Youth Financial Capability

Expanding quality financial education and building basic financial skills starting in childhood and young adulthood through schools, families, and communities, is key to improving Americans’ financial literacy and financial well-being.

Resources

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

  • Building Blocks of Youth Financial Capability describes foundational skills, habits, and knowledge developed in youth associated with adult financial capability.

  • Teach the Building Blocks provide strategies for integrating financial education throughout K-12 at pivotal points in the development of young people.

    • Financial Literacy Classroom Activities

    • Money Monsters

    • Financial Terms Glossary

  • Money as You Grow - Parent resources has tips and activities that parents can use to help their children build the skills, habits, and attitudes that will help them achieve financial well-being in adulthood.

  

• Department of Labor

  • First Job offers resources for young and new workers to help them make informed decisions related to health and retirement benefits and better understand the importance of beginning to save early.

  • Savings Fitness: Guide to Your Money and Your Financial Future includes information and worksheets to help individuals set financial goals, budget, manage debt, and save for retirement.

  

• Department of Education

  • Student Aid Defaulted Loans Support Center helps consumers understand student loan default, compare available paths out of default, and access online loan rehabilitation, consolidation, and payment options.
  • Repayment Calculator allows individuals to compare eligible repayment plans, estimate monthly and total repayment amounts, and explore consolidation options to help select a plan aligned with their circumstances and repayment goals. Results are estimates.
  • FAFSA Checklist: What Students Need helps individuals complete the FAFSA form by reviewing the account access, parent or spouse information, financial records, and school information individuals may need.
  • Loan Repayment Checklist helps borrowers review their federal student loans, prepare for repayment, select a repayment plan, and find help if they are having difficulty making payments.

  

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

  • The Guide to Organizing Reality Fairs offers a simple toolkit for creating an interactive simulation of an adult’s financial life, offering youth handson experience in making realworld financial decisions and managing money.

    • The Money Smart News issue “A New Way to Bring Reality Fairs to Life” highlights an innovative approach to using Reality Fairs.

  • Money Smart for Young People features four free age-appropriate curricula that promote financial understanding and are specifically designed for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade educators.

  • Money Smart for Young Adults is a curriculum designed to equip teens and young adults with practical financial knowledge, reallife skills, and confidence to manage their money effectively.

  • The Money Smart News issue “Youth Financial Education and Its Impact on Adult Financial Decisions” highlights the lasting impact of financial education during childhood and adolescence and features FDIC resources that can help prepare young people to make informed financial decisions into adulthood.

  • The Consumer News issue “Teaching Young People About Money” provides practical strategies for parents, caregivers, and educators to teach young people about earning, spending, saving, budgeting, banking, and protecting themselves from scams.

  

• Federal Trade Commission

  • Youville is an award-winning consumer education campaign focused on digital and scam literacy. The site has tools that parents and teachers can use to teach children ages 8-12 how to stay safe online, protect their personal information, and avoid scams.

  

• Department of Health and Human Services

  • Youth.gov: Financial Capability & Literacy is a set of resources for adults working with young people covering topics such as financing higher education and youth employment programs.

  • Youth Engaged 4 Change has resources developed by youth such as the Building a Safe & Secure Financial Future: Budgeting Basics blog post.

  

• National Credit Union Administration

  • World of Cents is an interactive game for children ages 5 and up, where they can learn about earning, spending, saving, the value of money, and basic math concepts.

  • Hit the Road is a game designed for children in grades 3 and up, where players go on a virtual road trip across the country and must make decisions about spending and saving money.

  • Empowering Youth to Save discusses how financial education and hands-on experience with a savings account at an early age can increase opportunities for financial success.

  • Account Access and Financial Education for Youth in Employment Programs webinar series discusses research findings on youth employment and access to bank accounts. It highlights key milestones, such as receiving a first paycheck, as opportunities to learn about banking, saving, and credit-building.

  

• Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

  • The Community Developments Fact Sheet: Financial Capability explains how banks can implement and support financial capability programs that help people make informed decisions and take actions to effectively manage their finances.

  • School-Based Bank Savings Programs: Bringing Financial Education to Students explains how banks can establish school-based bank savings programs and how these programs operate.

  • OCC Bulletin 2015-16, Youth Savings Programs: Guidance to Encourage Financial Institutions’ Youth Savings Programs and Address Related Frequently Asked Questions. The bulletin answers questions that may arise as banks and federal savings associations collaborate with schools and other community stakeholders on youth savings and financial education programs.

  

• Office of Personnel Management

  • Guide Me: New / Prospective Employees helps young adults entering federal employment understand their benefits and make initial enrollment decisions.

  • General Schedule Salary Calculator and Pay Tables helps prospective and new employees understand federal salaries and locality pay when evaluating job opportunities and planning a budget.

  

• Securities and Exchange Commission

  • Building Wealth: A Roadmap for Students discusses steps young adults can take early in their careers to begin building wealth, including managing their spending and credit, saving, and investing.

  

• Social Security Administration

  • Youth Toolkit equips teens and young adults with disabilities, and their support systems, with step-by-step guidance on navigating employment, managing their benefits, and preparing for adult life.