Education

 

 

Monthly Message on Credit Education

March is Credit Education Month, a perfect time to focus on the importance of credit confidence and how it impacts financial well-being. Your credit score can determine your ability to secure loans, rent an apartment, or even land a job. Understanding and managing credit effectively is key to financial success. 

In this issue, explore how the Money Smart financial education program provides organizations with tools and resources to teach responsible credit management and financial literacy. 

Credit Confidence with Money Smart

The FDIC Money Smart program offers valuable resources to help individuals build and maintain credit confidence. You can help raise awareness of the elements of credit by teaching some of the Money Smart courses below:

Money Smart for Young Adults: Module 7: Borrowing Basics; Module 8: Charge It Right, Module 9: Buying a Car, and Module 11: Paying for Education and Training

Money Smart for Adults: Module 6: Credit Reports & Credit Scores, Module 7: Borrowing Basics, Module 8: Managing Debt, Module 9: Using Credit Cards, and Module 13: Buying a Home 

Money Smart for Small Business: Planning for a Healthy Business and Banking Services Available for Small Business

How Money Smart Are You?: Borrowing Basics, Credit Reports and Scores, Managing Debt, Using Credit Cards, and Making Housing Decisions

By improving credit awareness, individuals can make informed financial decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and work toward financial stability. Visit the FDIC Money Smart website to access these free educational resources and set the foundation for a secure financial future. 

Success Story

This Credit Education Month, we interviewed two librarians at the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL). Los Angeles Saves (LA Saves) and the LAPL have partnered to offer FDIC Money Smart financial education programs, empowering residents with essential financial knowledge. Through this collaboration, LA Saves—a campaign promoting financial literacy and savings—works with LAPL to provide free workshops and resources covering topics such as saving, credit management, and fraud prevention. LA Saves collaborates with volunteers from financial institutions and local nonprofits to provide year-round financial education workshops using the FDIC Money Smart curriculum. By leveraging the accessibility of public libraries, this initiative ensures that individuals of all backgrounds can develop financial skills and achieve greater financial security. Since January 2019, LA Saves has participated in over 32 events. 

How did LAPL adapt their Money Smart workshops from in-person workshops to the virtual format? 

“When the pandemic hit, we knew we had to find new ways to connect with our patrons. Transitioning our in-person Money Smart workshops to a virtual format allowed us to continue serving our communities and even expand our reach. Last year, we held seven virtual one-hour Money Smart workshops, focusing on budgeting and savings to credit building and fraud protection. 

The library leverages platforms like StreamYard to livestream the sessions directly to their YouTube channel, making the content accessible to anyone.”

What has been the response from the LA Public Library’s patrons to the virtual Money Smart workshops?

“We’ve seen a great response from our patrons. The virtual format has allowed us to engage with participants in new ways, like using the chat function to answer questions in real-time. We’ve had an average of 100 participants join our virtual workshops.”

Since March is Credit Education Month, how does the LA Library incorporate credit education into their Money Smart workshops?

“Credit education is an important topic that often comes up during our Money Smart workshops, with many participants asking about credit ratings and how they impact financial decisions. They are especially interested in learning how to protect their children’s credit and social security numbers as many are not aware of the importance of safeguarding that information. We direct participants to additional resources and organizations if they have further questions about building or improving their credit after the workshops.”

What methods have worked well for you in delivering the Money Smart curriculum effectively?

“The length of the Money Smart modules can seem daunting at first, until you realize that they can be condensed and tailored to fit the needs of your audience. For instance, the estimated time to teach the Money Smart module on Credit Report and Scores states that it will take nearly four hours. We were able to cut it down to 45 minutes and allocate 15 minutes for questions and answers. By doing this, we were able to meet the needs and time constraints of the full curriculum.”

Please consider sending a success story on your Money Smart financial education sessions to ConsumerEducation@fdic.gov. We look forward to highlighting your programs in a future edition of this newsletter. Please include any insights you have gained from using the material.  

Tips and Techniques

According to the LA Public Library, incorporating interactive elements, such as Q&A sessions and polling, is key to engaging audiences in Money Smart financial education workshops. 

We’re living in the data age. The things we do on our phones and computers, on our internet-enabled smart devices, and websites leave a trail of our activities and our personal information. That personal information has value — not just to us, but to scammers and hackers who want to steal our identities. Here are five things you can do to keep scammers and hackers at bay.

 

Report scammers and hackers at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If someone stole your personal information, report it, and get recovery steps, at IdentityTheft.gov.

KodaBank's Consumer Financial Literacy class covers the basics of banking and finance from buying a home to understanding credit. Classes are for anyone seeking to learn about their own personal finances. Here are some helpful "Koda Tips" from the class.