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Financial Literacy for Kids: What parents need to know

February 12, 2021 | USA Today

Financial literacy might seem like a daunting topic, but it’s important for adults and kids alike to be able to manage their money, understand their financial status and plan for the future.

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Black American Finances and Savings in a COVID Era

January 13, 2021 | www.consumerfed.org

America Saves, a program of the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), released a new study – Black American Finances and Savings in a COVID Era – that utilizes new data from the Federal Reserve Board’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and from a recent survey of 1,003 representative Black Americans commissioned by America Saves

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Experian 2020 Consumer Credit Review

January 4, 2021 | www.experian.com

As Americans entered 2020, the economy—as measured by consumer confidence, spending and stock market performance—was thriving. Two months into the year, however, the nation was struck by the COVID-19 crisis, and the economy slid into territory not seen since the Great Recession. The coronavirus pandemic and resulting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions led to record unemployment, a plunging stock market, economic uncertainty and thousands of business closures throughout the U.S. Despite those challenges, and perhaps partly due to relief measures enacted to combat the economic impact of the crisis, some consumers have seen certain aspects of their finances improve since the onset of the pandemic. The national average FICO^® Score^☉  increased by seven points this year—the largest annual improvement in at least a decade.

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Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE)

jumpstartclearing.org
CREDIT ABUSE RESISTANCE EDUCATION is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides a guest speaker program of bankruptcy and financial services professionals to discuss use of credit and fundamentals of financial literacy. Attorneys, judges, clerks, financial planners, and accountants share real-life stories about the consequences of poor money management and credit card abuse.
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Brush Up on Budgeting

Jumpstartclearing.org
BRUSH UP ON BUDGETING is a presentation that teaches students to actively consider their spending habits and to differentiate between needs and wants. It encourages them to save money and track income and expenses through the use of a budget. Educator resources include worksheets, group discussion lesson plans, a budgeting example sheet, and a guest speaker program.
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Proposed Federal Banking Rule Would Unleash Predatory Lending In All 50 States

September 4, 2020 | consumerfed.org
Washington D.C. – Yesterday,  (9/4) the Consumer Federation of America joined numerous advocacy organizations from across the country in submitting comment letters in vigorous opposition to a proposed rule from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).  This proposed rule would encourage the spread of predatory loans by gutting the “true lender” doctrine that courts use to detect usury evasions, gravely undermining state interest rate caps created to protect residents from high-cost loans. The OCC proposal would facilitate harmful, predatory “rent-a-bank” schemes where a non-bank lender launders its loan through a bank, which is exempt from state rate caps, in order to charge interest rates in excess of what a state legally allows a non-bank to charge. CFA urged the OCC to withdraw its proposal in individual comments and in a separate joint comment letter with 12 consumer and civil rights groups. CFA also joined a shorter comment letter submitted by more than 100 community based organizations across the nation.
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Amid COVID Crisis, NJ Schools See Stable State Funding

August 26, 2020 | njspotlight.com
For all the chaos schools have gone through over the last six months, the 180-degree turn in how they operate and educate and all the questions that come with it, New Jersey’s school districts have at least one constant: their state funding. Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday (8/25) presented a $32.4 billion state budget for October through the end of June 2021 that for schools will mean the year ends much as it started, with state aid unchanged from 2019-2020 levels and most programs left intact.
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We Need to Teach Personal Finance Classes Starting in Middle School If We Want Kids to Have a Stable Future

August 13, 2020 | businesinsider.com
At the start of the coronavirus shutdowns in March, many Americans had no savings to fall back on. Do people deserve to be paid more? Absolutely. But no amount of income is going to teach people to become savvy budgeters and savers, skills which are critical to developing a secure financial future.
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To Start Closing the Black Wealth Gap, Teach Personal Finance to High School Students

July 31, 2020 | usatoday.com
While American leaders cannot erase history or undo the racial inequality that Black Americans have faced, they certainly can and should accept responsibility to create and promote new policies that interrupt and ease these injustices.
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Charles Schwab Financial Literacy Survey Exposes Grave Impact of Lack of Financial Education During COVID-19

August 17, 2020 | daily-journal.com
As COVID-19 has extended beyond a health crisis into an economic crisis as well, it has exposed how financially vulnerable many Americans are. Half of all Americans (50%) would experience financial hardship if they had to cover an emergency expense of $1,000 or less in the next 30 days, according to a new Charles Schwab Financial Literacy Survey conducted by The Harris Poll.
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Don’t ‘Slip on the Surf’: A Credit Expert Shares His Biggest Credit Card Regret—and His Advice on How to Avoid It

CNBC Select spoke with Rod Griffin, director of public education and advocacy at Experian, about the credit mistake to avoid when you’re young.
August 17, 2020 | cnbc.com
No one is born with a complete understanding of how personal finance works. But a little financial education can go a long way, and you can learn a lot by talking with experts, especially when they’re willing to share the mistakes they made when they first started using a credit card.
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