning and insufficient savings. They believe one answer to the financial problems facing Americans has to do with the amount of financial information available. In some cases credit cards provide too much information and technical terms which may confuse the consumer. On the other hand when there is too little information the consumer may not be able to make proper choices.