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Using data from the 2001, 2004, and 2008 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), this research examines the characteristics of households that invested in rental real estate during the 2000s. Given the tumultuous real estate market during that decade, rental real estate investment was investigated during the early part of the housing market boom (2001), the height of the boom (2004), and after the market began to decline (2008). Results reveal relative stability with slight investment increases in rental real estate (4.57% in 2001 to 5.00% in 2004 to 5.08% in 2008), and several investor demographic and financial characteristics consistently associated with the investment decision. Evidence of potential over-reliance on real estate investment by some households indicates that financial planners should work to educate clients who invest, or are seeking to invest, in real estate. Education would emphasize that overweighting portfolios with real estate could be deleterious to client’s wealth goals in times of slow rental or depreciating housing markets.

This study analyzed how business‐owning families prepare for their retirement using four indicators: (i) having established retirement as a goal for savings, (ii) ownership of a Defined Benefit (DB) or Defined Contribution (DC) plan, (iii) ownership of IRA/Keogh accounts, and (iv) the amount of retirement assets. Results using a pooled dataset of the 2010–2016 Survey of Consumer Finances indicated that business‐owning families with a sole proprietorship and those who intermingled assets between the family and the business were less likely to own an IRA or Keogh accounts and they had lower amounts of retirement assets than their counterparts. The age of a business was positively related to owning DB or DC plans, while the business's net worth was negatively associated with the likelihood of owning DB or DC plans and establishing retirement as a savings goal. Among family‐related factors, respondents' education, homeownership, use of a financial planner for savings and investment decisions, and risk tolerance were positively associated with owning DB/DC plans, IRA/Keogh accounts, and the amount of retirement assets. The results can be used by practitioners and educators to advise family business owners about retirement preparation.

This exploratory study employed quasi-experimental research methods to investigate the relationship between adult participation in a comprehensive workplace financial education program and changes in financial knowledge levels. Results revealed a positive association between participation in the education program and changes in financial knowledge levels, even when controlling for demographic and socioeconomic differences between the participant and non-participant groups. However, results did not support an association between perfect attendance in the program and changes in financial knowledge. Evidence from this study provides meaningful insight into the association between adult financial education and financial knowledge and offers guidance for the future development of effective comprehensive workplace financial education programs.