In honor of Financial Literacy Month around the nation and here in our fair region, today’s blog is brought to you by the symbol $ and the letter S (for Save).
Voila some facts, issues and thoughts that highlight the need for increased financial literacy and awareness and the potential impact it could have on individuals, communities and even our nation as a whole.
Take a look, and then please join us to add your two cents worth of financial wisdom. (Extra points for puns worse than that one).
In October 2002, The National Endowment for Financial Education convened the first ever meeting of institutional and individual leaders committed ot increasing the financial literacy of Americans. The symposium was titled, "Financial Literacy in America: Individual Choices, National Consequences," and found, among other conclusions, that paramount to a successful financial literacy movement would be a focus on youth, information distribution, goal-setting and partnership across organizations, industries and sectors.
And when such partnerships exist, such as those taking place through Maryland Saves and DC Saves, and financial literacy increases, everyone stands to benefit. According to the Enterprise‘s fact sheet on financial literacy:
- Evidence on the benefits of financial literacy are consistent with conventional wisdom–the more people know, the better decisions they make about their financial planning and future.
- Studies have shown that financial literacy training is effective at moving people closer to their goals. Even short training sessions can help people create positive behavioral changes for many months.
- The most important factor in a financial literacy training program’s effectiveness is its design. The curriculum must be tailored to the goals of the people it serves.
- Despite an increase in financial literacy training programs in the last few years, those most in need of such training are usually the least likely to receive it.
The question then becomes, who most needs financial training and literacy?
- According to the U.S. Department of Labor, women are twice as likely as men during retirement to receive income below the poverty level.
- Forty-three percent of adults in the United States at the lowest level of financial literacy live in poverty, compared to only four percent of those at the highest level of financial literacy.
- Twenty percent of families earning less than $50,000 a year spend nearly half of their income on debt payments.
- Conservative estimates put the number of households who do not use banks at 10 percent of the U.S. population. This problem is greatest among low-income families, seniors, immigrants, minorities and young people.
- According to Demos, three groups hardest hit by the recent dramatic rise in personal debt are: students, people of color (particularly African Americans and Hispanics) and older Americans.
And in our region specifically, here are some organizations doing the heavy lifting of increasing financial literacy:
Capital Area Asset Building Corporation (a Grantee Partner) is a leading member of the DC Saves Campaign and is hosting a number of financial education seminars throughout the month of April.
The National Association of Black Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants are joining together this year to improve the Money $ense of the African American Community throughout the 50 states through the use of the AICPA’s 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy curriculum.
Casa de Maryland (a Grantee Partner) provides classes on goal-setting, budgeting, loans and other financial literacy concerns primarily for low-income Latinos in Maryland. Their program is based on Freddie Mac’s CreditSmart Espanol curriculum.
Virtuous Enterprises, Inc. (another Grantee Partner) in D.C. is launching a Financial Literacy Campaign for Women to help women-headed householders increase their net worth through financial literacy, saving, investing and homeownership.
And I am sure there are countless others doing work to further the financial literacy and economic security of area residents, particularly women and low-income families.
Drop a line to let us know about your favorites that I may have missed, or check out our Volunteer and Connect database to search for other nonprofits in our region doing financial literacy programming!
