They say a class in personal finance can provide a lifetime benefit of $100,000. We think it's easily five times that—especially when you start applying some simple yet powerful financial literacy principles.

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Last week, we shared an article that suggested a personal finance course could benefit someone by roughly $100,000 over their lifetime. But when you factor in smart decision-making around financial literacy, we believe those numbers can easily multiply by five.

The $500K Difference

It’s an old statistic that has remained pretty consistent over time. Take 100 young Americans starting out at age 25. By age 65, one will be rich, four will be financially independent, and the remaining 95 will reach retirement age unable to sustain their lifestyle.

The difference? It all comes down to what they choose to do with the money that comes into their lives—essentially, how well they manage personal financial literacy.

How to Find $500,000 of Value in Personal Finance Education

I challenged myself to see if I could find $500,000 of value from simply understanding personal finance principles. In under 10 minutes, here are three tips that can make a massive impact.

1. Your Credit Score Could Save You $237,000

Let's look at the cost of buying a home. The average price of a new home in New York is about $750,000. If you put 20% down ($150K) and borrow $600K over a 30-year mortgage at current rates, here's what you'd end up paying based on different credit scores:

BEST credit score (760-850): 6.976% interest rate, total interest over 30 years = $833,573.
WORST credit score (620-639): 8.565% interest rate, total interest over 30 years = $1,070,813.

That’s a savings of $237,000 just by improving and maintaining a strong credit score. Managing credit is one of the cornerstones of personal financial literacy.

2. Start Saving Small, As Early As Possible

If you commit to saving and investing just $20 per week in an account that earns an average return of 7% over 40 years, you could accumulate around $230,000. I personally use Betterment. This is the power of compounding—a key concept in financial literacy for beginners. Even small contributions can grow into a significant financial wealth over time.

3. Save (and Invest) Your Tax Refund

The average tax refund between 2022 and 2023 was about $3,000, with roughly two-thirds of taxpayers receiving one. Instead of spending it, if you save and invest that $3,000 annually for 40 years at an average return of 7%, you could accumulate another $45,000.

Total Value: $512,000

With just these three simple tips—managing your credit score, saving small amounts early, and investing your tax refund—you’re looking at a potential value of over $500,000. And we haven’t even touched on:

Paying off high-interest debt
Maximizing tax deductions and credits
Reducing taxes on investments by investing for the long term
Lowering insurance premiums by increasing deductibles
Utilizing tax-advantaged retirement accounts like 401(k)s or Roth IRAs

These are just a few more ways personal finance education can transform your financial future. Learning these principles through financial literacy programs could provide you with far more than $100K in lifetime benefits.

One More Plug for Our Survey

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Have questions, thoughts, or topics you’re curious about? Email us at casey@your-orchard.com!

The True Value of Personal Finance Education: $500K and Counting