Read This to Ward Off Dementia
What if I told you that reading my newsletters could save your brain and your wallet?
It's not just hubris...
Financial literacy helps keep your brain healthy. That means understanding the basics of personal finance and investing – like debt, budgeting, and retirement planning.
Right now, we're in National Financial Literacy Month. But your education shouldn't stop at the end of April...
The benefits of learning compound over time – just like your investments. Constantly learning more about investing will help you take control of your own wealth and secure your retirement.
After all, like I've said so many times, you can't trust anyone else to take care of you.
And as it turns out, it isn't just your wealth that relies on your financial literacy...
Several studies show that improving your financial literacy keeps your brain healthy as you age.
There's a large body of research indicating that education, even later in life, keeps our brains sharp and staves off dementia. It's why we encourage our readers to take classes and learn new activities.
Reading engages multiple parts of the brain, which increases cognitive health, or your ability to think and make decisions clearly. In fact, studies using brain scans have found that seniors who scored higher on financial literacy tests also tend to have stronger connections between their brain regions.
Your brain can be divided into two main tissue types: grey matter and white matter. Grey matter makes up the areas full of nerve cell bodies and synapses, or places where signals pass between cells.
White matter contains axons, which are long, noodle-like fibers that pass signals to different parts of the brain. These fibers are insulated in myelin, which appears white. And healthy white matter is critical for communication between brain regions, as well as for everything from decision-making to movement.
One study found differences in gray matter in the medial prefrontal cortex – an area responsible for attention and complex decisions. The participants with lower gray-matter volume in this region performed worse on financial literacy tests.
Other parts of the brain come into play when we learn and use financial education...
Learning new material uses regions in the temporal-parietal area located near the middle-back portion of the brain. And applying that material uses the frontal lobe of the brain.
A 2016 study investigated whether financial literacy was linked to stronger connections between these regions. Researchers found that having higher financial literacy was associated with healthier white-matter integrity, which is a brain-health marker.
And in recent years, more studies have proven just how high the stakes are for your health and your wallet...
A 2020 study from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation of 974 older adults revealed that having higher financial literacy was linked to a 40%-plus lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
A 2025 Journal of the Economics of Ageing study followed 1,075 older adults over 12 years. It found that financial literacy tends to decline with age, which further highlights how closely money skills are tied to overall brain function.
What's more, the connection between your brain and wallet health is a two-way street. Research shows that poorer performance on financial decision making is linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline. And as cognitive function declines, managing money becomes more difficult as well.
The bottom line?
Understanding finances and planning for your financial future will improve your wealth and your health.
But, according to the TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index measure of financial literacy, the average American answered just 49% of the questions correctly on a 28-question survey.
Despite this lack of financial literacy, roughly 62% of Americans own stocks. If you're one of them, you need to be a smart investor. And one way to stay ahead of the curve is by subscribing to my flagship newsletter, Retirement Millionaire. Click here to take a risk-free look.
What We're Reading...
- Something different: The next "Ozempic" from... pythons?
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
April 21, 2026