We asked 5 college students how they learned about finance

If you’re like most people, you didn’t learn how to do your taxes or build good credit in school — at least not intensely as you studied geometry or “Jane Eyre.” 

At Zogo, we’ve heard dozens of financial horror stories from our users that start with the phrase “I just didn’t know any better.” If financial education is so critical, why are so many young people left to figure it out on their own? 

We asked five college students how they learned about personal finance Here’s what they said: 

Hannah, 20: I’ve had to figure out money and budgeting on my own, through the internet and just based on my failures and successes. I didn’t learn much about it in high school, and haven’t really learned much about it in college classes either. 

Chapel, 22: I figured out a lot just through standard experience and chatting with other people my age doing the same. It’s always helpful to fall back on my parents for advice. It’s a combination of that — plus a little research on the internet.

Carly, 22:. My dad has given me tips — how much you should save, how much you spend on certain things. I don’t have a “traditional” education in finance. I’ve never taken any sort of class. I kind of feel like I don’t know anything about finance.

Tyler, 21: Being a low-income kid, you learn a lot about money very quickly. I was well-versed in budgeting and bills and the scarcity of funds by the time I was 12, because my mom used to always confide in me about money problems. I also took a personal finance course in high school, but it was not helpful at all.

Mac, 19: Honestly, I’ve learned everything about budgeting, saving and spending from my parents. I did read a book called “Investing for Dummies” to learn about stocks and things like that. 

How is your credit union investing in financial education? 

We aren’t a research institute or some market intelligence company. We’re a group of college students from Duke University who believe that financial education needs to be gamified, incentivized, and delivered to young people where they already spend the most time — their phone.

At Zogo, we built a gamified financial literacy app with embedded incentives that delivers financial education to Gen Z in bite-size, interactive lessons. Since launching last November, Zogo has garnered nearly 70,000 Gen Z and Millennial users who have spent collectively over eight years worth of time completing 1,000,000+ lessons on the app. As Gen Zers ourselves, we know how to engage this demographic. 

We’re reinventing financial education for the younger generation. Want to join us? Visit www.zogofinance.com to see how our solution fits your organization and schedule a demo with one of our committed onboarding specialists.