Abstract:
As of 2020, student loan debt in the United States has grown to approximately $1.6 trillion. Private companies, non-profits, and governmental agencies have created different programs in an attempt to reduce these debt burdens. Personal finance education is a key component in combating this problem, and amortization tables are a fundamental tool to understanding debt. A survey of financial education programs indicate they do not emphasize teaching amortization tables. This study shows that teaching amortization tables caused a statistically significant change in behavior among participants. Participants made positive changes regarding student loan repayment choices and learned how to understand the amount of monthly and total interest paid on a student loan.