Explosive growth in the number and complexity of financial products available to Americans has far outstripped programs aimed at teaching consumers how to choose and use those products, experts said Wednesday at a financial education conference in Oklahoma City.

Consumers have dozens of options unavailable to previous generations in terms of retirement plans, loans and credit cards, said Karen Murrell of the New America Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

"What hasn't changed is the amount of education people get to help them make these decisions," Murrell said.

One of the results has been a sharp decline in personal savings, Murrell said.

"People are not only spending every dime they have, they're dipping into savings," she said. "Debt is rising much faster than household income." ...

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