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What’s the embodiment of the average millennial today? High debt, low savings and a paucity of financial literacy, at least that’s what a new report says.

According to a study authored by the George Washington University Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GLFEC) and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the millennial trademarks are debt, zero savings and zero understanding of personal finance, and this could prove fatal to the future of the national economy.

The reported, entitled “Millennials and Financial Literacy: The Struggle with Personal Finance,” explained that despite being labeled as the “most educated generation” close to half (42 percent) of millennials are turning to pawn shops, payday loans, auto title loans and other questionable financial services.

With all of that debt, just 12 percent of millennials have looked for professional debt management advice.

GFLEC Academic Director and Denit Trust Chair of Economics and Accountancy Annamaria Lusardi says: “”Millennials are a generation at risk. High levels of debt and low savings expose them to unexpected shocks.”

The most damning finding from the study is this: less than one-quarter (24 percent) of young adults showcased basic financial literacy. That’s dangerous.

As schools teach children and college student gender studies, trigger warnings and white privilege, these kids can’t add and subtract dollars and cents.

“The levels of financial literacy are alarmingly low among millennials—too low to expect them to be equipped to make good financial decisions,” Lusardi told Phys.org. “This is reflected in some of the statistics about their personal finances. About half of millennials don’t believe they could come up with $2,000 in 30 days if an unexpected need arose and many of those who have retirement accounts are tapping into them or overdrawing their checking accounts.”