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Money Smart News is the FDIC’s quarterly newsletter featuring tips, updates, and success stories for financial educators. We welcome submissions.
In our last edition we shared news about the updated Money Smart for Adults curriculum. We are excited about the initial reports we have received from those who have used it thus far. In particular, people like the relevance and the flexibility of the materials. Whether you use Money Smart for Adults or other products, we hope this issue of Money Smart News will give you new ideas or approaches that can strengthen your financial capability efforts.
For example, we highlight America Saves Week and National Consumer Protection Week, which are upcoming opportunities to assist consumers with their financial goals. In addition, we offer news of two new Money Smart resources — the Spanish version of Money Smart for Older Adults and upcoming Train-the-Trainer webinars on Money Smart for Adults. Finally, we share a report from the field about how a bank is collaborating with community partners to teach Money Smart for Young People.
We are eager to hear from you about promising approaches or successful strategies involving Money Smart that we can share with other financial educators in future editions of our newsletter. Whether you are offering us suggestions or looking for assistance from FDIC staff, e-mail us at moneysmartnews@fdic.gov.
Elizabeth Ortiz
Deputy Director, Consumer and Community Affairs
FDIC Division of Depositor and Consumer Protection
This annual program encourages people, particularly lower-income families, to reduce debt and build wealth. During America Saves Week, banks, nonprofits, schools, and other organizations are encouraged to offer information and advice on paying down debt, building an emergency fund, and saving for a home, education, and retirement. The FDIC encourages consumers of all ages to use America Saves Week as an opportunity to evaluate their short-term and long-term financial goals and consider new ways to save for those purposes. As a reminder, the FDIC offers educational resources for consumers, financial institutions, and other organizations interested in supporting savings, including a dedicated webpage that can help promote healthy savings habits during America Saves Week or any time of the year. We are particularly excited that March 2, 2019, is designated as “Save as a Family” day. The FDIC has tools to help family savings habits, which include parent/caregiver guides to give ideas to help young people build healthy money habits, and resources to help banks connect financial education to opportunities for young people to open savings accounts. See: Savings-Related Resources.
National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) is a time to help people understand their consumer rights and make well-informed financial decisions. In support of NCPW 2019, the FDIC will offer a quiz that consumers can take to test their money-management skills.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the FDIC recently released the updated Spanish-language version of the Money Smart for Older Adults (MSOA) curriculum. The goal of the MSOA program is to raise awareness among older adults and their caregivers on how to prevent elder financial exploitation. It also encourages advance planning and informed financial decision-making. The Resource Guide, Instructor Guide, and corresponding PowerPoint slides are in both English and Spanish and are free to download or order in bulk.
The FDIC hosted a webinar on December 13, 2018, to showcase the newly released version of the Money Smart for Adults curriculum. The 2018 version features new content, design, activities, and modules, as well as modernized learning tools. The FDIC also incorporated instructional “best practices” and user feedback in the newly updated curriculum. The new version is available at Money Smart for Adults. You can sign up for and view upcoming webinars on the curriculum on February 27, March 20, and April 17, 2019, by visiting the same website.
In this edition, we share a story about how Bank On South Alabama, a group of local financial institutions, community service organizations, and municipalities, partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Alabama to bring the FDIC’s Money Smart for Young People curriculum to a local summer youth program. See: Money Smart News Success Stories – Winter 2019.
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Contact staff with questions on the Money Smart materials. And, share tips or other experiences using Money Smart with the FDIC team. This feedback helps us enhance Money Smart and may also be considered for publication in Money Smart News.
The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before
sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal
government site.
The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to
the official website and that any information you provide is
encrypted and transmitted securely.
Here are some links that may be helpful in finding what you are looking for:
FDIC staff is available to provide technical assistance and to help facilitate partnerships among interested parties. Contact us at communityaffairs@fdic.gov.
