Financial literacy is a constant need. And you should address it in your financial services marketing. As of January 2026, 42.4% of Americans fail a financial literacy test. A survey done by Chime showed 81% of people would gladly take an “adulting crash course,” with 39% listing personal finance as their top issue.
This is a space for you to fill the gap. Doing so means helping people escape financial desperation and building long-lasting relationships between them and your institution. But to even get there…you need to bring people in the (physical or digital) door.
Here are three financial services marketing ideas focused on financial literacy.
1. Beers and Budgeting
The priest of an Alabama parish was struggling to attract people to Bible Study. Until he made it interesting. He started “Spirits and Scripture,” inviting community members to a local bar for drinks and religious study. People showed up by the droves to learn things previously uninteresting to them.
Why not do your own “Beers and Budgeting” events? Of course, it doesn’t have to be alcohol (legal might shy away from that one). It could also be “Coffees and Credit.” You can pick whatever treat you like. The point is to pair fun with personal finance. And to pair both with your brand. Attendees get their beverage of choice and sit and chat with your staff members in a small group setting. These ideas are especially good with younger generations who crave the experiential.
2. Coloring Budgets
Ok, let’s steal from Chime for a moment. A few years back, they released “coloring budgets.” These were coloring books you could fill out with budgetary information and then color images around the page. The idea was to pair something stressful (budgeting) with something stress relieving (coloring). They also sold them for a dollar each.
Make your own coloring budget. Then, either give it away or sell it for a paltry sum. If production costs are low enough, you could even make a little on it. Coloring budget not your thing? What about a budgeting board game you design? A children’s book? Horizon FCU puts its youth program mascot in children’s books to help with financial education.
3. Personal Finance Profile Quiz
The next lesson comes from more traditional online stores. Digital shirt shops. Web-savvy soap stores. These businesses are no strangers to using quick, fun online quizzes to engage visitors with the website and lead them to the best products.
You should do the same. Hook new visitors with a quiz that rates their knowledge and gives them a “personal finance profile.” Based on their results, direct them to the next best step: attending a “Coffees and Credit” session, getting a coloring budget, opening an account, talking to a counselor and so on.
And don’t make this boring. Use memes and jokes. Keep people clicking. Banking doesn’t have to be boring.
Need an Extra Brain?
Yours is probably weighted down by the ten hats you wear, so if you want some financial services marketing ideas like these (plus implementation assistance), we can help. Book a free consultation now.
