Americans are making this big financial mistake
'Retire Inspired' author Chris Hogan on efforts to improve Americans' financial literacy.
Some Americans might not understand basic financial terms, but bitcoin tends to confuse the most people.
According to a new study by TheKnowledgeAcademy.com and polling firm YouGov, 52 percent of those surveyed said they were not confident about the meaning of the term “bitcoin.”
There were plenty of other terms that they didn’t understand, including mutual funds, index funds and annuities, but according to financial expert Chris Hogan, not understanding these basic terms can hurt your bottom line.
Bitcoin, for example, was a trend that many people jumped on, but some ended up losing a lot of money.
“People are working hard,” Hogan told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday. “I don’t think they are working hard just to work hard. They are working hard to make progress.”
Hogan said enhancing your knowledge will boost your confidence and allow you to follow a plan.
“Looking at this and understanding there are a lot of different nuances. There’s a lot of places you can put your hard-earned money,” Hogan said. “But if you don’t understand it, I don’t want you to invest in it.”
He also thinks that it’s important for kids as young as seven to learn how to give, spend and save.
“Kids need to know money doesn’t come from mom and dad. Money comes from hard work,” he said. “And so if they can learn that principle they can begin to make money work for them by learning to save.”