We just published our second annual financial literacy report to Congress. It outlines our strategy and what we’ve done over the past year to enhance financial literacy and capability. In the report, you’ll find out about the tools and information we provide to help consumers navigate financial choices. You’ll see how we collaborate with organizations that reach consumers where they are, and how we research effective approaches to financial education.
Financial literacy is gaining attention worldwide. For the first time, a study of educational achievement has compared the financial literacy of young people across the globe. The results show that 15-year-olds in the United States are in the middle of the pack, compared to their peers in 17 other nations and regions that participated in the study.
We’ll put these results to work—collaborating with other government and educational agencies to look at promising solutions, innovative approaches, and scalable strategies for educating the next generation of young Americans.
Director Richard Cordray has said this about why financial literacy is so important: “Even as we work to improve the consumer financial marketplace, we recognize that it will remain a complex, dynamic part of our economy. It is therefore fundamentally important that consumers be equipped to navigate the marketplace and the financial choices they face effectively to achieve their life goals.”
Support for financial decisions
Sometimes you need a quick answer to a financial question. You can turn to Ask CFPB, a searchable resource with reliable answers to common questions—in English and in Spanish. Sometimes you need to work through a large financial decision, like paying for college or shopping for a mortgage. Today you can use our Paying for College module, and our Owning a Home tools and resources are coming next.
Managing our financial lives
Conversations about money decisions and money management can happen wherever people share information. Here are a few examples of how we’re helping to create opportunities to increase financial capability:
- In schools, we will build a nationwide training strategy to help teachers feel confident about adding financial education in the
classroom. - In libraries, we are helping librarians become an even stronger source of financial information for their communities.
- In the workplace, we are helping employers understand how financial stress affects employees and what they can do to help their employees.
- In social service organizations, we are deploying a toolkit called Your Money, Your Goals for social workers to help their clients build money management skills.
- For the military, we are delivering training sessions to counselors who help servicemembers and their families.
Helping people take more control over their economic lives is essential to our mission, and it is essential for individuals and families to get the most out of their financial lives. We’re continuing to work with groups and organizations that share this goal, to bring greater financial capability to everyone in America.
