According to a Yahoo Finance Poll surveying viewers about their financial planning strategies, over 70% of participants claim they do it on their own with no assistance. The National Financial Educators Council has identified a steep cost of $1,506 per person in 2023 for lacking financial literacy.

401 Financial Principal and Founder Tyrone Ross joins Wealth! to discuss his idea of rebranding "financial literacy" as "financial education," a more inclusive category.

"When you talk about financial education, now you're talking, how do we implement it early on? Pre-k, kindergarten, so that it becomes a part of our lives every day, where financial literacy is, oh, I got a job, a 401(k), I have kids, now all of a sudden I have to figure out all of the pieces never given to me early on. I think making it part of an education structure very early, I think could change a lot of the damning trends we're seeing with financial education and access in the country," Ross explains, adding that even the term "wealth management" is alienating to many consumers.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth!

Editor's note: This article was written by Nicholas Jacobino

Video Transcript

- Yahoo Finance put a poll in the field. We wanted to learn how US adults are planning for their financial futures. And the results were a bit surprising here. 15% say they use a financial planner, but a whopping 71% say, hey, I'm just doing it on my own on the weekends sitting on the couch. I got my Snuggie on.

But we know that there are varying degrees of financial literacy. And the National Financial Educators Council has found that there is a steep cost for lacking financial literacy, about $1,500, $1,500 per person last year.

Joining me now for more on financial literacy is Tyrone Ross, principal and founder of 401 Financial. Great to have you here in studio with us. You say that we should actually be rebranding this as financial education. So how can we go about doing this?

TYRONE ROSS: Yeah, really passionate about that because I think financial literacy has a stigma, right, that it's for the underserved, or those people. When you bring in financial education, just marketing terms, right, it broadens the scope.

I also think that when you talk about financial education, now you're talking how do we implement it early on, right, pre-K, kindergarten so that it becomes a part of our lives every day, where financial literacy is, oh, I got a job I have a 401(k). I have kids. Now all of a sudden I have to figure out all of the pieces that was never given to me early on.

So I think making it a part of an education structure very early, I think, could change a lot of the damning trends that we're seeing with financial education and access in the country.

- Certainly from the piggy bank, all the way up to the key paperwork that we need to know about as we do get older and get involved in purchasing homes or, as we were talking about a moment ago, financing educational costs here as well.

When you think about the existing model in wealth management, a lot of people are trying to wrap their heads around when they need to, even an advisor, versus some of the results that we were just taking away from our poll recently, and people doing it themselves, right? How do you evaluate this?

TYRONE ROSS: So I was just looking at some of the wonderful stats that you all have here, right, when the stock market started, back in 1871, I believe. Now let's just go back to that time.

- Back to the buttonwood tree, we're going there.

TYRONE ROSS: Yeah, the buttonwood tree, and Merrill Lynch, and all those firms, that are 100-plus years old. Imagine if those firms were started, and it was Merrill Lynch Personal Finance, and not Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, because if we walk outside right now, everybody that walks by a wealth management firm goes, I'm not wealthy. I don't know what wealth is.

So it's for those people-- again, the rebranding. So I think what I see there and those stats are people who feel like financial advice is not for them. We need to make it more affordable, more accessible, and more personable, and personalized so people feel like no matter where I am-- right, like estate planning. Oh, the estate is for those in Beverly Hills. No. If you have life insurance, you created an estate.

So I just think we need to get closer to people, learn what their needs and concerns are, and address them. And I think this show and other things like this are a great way to do that.

- We all walk around with a smartphone, and some of us sleep next to it. That's on you. That's not on me.

TYRONE ROSS: I do. I'm guilty.

- I mean, we all are at some point or another. It's my alarm clock, anyway. But we've all got devices, access to technology. What are some of the top technological resources that you see people tapping into to create a plan and execute on the vision as well?

TYRONE ROSS: Great question. So I tell people this all the time. One of the things that your phone comes pre-installed with is the stock app, right? So I think that's the first way to just start to get familiar with tickers, and stocks, and news.

That's the first thing. I think the second thing is there are a lot of wonderful apps down there, we can run down so many, that folks use to just get a hold of what is it that I'm doing and when I'm doing it. I'm a big fan of the Apple brand, right, the Apple Card, the Apple Cash, all that. Why? Because it shows you in real time everything that you're spending. You spend, and you get an alert.

Credit cards are set up that way as well. So there's plenty of tech, but I think the one thing that we think about at my firm, and just in general, is your device is going to be your accountant, your advisor, your lawyer, everything, because you can just pick it up and get real-time advice at any time. And I think that's powerful. So outside of everything, I think the phone is it. Your iPhone has become your financial life in your palm.