As we enter Financial Literacy Month, we are taking a look at the mymoney.gov financial capability website.
The US Government’s Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) is a 23-member body of federal agencies, chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury. Its mission is to coordinate and improve financial education for all Americans.
As part of this mission, FLEC runs the mymoney.gov website intended to provide information and tools about financial capability to the public including specific resources for groups such as researchers, teachers and youths.
The site features topical subjects on its homepage, currently on “Cryptocurrency and scams”, “COVID-19” and “how to rebuild finances after a disaster”. Its core content is arranged in three areas: MyMoney 5, Life Events and Tools.
“MyMoney 5″
The MyMoney 5 are five building blocks for managing and growing your money:
EARN – Make the most of what you earn by understanding your pay and benefits.
SAVE & INVEST – It’s never too early to start saving for future goals such as a house or retirement, even by saving small amounts.
PROTECT – Taking precautions about your financial situation, accumulate emergency savings and have the right insurance.
SPEND – Be sure you are getting a good value, especially with big purchases by shopping around and comparing prices and products.
BORROW – Borrowing money can enable some essential purchases and builds credit, but interest costs can be expensive. Caution, if you borrow too much you will you have a large debt to repay.
Life Events
This section takes a modular approach to finances, providing resources and advice in areas such as: Employment, Home Ownership, a New Child, Retirement and Owning a Business.
Tools
Here we find helpful tools for money management:
- Calculators (e.g. Tax Withholding, Debt Payoff, Retirement Estimator, etc.)
- Budgeting Worksheets (e.g. Auto-loans, Savings, Credit, Disaster Preparedness, etc.)
- Checklists (e.g. Safeguarding Valuables, Financial Privacy, Student Aid, College Preparation, etc.)
Direct Express® Financial Education Center
In addition to publicly available government financial capability resources, such as mymoney.gov, Direct Express® cardholders benefit from a dedicated financial capability platform in the form of the Direct Express® Financial Education Center.
We will be discussing the latest Center developments later in Financial Capability Month. In the meantime, more information can be found here:
Direct Express® Financial Education Center (directexpress.info)
We have also posted about the Center previously:
New Financial Education Modules – Managing Finances Through Difficult Times
Financial Education for Direct Express® Card Holders
The Financial Education Center itself is at:
SOURCE: mymoney.gov/Direct Express®
