MyMoney Resources - MyMoney Five

How the CFPB serves the unique challenges and financial education needs of military service members facing deployment, change of duty stations, and emergencies.

Get answers to your financial questions.

These tips can help you research a potential investment in gold.

Want to buy a business? Here’s how the Business Opportunity Rule can help you evaluate the opportunity — and the seller.

Investing in collectible coins requires you to investigate: here’s what to know about the coins, the graders, and the sellers.

If you want to invest in bullion or bullion coins, getting answers to some important questions first can make a big difference — and potentially save you some money.

Thinking about an internet startup? The promise of big bucks and terrific working conditions can be tempting, but consider these factors before you hand over any money.

Financial literacy help for educators and students alike. The site offers a plain and simple approach to: Managing Your Money; Credit, Loans and Debt; and Scams and Identity Theft. The information has an easy-to-use, direct style that focuses on the basic information people need, along with the steps they need to take. Consumer.gov also has videos and audio read-alongs to support different learning styles and multi-tasking.

This article discusses the results of and lessons learnt from the Financial Opportunities Project (FOP), a comprehensive effort by the Center for Economic Progress identify, implement, and disseminate strategies for integrating financial services and asset-building opportunities with community-based tax-preparation services at IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites. The goal of the FOP was that 15 percent of tax clients would take on an asset building service, an improvement from the 8-12 percent take-up rate achieved in past pilot studies by the Center and tests on the take-up of savings matches or Savings Bonds. The Center developed the Asset Building Service Delivery System (ABSDS)—a process-based model for offering asset-building products and services to clients served by community-based programs. The components of the ABSDS include 1) strategic program planning around asset promotion, 2) simplicity in process design, 3) specialization of staff to promote assets, 4) specific and targeted promotional strategies, and 5) customer-focused processes. From the fall of 2008 through the end of the 2009 tax season, the Center oversaw the national launch of the ABSDS and awarded three programs grants to assess the effectiveness and versatility of the op- erational models and programmatic guides of the ABSDS. To the extent programs adapted the model and tested new ideas, this season provided an opportunity to further refine the ABSDS. Overall, take-up rates surpassed expectations, with almost 27 percent of clients enrolled in at least one service. The article provides a more detailed overview of the FOP findings and identifies recommendations for improved delivery of asset building services, concluding that such tax programs can effectively include simple messages and financial education to encourage savings and improve financial management skills.

This article provides a brief overview of the field of financial education and explores some of the challenges and potential solutions. The author describes developments in the contemporary financial education movement since the 1990s and the background economic changes that stimulated its growth; reviews currently available financial education initiatives for youth and adults and discusses the evidence about its effectiveness as well as broader challenges for the field. The article concludes by highlighting both general and specific examples of efforts to move the field forward.