September Monthly Message from the FDIC
National Preparedness Month is observed in September. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Americans at all income levels have experienced the challenges of rebuilding their lives after a disaster or other emergencies. Having access to your homeowner’s insurance and other records is crucial for starting the recovery process. The FDIC offers the Disasters -- Financial Preparation and Recovery module in its How Money Smart Are You? game to help people prepare for potential disasters and recommends steps to take during the recovery phase. You can also learn how to avoid scams following a disaster in the Protecting Your Identity and Other Assets module of the game.
Use Money Smart to Help Others be Financially Prepared
Flash floods, fires, earthquakes, blizzards, job interruptions, job losses, car problems, illnesses and natural disasters could cause one to have a financial hiccup if not prepared. In fact, according to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Making Ends Meet Survey in March 2022, 24 percent of U.S. consumers have no emergency savings. Consumers with less than a month’s worth of savings ranked at 39 percent, while 37 percent have at least a month’s worth of savings.
Through Money Smart, you can help those consumers who are not financially prepared for expenses related to emergencies. You may want to consider using the following modules:
Money Smart for Young Adults: Module 3 - Make the most of your Income, Module 4 – Your Savings and Spending Plan, Module 5 – Saving for your goals and future, Module 6 – Building Credit History, Module 7 – Borrowing Basics, and Module 9 – Protecting your money and your identity.
Money Smart for Adults: Module 2 – You Can Bank On It, Module 3 – Your Income and Expenses, Module 4 – Your Spending and Savings Plan, Module 5 – Your Savings, Module 6 – Credit Reports and Scores, Module 7: Borrowing Basics, Module 8 – Managing Debt, Module 11 – Protecting Your Identity and Other Assets, and Module 14 – Disasters: Financial Preparation and Recovery.
Money Smart for Older Adults raises awareness among older adults and their caregivers on how to prevent fraud, scams, and other elder financial exploitation. The curriculum encourages advanced planning and informed financial decision-making.
How Money Smart Are You?: You Can Bank On It, Your Savings, Your Spending and Savings Plan, Borrowing Basics, Credit Reports and Scores, Managing Debt, Protecting Your Identity and Other Assets, Disasters – Financial Preparation and Recovery.
Savings and financial preparedness go hand in hand.
We are always eager to hear your success stories as you assist others in preparing for disasters. If you have successful strategies or promising approaches, please share them with us at moneysmartnews@fdic.gov. You can also join us at #FDICMoneySmart and show us your success in action!
For more information on how to prepare for a disaster, please visit the resources below:
- FDIC Consumer News - What to Do When Facing a Natural Disaster
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Financial Preparedness
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Ready Kids
- CFPB - Dealing with disasters and emergencies
Success Story
Liberty Bank of Middletown, Connecticut makes full use of the Money Smart curricula. From Money Smart for Older Adults, Money Smart for Adults, How Money Smart Are You? and Money Smart for Small Business, Liberty Bank has created programs using each curriculum.
“We do a lot of homeownership programs,” said Ms. Pamela Days-Luketich, on the use of Money Smart for Adults. “The bank hosts four to five programs per quarter. In addition to the home buying modules, the bank uses adjacent modules like budgeting and credit building.”
Liberty Bank also uses Money Smart for Older Adults with their Abuse and Fraud Protection Committee (Committee). The Committee has been visiting senior centers and elder housing units to inform the older population about potential scams.
Liberty Bank uses How Money Smart Are You? as part of their Credit Builder Program. In the Credit Builder Program, attendees complete two sections of How Money Smart Are You? and print the completion certificates to show the bank. Once that is done, the attendees can apply for a secured loan of either $500 or $1,000 without a credit score. Payments on this loan are deposited in a certificate of deposit (CD) until the attendees have paid the loan in full, and then the funds in the CD are available, including interest earned. The program allows attendees to establish a good payment history. In the last year, Ms. Day-Luketich said that approximately 15 people have applied for and received Credit Builder secured loans.
Liberty Bank uses Money Smart for Small Business in their Small Business Academy. The bank hosts nine academies throughout the year and each academy runs for ten weeks with two classes per week. The courses are virtual and available to anyone across the United States. Each course has approximately 20-30 attendees. Attendees from Connecticut and Massachusetts, once they have attended all of the sessions and completed the course, can apply for a $5,000 line of credit as long as their credit score is 600 or more. No tax returns are required. Ms. Days-Luketich said that about half of the attendees in each course get a line of credit. “I can usually tell when I have a number of phone calls that the callers are asking about the Small Business Academy!”
“You have made Money Smart so flexible,” said Ms. Days-Luketich, who tailors each course to those of the attendees. “You give us credibility. People don’t have to be bank customers to attend, and when we say it is a course created by FDIC, they understand that.”
Ms. Days-Luketich likes the updates and that the curricula are offered in different languages. “I teach Money Smart for Small Business in English. Occasionally, I will have Spanish speakers in the course and it helps when I can provide them the modules in Spanish.”
Congratulations to Ms. Day-Luketich and Liberty Bank for all their Money Smart successes. If you have a Money Smart success story, please reach out to us at moneysmartnews@fdic.gov.
Liberty Bank is a Money Smart Alliance member. To find out more about the Money Smart Alliance or to join, please click here.
Upcoming Money Smart Events
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will host a Money Smart for Small Business (MSSB) Train-the-Trainer Webinar September 26th at 2:00 pm EST. The webinar is directed to Financial Institutions, organizations and individuals interested in teaching financial education using our free online resources. You can find more information here.
Latest FDIC Consumer News Edition
The September 2024 edition of the FDIC Consumer News is titled “Health Savings Accounts.” The article provides tips to help you save money and assist with your financial matters. For more information on health savings accounts, read the full article here.
Tips and Techniques
Are you in need of program administrators or presenters for financial literacy programs?
While not a part of the FDIC, The Association of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Alumni (AFDICA) is an organization of former FDIC alumni and is devoted to Fellowship, Charity and Financial Literacy. It maintains a robust financial literacy program centered on the FDIC Money Smart curriculum and has developed a team especially devoted to furthering financial literacy.
Any organization, public/private schools, community, civic/service, or faith-based organizations can reach out for support. The AFDICA offers a near complete complement to FDIC Money Smart presentations to targeted audiences, young people, young adults or older adults, for one off sessions (days or hours) up to a semester long. The AFDICA personnel would also be available to assist in your orientation and development of the Money Smart program you may be wanting to present. While most of AFDICA’s presentations in the past have been virtual, it now has team members in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, who are available for onsite presentations or program development, if circumstances are suitable.
Please do not hesitate to contact the AFDICA by emailing moneysmart@afdica.com if you have any questions or would like to discuss the AFDICA financial literacy program.
This Month You Can Find Us At…
The Housing and Urban Development Office of Housing Counseling 2024 Community Conference on Tuesday, September 17 from 2:30 to 3:30 PM ET.
Ron Jauregui, Community Affairs Specialist, will be speaking about “Navigating Financial Success at Every Life Stage.” This session will address frequently asked questions on financial education in housing counseling and look at available programs and resources that provide comprehensive financial education support throughout a person’s life.
The Council for Economic Education Conference on Friday, September 27 from 2:30 to 3:15 PM ET.
Brittany Burroughs, Community Affairs Specialist, will be speaking about “Money Smart For Young People and Other Financial Education Resources.”