Consumer Financial Savvy Peaks at 53 Data shows the age of 53 is sweet spot for financial savvy By Heather McPherson Posted Mar 22, 2007 11:57 AM CDT Copied Betty Parker of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of North Central Texas is surrounded by cut up credit cards from clients she has worked with in her office on October 11, 2005, in McKinney, Texas. (KRT Photos) Middle aged consumers make better decisions—and fewer mistakes—than their younger and older counterparts. A study of thousands of credit card and home and car loan documents shows that they are the most likely to get the lowest interest rate available and the least likely to pay unnecessary fees, David Wessel reports. t This magic "age of reason," researchers theorize, is the combination of what economists call "analytic capital" and "experiential capital." Wessel concludes "At younger ages, the lack of experience offsets analytical ability; at older ages, declining cognitive abilities offset experience." Read These Next RFK Jr. suggests antidepressants to blame after shooting. Isolated tribe members show up in an unexpected place. Details trickle out on 2 more victims of the Minneapolis shooting. Trump just used a spending maneuver last seen nearly 50 years ago. Report an error