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The Federal Reserve Banks have established Foreclosure Resource Centers to help address local and regional challenges in their mortgage markets and local communities. The site probides background information and links regional foreclosure centers, where you’ll find resources for small municipalities, housing counselors, and consumer and community groups.

If you are in the market for a loan or credit, a home equity plan is one of several options that might be right for you. This website provides details about home equity loans and gives tips for shopping for this form of loan.

This brochure explains about dealing with mortgage lenders. It tells you where to look, what to look for, and what takes place when you apply for a mortgage. Knowing what to expect, especially if you are a first-time homebuyer, may make it easier for you to get through the process.

This website give us an overview of Adjustable Rate Mortgages, explains how ARMs work, and discusses some of the issues you might face as a borrower. It features a Mortgage Checklist to help with your decision.

Whether you are buying a house or refinancing your mortgage, this information can help you decide if an interest-only mortgage payment (an I-O mortgage)--or an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) with the option to make a minimum payment (a payment-option ARM)--is right for you.

This Department of Agriculture website provides information on an array of topics around Financial Security. It includes information on the work of land-grant university partners and Cooperative Extension, to help youth, economically-vulnerable individuals and families, and consumers making financial decisions. It also includes information on research focused on household savings behavior and family-owned businesses.

This website provides information that can help you and your family adapt to tough economic times. The features resources include brochures, articles, and links to other pages about money management.

This paper investigates the effects of credit scores on consumer payment behavior, especially on debit and credit card use. Anecdotally, a negative relationship between debit card use and credit score has been reported; however, it is not clear whether that relationship is related to other factors, such as education or income, or whether it is a mere correlation.

Abstract: American women tend to be less financially literate than men, which is consistent with a household division of labor in which men manage finances. However, women also tend to outlive their husbands, so they will eventually need to take over this task. Using a new survey of older couples, I find that women acquire financial literacy as they approach widowhood. At an estimated increase of 0.04 standard deviations per year approaching widowhood, 80 percent of women in the sample would catch up with their husbands prior to the expected onset of widowhood.