Survey: Americans and generational education about credit

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice. See Lexington Law’s editorial disclosure for more information.

Your credit can affect things like your housing options, your auto insurance costs and even your ability to get a job in some states. Learning how to improve your credit can help you improve your financial health. Unfortunately, many people don’t receive the education they need to actively earn and maintain good credit.

Lexington Law Firm surveyed 1,000 people to see whether they strongly agreed, somewhat agreed, somewhat disagreed, strongly disagreed or neither agreed nor disagreed with these two statements about credit:

• My parents clearly explained to me how my credit score is calculated and how my credit affects me financially.
• I am confident that I will be more financially successful than my parents.

The results of our generational credit survey reveal a limited understanding of credit. This lack of financial education often results in challenges with money management.

Take a look at our key findings:

• About a third (30%) of respondents strongly disagreed with the statement “My parents clearly explained to me how my credit score is calculated and how my credit affects me financially,” while only 16% strongly agreed.
• Almost half (48%) of respondents somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement “I am confident that I will be more financially successful than my parents.”
• Of those who strongly disagreed with both statements, 62% were women and 38% were men.
• Of those who strongly agreed that their parents clearly explained credit to them, 40% also strongly agreed that they were confident they would be more financially successful than their parents.

Methodology

Note: This survey was conducted for Lexington Law Firm using Suzy.com. The sample consisted of 1,000 responses per question and is not statistically representative of the general population. This survey was conducted in February 2022.

Nearly 1 in 3 respondents feel strongly that their parents didn’t clearly explain credit to them

At 30%, more people chose “strongly disagree” than any other response to this statement. And nearly a quarter of respondents—23%—felt neutral about the level of credit education they received.

While these results don’t necessarily seem great, it’s not all bad news—“somewhat agree” and “strongly agree” together made up more than a third of the responses (35%), which means at least some people feel positively about how well their parents explained key credit concepts to them.

48% of respondents at least somewhat believe they will be more financially successful than their parents

In contrast to our first key finding, almost half of respondents somewhat or strongly believe they’ll be more financially successful than their parents, which bodes well for the future.

However, more than a third of survey participants feel uncertain about their financial future, noting that they neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement in question. Fewer than a quarter of respondents (18%) fully or partially think they’ll be less successful than their parents financially.

Of those who strongly disagreed with both statements, 62% were women and 38% were men

Gender also seems to play a role in financial literacy. Of those who strongly disagreed with both statements, 62% were women and only 38% were men, indicating that in general, women may be more dissatisfied with the credit education they received from their parents and more skeptical of their future financial success relative to their parents’.

The group that strongly agreed they received clear financial education is split almost in half by gender (51% men and 49% women). Men were more likely to somewhat agree with this statement (61%), while women were more likely than men to somewhat disagree (56%). Men were slightly more likely than women (56%) to neither agree nor disagree with this statement.

Men were much more likely to agree that they’ll have a stronger financial future than their parents, while women were much more likely to disagree. This aligns with a 2018 statistic from the Center for American Progress indicating that 56% of U.S. residents who live in poverty are female. People who were ambivalent about this statement were about evenly split by gender (53% female, 47% male). 

40% of respondents who strongly believe their parents explained credit to them well are also confident they’ll be better off financially than their parents

Fortunately, of those who strongly agreed that their parents clearly explained credit to them, 40% also strongly agreed that they were confident they would be more financially successful than their parents.

But on the other hand, 61% of those who strongly agreed they had little education about money at home also strongly agreed that they don’t expect to do better than their parents financially. Both of these findings together indicate the significant impact that a parent can have on their child’s financial future.

Where to start with credit education

Even if you aren’t sure how credit works, it’s never too late to learn how to create a brighter financial future. There are plenty of educational resources online and elsewhere, such as myFICO.com and Lexington Law’s website.

You’ll want to start with the basics—what is a credit score, and how is it created? When you know what determines your credit score, you can start working to improve it over time.

FICO, the top provider of credit scores, considers these five main credit factors:

• Payment history (35%): Whether you pay bills on time and in full is the biggest component of your credit score. Most banks and credit card companies report late payments to the credit bureau after 30 days.
• Credit utilization (30%): This ratio compares your total debt to the total amount of available credit you have. The lower the utilization, the better it is for your score. In other words, if you max out your credit cards, your ratio will increase and your credit will likely take a hit.
• Credit age (15%): Lenders like when you have several solid years of credit history. Don’t close your old cards when you pay them off, since doing so will shorten your history and likely have a negative impact on your FICO score.
• Credit mix (10%): Most lenders prefer to see various types of accounts in your credit profile. For example, it may be beneficial to take out a secured auto loan or mortgage in addition to your unsecured credit card accounts.
• Recent credit applications (10%): Applying for too many new accounts can have a negative impact on your score. If you fill out too many credit applications within a relatively short period of time, this might hurt your credit.

In addition to paying attention to these five factors composing your credit score, you can also potentially improve your credit health by disputing errors on your credit reports. Check one of your credit reports at least once a year and ask questions about items you don’t understand or think may be inaccurate. If you aren’t sure where to start, you can get help from a company like Lexington Law Firm. Reach out today to schedule a consultation with our team.

Note: Articles have only been reviewed by the indicated attorney, not written by them. The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website owner, authors, reviewers, contributors, contributing firms, or their respective agents or employers.