This paper interprets comments associated with an open-response item on an online survey of college students in the United States, Japan, and Canada. The item inquired about their interpretations of financial morality. The paper describes student understandings of appropriate behaviors in relationship to financial practice. The authors claim that the distinction between social convention and moral behavior represents a critical understanding for citizenship education. The value of this research lies within the importance of being cognizant of cross-cultural differences about perspectives of financial ideas in global communications and in educational processes.