Florida State University money management expert offers advice as part of financial literacy month

April is financial literacy month, but informed economic decisions are needed every day.

Whether it’s budgeting, saving or spending, consumers are faced with choices on how to best manage their money. According to the TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index, financial literacy rates have dropped from 52% in 2020 to 48% in 2024. The data highlights a consistent need for financial education on how to handle money challenges and prepare for the future.

Florida State University’s Dalisha Herring is an assistant lecturer in the Department of Finance in the College of Business. She teaches courses on personal finance, estate planning and employee benefits. Herring has more than a decade of industry experience in trust and estate administration, retirement plan wholesaling and personal financial planning practice.

Herring, an experienced financial planner, considers financial literacy a critical skill.

“Financial literacy is vitally important to financial well-being, and financial well-being is different for every person and family,” Herring said. “According to a recent Bankrate survey, one in three Americans have less in their emergency fund than they have in outstanding credit card debt. Excess debt often leads to stress and worry, which can affect one’s overall health and wellness.

“We have to be better about educating people about financial literacy concepts, like emergency funds and credit use, and the strategies to actually make improvements in financial well-being.”

Media interested in discussing financial planning strategies with Herring can contact her via email at dherring2@fsu.edu.

Dalisha Herring
Assistant Lecturer, College of Business
dherring2@fsu.edu

When it comes to financial planning, do you think there is a particular area that individuals and families don’t plan enough for?
“When it comes to financial planning, there is often quite a bit of conversation and media coverage about saving for retirement, but often overlooked is the need for estate planning. Every adult needs an estate plan, even college students. Estate planning isn’t just about what happens to your stuff after you die; it also includes how you want your medical decisions handled when incapacitated, how your end-of-life care should be administered and how to transfer assets during life and at death.”

What financial advice do you often relay to your students?
“Probably my top discussion points for my students are create a spending and saving plan, understanding credit and the effects of its use on your overall plan, start investing for retirement immediately upon graduation and creating an estate plan, even a simple one. That last one gets the strangest looks because they think they are young and don’t need to worry about it right now. The fact of the matter is that nothing is promised tomorrow, and we need to normalize talking about our wishes.”

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