Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Annie Sullivan of personal finance

Beth Kobliner wrote in her most recent blog post that I am the Annie Sullivan of personal finance. I have received praise for my work, but this is the best I’ve ever gotten. I must say that the association with Anne Sullivan almost made me cry (yes, you students who took my classes, I do have a heart). It is very humbling and is also giving me energy to do more.

I am deeply honored and gratified by Beth Kobliner’s praise, but I want to point out that she is doing some truly excellent work to benefit young people. While I write a blog—not as often as I would like—and do research work on financial literacy, Beth Kobliner has written a best-selling book geared to helping young adults make good financial decisions and has been very active in youth financial education. In recognition of her important work, President Obama nominated her to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability. The Council has held their first meeting this year, and Beth is already very active in its Youth Education Subcommittee.

Every day we have a chance to make a small difference in improving financial literacy. Someone said, “People seldom see the halting and painful steps by which the most insignificant success is achieved.” That someone was Anne Sullivan.

Here is a link to Beth Kobliner’s blog:
http://www.bethkobliner.com/beths-blog/tag/financial-capability

1 comment:

Jonathan Roseland said...

I think that consumers need to not be afraid to fight back at the service companies that charge them exorbitant fees. These keep the American consumer in a financial hole. Here’s an article on how to negotiate fees. Please let me know what you think of it.
http://www.creditcardanddebt.com/blog/42-credit-blog/119-how-to-negotiate-fees-12-ways-to-save-money-on-phone-banking-and-other-service-bills.html