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
Previous lecture speakers
Annamaria Lusardi
Professor of Economics and Accountancy at George Washington University
Dr. Billy Hensley
President and CEO at National Endowment for Financial Education
Dr. Terry Odean
Professor at UC Berkley
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.
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.
Discover the Rollins College of Business advantage
Whether you're looking for a course, a conversation, or a community — we have resources to help you take the next step.