The near-meltdown of this country’s financial system in 2008 cast a stark light on a number of dangerous trends in our economy: An over-reliance on debt; naïve assumptions regarding home values; and a sickening realization that some private enterprises had become so large as to threaten the public well being, to name but a few.

But at the root of all this was an even more sobering realization – this country’s lack of true financial and economic literacy had brought us to the very brink of ruin. The lessons ingrained in us by our parents and grandparents – never to spend money we didn’t have, never to assume something will rise in value – were forgotten in an age of no money down, pre-approvals and quick profits.

But if those dark days accomplished nothing else, they did serve to re-awaken this country’s latent fiscal conservatism. Savings are on the rise. The old ethic of "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" that had been replaced by the mantra of "Shop ’til you drop!" is now making a slow comeback.

We are beginning to address our obsession with debt. On the personal side, 60-day credit card delinquencies at the end of 2010 were the lowest in a decade, according to the American Bankers Association. On the national side, Congress has finally started to grapple with the federal debt ceiling, and is dealing with a Tea Party faction ushered in largely on a platform of debt reduction.

So as we begin to re-acquaint ourselves with the financial attitudes of the past, we think now is as good a time as any to also re-think our economic education and financial literacy initiatives.

It’s undoubtedly good for our personal finances – if not exactly great for an economy built on personal expenditures – that we are saving more, in the mold of our parents and grandparents. But today’s world is vastly different than that of our forebears, and demands a different level of education.

Not long ago, "financial literacy" meant only that you could balance a checkbook, and could understand that what you spent could not exceed what you earned. And these basic concepts turned us into a nation of dutiful consumers.

But in an age of 401(k)s, option ARMs, cash in/cash out refinancings, money markets and mutual funds, the definition of financial literacy has changed dramatically.

At Banker & Tradesman, we’re lucky to have an audience that understands the importance of modern economics, and can grasp how our personal financial lives are increasingly intertwined with the lives of our neighbors – both locally and globally.

But outside of our small audience, how many among us are truly financially literate anymore? The ubiquitous tenth-grade economics class that introduced us to the principles of compound interest and the basics of investing seems woefully inadequate these days, doesn’t it?

In the past, we have been happy to point out all of the good efforts made by local institutions to increase financial literacy in Massachusetts. Teaching an immigrant – perhaps molded by circumstance to be inherently distrustful of banks – about checking accounts is an admirable effort. Likewise, educating young entrepreneurs about the value of good credit and the uses of small business loans is equally notable.

But the events of the past few years have taught us that we need more. In a recent report, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston made the distinction between being merely financially literate consumers, to being financially literate citizens.

The former is where we are or where we have been aiming to be. But the latter is where we must go.