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The Fall 2024 edition of the Journal of Personal Finance gave me an opportunity to reflect on the next generation of financial advisers and scholars entering our profession. I was blessed with the chance last April to attend the IARFC 40th Celebration & Conference in beautiful Ashville, NC, at the Biltmore Estate. At the conference, students competed in a national financial planning competition, and we are thrilled to publish the winning case study by Elizabeth Bedunah from the University of North Texas.

Elizabeth’s case study is followed by an ensemble piece and fascinating manuscript on Taboo and College Student Finances. More colleges today are offering mentoring programs around credit and personal finance than ever before, and Taylor Et. al explore what topics get a green light and which ones may cause friction in peer counseling relationships.

Drs. Chen, Asebedo & Ning study the Associations Between Fintech Use and Financial Knowledge and Emergency Fund Savings Adequacy: Expected and Unexpected Findings. This piece is a strong read for academic professionals and practitioners alike. This paper’s meaningful results reinforce how Fintech is shaping the personal finance landscape.

Drs. Li and Lei round out traditional submissions in our Fall Journal, with an article exploring Health Deterioration and Stock Investment: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study. This article adds to a growing body of literature around wealth management as we age, and, from my perspective as a financial planner, growing with our clients as they age.

Our last submission this month is one of a kind. The Journal was approached by Zoya Salam, who had studied Hispanic Youth Communities in Northeast Austin. We are publishing Zoya’s article as a rising scholar. Zoya is a high school junior at Westlake High School though her manuscript was well above that level. I hope this opportunity encourages her to continue scholarship in personal finance through her education.

Thank you to our amazing editors and reviewers. You are the lifeblood of our Journal and I appreciate each and every one of you.

Editor Craig Lemoine, Ph.D., MRFC^®, CFP^®

CE QUIZ
Members of the IARFC can earn CE credits through the Journal of Personal Finance (JPF). Register to take the IARFC JPF Online CE quizzes and receive two for $20. Two hours of IARFC CE will be awarded to anyone who achieves a score of 70% or higher per quiz. Only one submission per member is allowed, quizzes are available as JPF issues are published. To register for a quiz click here.

Volume 23 Issue 2,  2024

National Financial Planning Competition Winner - Elizabeth Bedunah
2024 Case Narrative: Steve and Stephanie Jones

Taboo and College Student Finances: How Peer Financial Mentors Describe and Navigate Taboo When Mentoring College Students

Z.W. Taylor | Jodi Kaus | Sara Ray|Tristia Kayser | Mario Villa | Karla Weber-Wandel | Phil Schuman
Discussing personal finance is commonly viewed as taboo among friends, family, and peers. However, as institutions of higher education adopt financial wellness programs and build peer-to-peer mentoring models within these programs, it is critical to understand which financial discussions may be considered taboo, causing potential disruptions to the peer-to-peer financial mentoring relationship. As a result, this study connected with 54 peer financial wellness mentors across seven institutions of higher education to explore how these mentors described taboos in their work with college students. After engaging with peer financial mentors regarding their experiences when mentoring college students, data in this study suggests two distinct categories of taboo financial speech: 1.) topics that their supervisor forbade them to discuss with college students, such as investment advice, credit card companies, and financial aid counseling, and 2.) topics that college students felt they could not discuss with friends or family, such as debt, budgeting, and food insecurity. Additionally, data suggested that taboo financial speech barred subsequent taboo financial actions, curtailing the work of peer financial mentors. We conclude by providing implications for financial wellness programs in higher

Associations Between Fintech Use and Financial Knowledge and Emergency Fund Savings Adequacy: Expected and Unexpected Findings

Ying Chen, Ph.D., CFP^®
Sarah D. Asebedo, Ph.D., CFP^®
Weihong Ning, Ph.D.
Limited research has explored the association between financial technology (fintech) use and adequate emergency fund savings. Financial knowledge provides individuals with the knowledge and skills to act, thereby having a greater chance of accumulating adequate emergency fund savings. Meanwhile, fintech use offers opportunities to access different financial services, such as financial applications for managing individual accounts, thereby enhancing the ability to apply financial knowledge to accumulate adequate emergency fund savings. Grounded in the model of financial capability, the current study used the 2018 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) to investigate the associations between the frequency of fintech use and financial knowledge (i.e., objective and subjective financial knowledge) and adequate emergency fund savings among non-retirees. The empirical results showed that frequent use of financial apps for budgeting, savings, and investment, as well as subjective financial knowledge, were positively associated with adequate emergency fund savings. Our findings suggest that frequent fintech use has the potential to improve individuals’ adequate emergency fund savings. Financial planners might leverage fintech to help people establish adequate emergency fund savings among non-retirees.

Health Deterioration and Stock Investment: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study

Shan Lei, Ph.D., CFA, CFP^®
Ning Li, Ph.D.
This study examines the effect of health deterioration experienced by the aging population on their household portfolio choices. This study adds to the literature by incorporating various facets of health deterioration, which include 1) health shocks, which consider a diagnosis of a new severe health condition and a new hospital admission measured by length of hospital stay, 2) self-reporting of fair or poor health status in the previous wave and 3) mental health score in the previous wave. Analysis of the most recently released eight waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) suggests that self-reported health status, and nights spent in hospital play a significant role in stock investment decision making. However, the onset of a new diagnosis of acute or chronic conditions and mental health status are not found to be a significant contributor in this study for singles or married couples. The findings in this study provide implications for policymakers, financial professionals as well as individual investors.
 

Bridging the Financial Literacy Gap: Insights from Hispanic Youth Communities in Northeast Austin

Zoya Salam
This study explores the financial literacy levels of Hispanic high school students in Northeast Austin. Financial literacy is essential for effective personal finance management, yet many students, particularly from minority groups, lack sufficient education in this area. Using surveys distributed via Google Forms, data were collected from students at Manor, LBJ Early College, Northeast Early College, and Travis Early College High Schools. The research also included a control group of students from Westlake, Round Rock, Westwood, and Lake Travis High Schools. The study aims to identify gaps in financial knowledge and propose targeted educational interventions. Findings indicate significant disparities in financial literacy, particularly in areas such as understanding credit scores, managing debt, and long-term financial planning. These results underscore the necessity for enhanced educational resources tailored to the Hispanic community. This study aims to inform educators, policymakers, and community leaders about the importance of integrating effective financial education programs.

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