Ebook Guide to Financial Literacy Resources
Competency in managing money appears to be a skill that doesn’t come naturally to eve ryone. Unless a person is exposed to the practice of money management, he/she is less likely to understand how it works and its long-term benefits. It is easy to develop poor spending and financial habits resulting in significant negative consequences such as a poor credit rating, denial of credit, rejection for a checking account and bankruptcy, to name a few. Early financial literacy is the best way to pre vent such consequnces .
Financial institutions have a vested interest in supporting or providing financial literacy programs. Relative to cost, financial literacy provides both immediate and long-term returns. The most obvious is brand recognition and market share. Financial literacy offers an excellent opportunity to personalize ones institution among consumers who have myriad options in selecting financial service providers. Consumers who understand the merits of responsibly managing their financial resources a re more likely to effectively and profitably utilize the services of a traditional financial institution.
Financial literacy is a good way to teach consumers about the benefits of having a relationship with a financial institution. Among these are economical access to funds and credit, the ability to establish a positive financial history, consumer protection and perhaps most important, a higher propensity tow a rds savings, which increases net worth. Financial literacy can also break the cycle of pove rt y, which is often associated with the unbanked. Individuals who have experience handling a bank account and an awareness of other effective money management/asset building techniques are more likely to pass these on to their children .
Providing financial literacy training is not a one-size-fits-all effort. Financial literacy is most clearly divided into four categories: early intervention, basic literacy, credit rehabilitation and long-term planning or asset building. In t roduction at the earliest stage can often eliminate the need for corrective intervention at later stages. Given the breadth and variety of materials available, it may be useful to first determine your institution’s purpose and objectives for undertaking financial literacy training. This will assist you in specifying the audience you would like to reach and in identifying the most appropriate materials.
Reaching your audience is another important consideration. Partnering with community-based organizations is a good opportunity to target a specific audience and to raise your profile in particular communities. A financial literacy partnership is also a strategic way to boost your CRA service test performance. Once a goal and training curriculum have been determined it will be easier to identify partners that are best suited to your institution’s training goal. Partners can also be a valuable resource in reaching non-English speaking consumers and making materials culturally relevant. Some of the questions to consider in designing a financial literacy strategy are :
- what is your desired outcome
- who you would like to reach
- what materials are best suited to this audience
- who might be effective partners in reaching this audience
This resource guide is organized to assist you in strategically designing a financial literacy program by presenting the re sources in a format aligned with the above questions. This guide does not and is not intended to represent the universe of financial literacy materials. Nor is the mention of a reference an endorsement of the product or provider. Rather, we have endeavo red to include a variety of media types in order to have the broadest appeal. The resources included have been previewed to determine the depth of the topic cove red, the appropriateness of the content to the audience and the functionality of the training materials. We hope you find this resource guide a helpful tool for designing a financial literacy program that serves the needs of your community.
CONTENTS
Introduction
Financial Literacy and the CRA
How to Use this Resource Guide
Resources by Category
Early Intervention
Basic Literacy
Credit Rehabilitation
Asset Building
Specialized Curriculum (includes home buyer preparation )
Index
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