You may have heard the myth: understanding money and the economy is something you either learned in school, or missed your chance to learn.
Here is the relief: recent research suggests the story is not that simple. You can gain economic understanding through the decisions, responsibilities, and trade-offs you have navigated throughout your life.
If you have run a business, raised a family, managed a household, or made difficult choices with limited time and resources, you have already been learning. Perhaps no one called it economic literacy. But your experience counts.
You were never taught this, and that is not a personal failing. Your life has been teaching you all along.
Experience is a teacher, too
A January 2026 working paper from the Ifo Institute, the University of Munich, and Stanford examined economic literacy among 2,729 German adults. In that sample, economic literacy rose strongly with age and life experience. The study did not find that having taken high school or college economics was what drove that increase.
This is research about German adults, not a study of the United States. Still, its central idea may feel familiar: what you learn by meeting real choices over time can matter deeply.
Running a business means deciding where your money, attention, and effort can go, and what must wait. Raising a family asks you to weigh needs and make plans as circumstances change. Navigating work, household responsibilities, and long-term goals gives you firsthand contact with trade-offs.
You did not need a classroom vocabulary to learn from any of that.
A U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation survey offers another reminder that this is not a concern reserved for one age group. In its September 2026 survey of 1,000 registered adult voters and 1,000 teens, 47% of adults and 49% of teens answered at least five of eight economic questions correctly; only about one in ten in either group reached the strongest level. At the same time, 91% of adults and 90% of teens viewed small businesses favorably.
You are not alone in wanting clearer explanations. And your interest in understanding the economy is a strength.
See the U.S. Chamber Foundation survey
What your life has already taught you
The Ifo working paper’s assessment covered five areas. You may recognize their everyday meaning in your own experience:
- Making choices with limited resources: You know that time, money, and energy are not endless. Choosing one priority can mean postponing another.
- Sharing work and exchanging value: You have seen how people use different skills, provide services, and rely on one another, at work, in business, and in community.
- Understanding prices and choices: You have noticed that costs can shape what customers buy, what a business offers, and what a household decides to spend.
- Considering shared benefits and trade-offs: You have encountered decisions where individual needs intersect with community needs and public services.
- Noticing wider economic changes: You have experienced how changes in the broader economy can affect business decisions, family plans, and expectations.
Those are plain-language connections, not a test of your knowledge. You do not have to use specialized terms to recognize what you have learned.
A measured gender gap is not a measure of capability
A 2026 Journal of Economic Education study reported a measured gender gap in economic literacy in research from Germany. That finding should not be turned into a judgment about women’s ability.
A gap in measured results does not mean women are less capable. It makes us ask better questions: Who was invited into conversations about the economy? Who had access to relevant information and opportunities to explore it? Whose questions were welcomed, and whose everyday expertise was overlooked?
For women 50 and older, this matters. You may have spent decades making consequential decisions without being told that those decisions were a form of economic learning. A women-focused learning space can recognize that experience, make room for questions, and connect what you already know with new tools.
And the principles extend beyond gender. People of every background can benefit from learning that starts with their actual circumstances rather than assumptions about what they should already know.
What greater understanding can change
The Ifo Institute, University of Munich, and Stanford working paper found that economic literacy was associated with choices that aligned more closely with what people said they valued. It also found that people with higher economic literacy responded more strongly when they learned about the trade-offs behind a policy.
The researchers reported several other associations in their German sample: one standard deviation higher economic literacy was associated with 0.48 standard deviations higher financial literacy, about 3% higher net household income, and about 21% higher household wealth. The study also associated higher economic literacy with more patience and more risk aversion.
These are associations, not proof that literacy alone caused higher income or wealth. The researchers studied a specific German adult sample, so the figures should not be presented as U.S. outcomes or personal predictions.
Still, the findings point toward useful questions for your own decisions:
- Do your financial choices reflect what matters most to you?
- Are you giving yourself time to understand the trade-offs before acting?
- What level of risk feels appropriate for your goals and circumstances?
- Where would more information help you feel clearer?
Understanding does not make every choice easy. It can help make your choices more intentional.
Adult learning is the right model, not a remedial one
In October 2026, the U.S. Treasury and the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC), a federal commission of financial education leaders, released the 2026 update to the U.S. National Strategy for Financial Literacy.
The strategy names four priorities: youth financial capability; saving and investing; digital financial literacy; and scams and fraud education. It also identifies practices that help make financial education useful:
- Make learning actionable at important decision points.
- Tailor it to a person’s life stage.
- Reinforce learning over time.
- Use experiential learning.
- Provide high-quality instruction and evaluate its effectiveness.
That approach recognizes what you already know: adults learn best when information connects to real decisions and real life. You should not have to pretend your responsibilities, questions, or experience do not exist before you can learn something new.
At JPE Health and Wealth Advocates, our workshops are built around practical, life-stage learning. We meet you where you are and make space to connect concepts with the choices you face. In the HEART Method, the Energy pillar also reminds you to notice the attention and capacity you bring to decisions. A clear, sustainable learning rhythm can make it easier to keep asking, reflecting, and acting with care.
The Treasury’s 2026 National Strategy for Financial Literacy describes a model that honors learning through experience and over time. Learning as an adult is not remedial. It is relevant.
Your 90-day economic confidence framework
You do not need to overhaul your life or learn everything at once. Try a steady, three-part approach:
Days 1–30: Notice what you already know
- Choose one money decision you make regularly.
- Write down what matters to you when you make it.
- Notice the trade-offs: what you prioritize, what you postpone, and why.
- Ask one question you have been hesitant to ask. Admitting you do not know something is a sign of strength.
Days 31–60: Explore one topic in context
Choose a topic connected to your current life, such as budgeting, business income, saving, debt, or investing. Look for a clear explanation and connect it to a decision you actually face.
You do not have to solve everything in one sitting. Let yourself learn at a pace you can sustain.
Days 61–90: Reflect and reinforce
Return to the question you started with. Has your understanding changed? Do your next choices align with your priorities? What would you like to explore next?
Use a short check-in each week. A little reflection, repeated over time, can help new information become part of your decision-making.
Maya Angelou’s words offer a fitting reminder: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
And Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance.” You can honor both your past efforts and the learning still ahead.
Your next step
You have already built knowledge through living, working, caring, and choosing. Now you can give that knowledge new language, and add practical tools that support your health, your business, and your financial future.
JPE workshops offer a welcoming place to learn without shame, ask questions, and build confidence one useful conversation at a time.
1. Discovery
Explore JPE’s financial education and workshop information:
https://jpewellness.com/finance
Visit the blog for more practical reflections:
2. Survey
Which experience has taught you the most about making choices with money: running a business, caring for family, managing a household, navigating work, or something else? Share your answer in a comment or bring it to your next workshop.
3. Register
Ready to learn with us? Have your Name, Email, and Phone ready to complete the HEART registration form:
https://jpewellness.com/metform-form/h-e-a-r-t-course-registration-form
Your experience is not a gap in your education. It is part of your foundation. Keep building from there.
Best Regards,
Jackie Primrose
Owner, JPE Health and Wealth Advocates
www.jpewellness.com
