Federal Government Provides Consumer Money Management Resources
Three years ago, Congress set up the Financial Literacy and Education Commission in order to create a national strategy to improve the financial literacy of everyone in the United States regardless of income level or cultural background.
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The Commission is made up of many federal departmental agencies including the Education, Labor, Veteran's Affairs and the Social Security Administration. The Commission also utilized input from educators as well as nonprofit and private company resources.
In 2006, the Financial Literacy and Education Commission issued a 162-page report detailing a framework that the commission will use to develop a strategy for setting up the education program. The report identifies four key areas that are necessary to create a successful National Strategy for Financial Literacy.
- Construct Public and Private Sector Partnerships
- Employers
- Banks
- Federal, State and Local Government
- Build Public Awareness
- MyMoney.gov is a single website offering financial education information from several different governmental agencies
- 1-888-MyMoney is a toll-free number for those unable to access the website
- Develop and distribute materials to reach all demographic audiences
- Use a variety of formats including visual, audio and web-based materials.
- Utilize banks, schools and community organizations to distribute materials.
- Research and Evaluate which financial education methods are successful
- Offer qualitative and quantitative research results that offer consumers confidence that the programs work, educators guidelines for developing materials and sponsors assurance that their resources are well utilized.
Consumers who have recently filed bankruptcy or plan to file bankruptcy soon will find these programs helpful to develop good financial habits for the future, and to avoid being victimized by unscrupulous lenders or debt-purchase companies who attempt to collect debts that have already been discharged in bankruptcy.
These are just some of the valuable financial education topics covered in the report, and for which you will find resources at MyMoney.gov:
- Savings
- Home Ownership
- Retirement Planning
- Credit
- Consumer Protection
- Taxpayer Rights
- Investor Protection
- Banking
The report also issues "Calls to Action" which challenge various groups to employ tactics to promote this National Strategy for Financial Literacy.
For example, the commission suggests that banks should utilize their knowledge and position to distribute credit education materials and list reputable credit counseling agencies for their customers. The challenge for the banks will be to distinguish these materials as financially educational as opposed to a marketing effort.
Various agencies associated with this commission have already begun to create public awareness campaigns to reach families of all income brackets, small businesses and high school and college students. This information will be especially useful to anyone who wants to rebuild credit and improve their financial outlook after filing bankruptcy.