Chad WhitzelGraduate Student

I am a third-year PhD student studying financial decision-making with specific research interests at the intersection of behavioral economics and health. These interests include household financial decision-making, financial advice use, and health decision-making, particularly the interplay with mental health topics like depression and aging. I am also interested in investigating the effects of financial education and literacy on financial decision-making, financial confidence, and financial resiliency.

These lines of research all include ways that information sources, education, and social behavior contribute to the understanding of laws, regulations, and financial information. This further relates to my interest and current work on survey methodology and questionnaire design in evaluating how data quality and information processing in surveys contributes to effective research in household finance.

I am a financial planner by profession and have experience in being both a state auditor and working with tax preparation and planning. Outside of my research, I teach in the Personal Finance major here in the School of Human Ecology. I also contribute my time serving various financial-related organizations like the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education and the CFP Board.

Awards and Recognition

• Robert L. Hueston Endowed Scholar, Bridgewater College Department of Economics and Business Administration

Certifications

• CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®)
• Accredited Financial Counselor® (AFC®)