, /PRNewswire/ — According to the TIAA Institute–GFLEC Personal Finance Index (2026), only 47% of U.S. adults answered its 28-question assessment correctly — the lowest score in the index’s 10-year history. Financial advisor Marc R. Butler is responding with the launch of Master Your Money Certified, a three-tier financial literacy credential program built on the 2026 MAIA finalist book Master Your Money, Secure Your Future.
The same index finds Gen Z scoring just 38%, with 37% in the very-low literacy band — and 25% of all U.S. adults now in that bottom tier, up from 20% in 2017.
“For a decade, the data has shown financial literacy stagnating. Now it’s actively declining — and the share of Americans at the very bottom of the curve is growing. Hoping people will figure it out on their own clearly isn’t working. They need a structured pathway, with milestones they can see and credentials they can carry.”
— Marc Butler, co-author, Master Your Money, Secure Your Future
Master Your Money Certified is a three-tier credential program — Completion, Knowledge, and Applied — built on Master Your Money, Secure Your Future by Marc Butler and Eric Butow (Entrepreneur Press), a 2026 MAIA finalist. Each tier requires real assessment — not just completion — creating a credential with institutional weight.
Designed for university adoption — financial aid offices, first-year seminars, business school electives — and available to individual learners, Master Your Money Certified of all ages welcomes partnership inquiries. Please contact [email protected] or 215-559-4197.
High-resolution images available for media use. Contact Hank Butler at [email protected].
About Marc R. Butler
Marc Butler is a financial advisor with Anthony Petsis & Associates in the Philadelphia area, an advocate for financial literacy, and co-author of Master Your Money, Secure Your Future (Entrepreneur Press, 2025). He is the creator of the Master Your Money Certified credential program. Contact: [email protected] | 215-559-4197.
About Master Your Money, Secure Your Future
Master Your Money, Secure Your Future by Marc Butler and Eric Butow (Entrepreneur Press) is available in print and digital formats and was a 2026 MAIA finalist.
SOURCE Marc Butler Consulting
