Financial literacy made in Hesse: New study results and launch of the Seasn app

The “Hessenmonitor für Finanzkompetenz” is a study commissioned by the state of Hesse. SAFE researchers surveyed almost 500 young Hessians between the ages of 18 and 35 on the topic of finance. The Seasn app is a publicly funded, independent and free tool. It offers the possibility to start a journey into one's own financial future easily and anonymously, as well as gaining an uncomplicated overview of one's own financial issues. 

Financial competence in Hesse
The study shows an ambivalent result. Around a third of respondents are under financial stress. 38 percent find the stock market complicated and around 20 percent associate it with “gambling”. At the same time, the results are encouraging: over 40 percent of the young adults surveyed in Hesse are active on the stock market already, a historic high. And almost two thirds of young people want to know more about finance. “The Hessenmonitor impressively demonstrates that we need to strengthen the financial skills of young Hessians. The good thing is that young people are curious about the topic and motivated to do something about their own finances. The scientifically sound analysis of the Hessenmonitor therefore encourages me in my goal of making our federal state a pioneer in financial literacy,” says Alexander Lorz, Hessian Minister of Finance. 

Christine Laudenbach, Head of the Household Finance department at SAFE and one of the authors of the study, emphasizes: “The results of the Hessenmonitor show that young adults in Hesse are very interested in topics such as retirement planning and investments. There are already many educational offers, but it is crucial that these are designed to suit the target group.” 

Seasn - financial education via app
The Seasn app, which is now available free of charge in the German app store, is designed to help young people with their financial decisions. Using a digital twin, it takes them on an interactive journey into their own financial future. 

“Seasn is a building block for tackling the challenges highlighted by the Hessenmonitor survey results. The app is easily accessible in times of financial decisions.  It makes it possible to simulate life events and financial decisions in a playful way and thus develop a tailor-made plan for your own future,” says Andreas Hackethal, Professor of Finance at Goethe University and Head of the Pension Finance Lab at SAFE. 

The app helps clarifiy whether the user's future pension will be sufficient or what preparations can be made until then. Researchers at Goethe University and the Leibniz Institute SAFE have developed digital, personalizable financial twins based on their research. This allows users to explore preconfigured life events, environmental changes and common financial decisions and create an individual action plan for their own future without having to enter their own data. The app has already been tested with young people in 2024 in a field study initiated by SAFE and the Giessen-Friedberg Chamber of Industry and Commerce initiated by the Hessian Ministry of Finance. 

Source: SAFE
Photo: Uwe Dettmar