Country music singer Tracy Lawrence released the song, “Lessons Learned,” in 2000. The chorus contains the lines, “Oh lessons learned, man they sure run deep; they don’t go away and they don’t come cheap.”

It’s 24 years later, and new research from Experian reinforced that tune.

Experian conducted a survey of 2,000 adults across the U.S. and determined lack of financial knowledge is leading to costly financial missteps for many Americans.

The project revealed three in five adults feel their limited understanding of credit and personal finance has led them to make financial mistakes, with 60% of this group stating these mistakes have cost them $1,000 or more.

Experian indicated this trend is particularly apparent among younger groups with 71% of Gen Zers and 70% of millennials claiming their inadequate knowledge of credit and personal finance has come at a price.

In fact, researchers discovered 29% of Gen Zers and 38% of millennials report these financial mistakes have cost $5,000 or more.

Experian’s research also highlighted the gap between the desire for financial education and its availability in schools.

While 78% of adults believe that personal finance courses should be mandatory in high schools, Experian pointed out only 25 states across the U.S. currently require them schools, according to the advocacy group Next Gen Personal Finance.

The study revealed many consumers have an appetite for further education, with 66% of adults stating they’d like to expand their knowledge of credit and personal finance, with even higher percentages among Gen Zers (80%) and millennials (79%).

“Understanding credit and personal finance is paramount for financial well-being, especially for younger generations navigating today’s financial landscape,” said Christina Roman, consumer education and advocacy manager at Experian.

“Financial mistakes, such as missed payments, overpaying on interest or simply not understanding the terms you are agreeing to, can come at a serious cost for consumers,” Roman continued in a news release. “As part of our mission to bring financial power to all, we are committed to being a trusted resource for consumers and want to remind them about the free tools and educational resources we have available to help them live more financially empowered lives.”

According to Experian’s research, adults most frequently learn about credit and personal finance from a parent or family member (36%), in school, college or through community classes (33%) or through online research (32%).

Additionally, they consider banks and credit unions (45%), financial advisors (48%) and national credit reporting agencies like Experian (37%) to be some of the most trusted sources to learn about improving their credit score.

Not surprisingly, Experian said social media is another common source of information about credit and personal finance.

This research found that 30% of adults have turned to social media to learn more about credit and personal finance. This sentiment rang especially true for America’s youngest consumers with over half of Gen Zers (52%) and 47% of millennials stating they learned about credit and personal finance through social media in some form, including YouTube (30% Gen Z; 31% Millennials), TikTok (20% Gen Z; 15% millennials) and Instagram (18% Gen Z, 16% millennials).

Experian leverages social media each Wednesday at 3 p.m. (ET) to host an informational conversation on X (formerly known as Twitter) using the hashtag #creditchat. Consumers can learn personal finance basics from experts each week on topics, including budgeting, savings, credit and debt and more.

Consumers also can find additional credit education resources at https://www.experian.com/consumereducation.