Financial Literacy
Control your future
Building a financially confident community.
Why financial literacy matters
Financial literacy is the ability to understand financial concepts and make sound personal financial decisions. It is essential for achieving financial well-being—the capacity to manage everyday finances, handle financial shocks, meet goals and have the make decisions that impact your lifestyle. Financial well-being depends on financial literacy, which provides the knowledge, skills, tools and discipline needed to make effective financial choices.
Financial literacy also supports both financial and mental wellness. Money problems are one of the leading sources of chronic stress, often exceeding stress from work, family or politics. Low financial literacy and well-being can increase financial stress, which may lead to anxiety, depression and feeling overwhelmed.
We believe financial literacy matters. We are on a mission to educate and empower our students so they can make confident financial decisions in the future about budgeting, saving, debt management, investing and more.
Annual financial literacy lecture
Each year we host an expert to share foundational principles on financial literacy for our students and community. The speakers share research and insights that help unravel the complexities of financial decision-making for individuals and households.
2026 Financial Literacy Lecture
Featuring Caleb Silver, business editor at People, Inc. and editor-in-chief of Investopedia
2026 Financial Literacy Lecture
Previous lecture speakers
Dr. Annamaria Lusardi
University Professor of Economics and Accountancy at George Washington University
Dr. Billy Hensley
President and CEO at National Endowment for Financial Education
Dr. Terry Odean
Rudd Family Foundation Professor of Finance at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley
Dr. Carly Urban
Professor of Economics at Montana State University and research fellow at the Institute for Labor Economics (IZA)
Financial literacy ambassadors
This group of students act as peer mentors for financial advising on campus, made possible by the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union. Selected students receive training and connect with students across campus to consult with them about financial concerns and options available to them. Our ambassadors gain real world experience with real clients before they graduate.
- What is the Financial Literacy Ambassadors Program?
High-achieving students will act as peer mentors and champions of Financial Literacy education on campus.
This role will typically require 1-2 hours per week and primarily involve:- Hosting financial literacy events on campus
- Promoting financial wellness on campus
- Developing skills as a financial literacy professional
- What is the criteria for eligibility?
- Complete the application online
- If invited, interview with a panel of faculty and students (including a teaching demo)
- Students in the FIN 2010 Personal Finance course preferred
- Sophomores and Juniors preferred
- Minimum two semester commitment
- Why should I become a Financial Literacy Ambassador?
- Empowerment: Become a source of knowledge and empowerment for your peers, helping them navigate personal finance challenges
- Leadership experience: Enhance your leadership and communication skills while making a positive impact on campus
- Networking: Connect with like-minded individuals, faculty members and financial experts
- Resume building: Gain valuable experience that stands out on your resume and sets you apart in the job market
- Earn and learn! Get paid to make an impact on campus and in our community
2026-2027 Financial Literacy Ambassadors
Alexis Henry, accounting major
Alexis chose Accounting because she loves that there are clear rules and structures that keep things fair and transparent. She brings that same clarity to personal finance. If you’ve ever felt like money stuff is confusing on purpose, Alexis is the person to talk to. She’ll break it down, make it click and help you build habits you can actually keep.
Ian Tindle, economics major
Ian isn’t here to lecture you with jargon. As President of the UTC Economics Club, he’s already in the trenches talking economics and finance with students every week. Now, he’s channeling that energy into one-on-one guidance that actually meets you where you are — whether you’re opening your first checking account or trying to figure out how to plan for post-grad budgeting.
Personal finance for every UTC student
Because we believe in the impact of financial literacy, we offer Finance 2010: Personal Finance as a general education course, available to all students across UTC. This course equips students to learn the language of finance and best practices in financial decision-making, such as managing budgets and preparing for unexpected expenses.
A minor in personal finance is also available to all who wish to add more rigor to the study of personal finance.
Program sponsor
We are grateful to our program sponsor, Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union, for its ongoing support and commitment to financial literacy.
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