It’s America Saves Week! Since 2007, this annual event has been put on by the nonprofit America Saves. In terms of education and helping young people, the Ohio State University, in partnership with Ohio state treasurer Robert Sprague, is hosting Ohio Saves Week. Through its OSU Extension program, the university will host daily webinars this week to inform Ohioans about ways to improve their budgeting skills and save money. This year, Ohio Saves is adding helpful information about housing costs.
This week, the Ohio Saves webinars include how to set up automatic savings, an emergency savings fund, long-term saving for major milestones like purchasing a house, paying down debt, and saving at any age. The program is put on by the OSU Extension Family and Consumer Sciences program, which hosts a Healthy Finances webpage. Program educators work with families to improve their budgeting and financial skills, as well as training social workers and teachers who teach similar skills. The Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) program offers a number of courses to increase individuals’ financial literacy and money management. There are also separate programs for youth financial education, which could be used by K-12 schools to teach personal financial literacy.
America Saves Wants Everyone to Have Emergency Funds
America Saves, a subsidiary of nonprofit Consumer Federation of America, wants all Americans to have a savings fund of at least $500 to handle emergency situations. The organization encourages all individuals to take a savings pledge, noting that those who pledge to save are twice as likely to follow through and begin generating savings. To help, America Save has a digital resource center, which includes many articles and videos on topics related to savings, credit, and general finance.
Although America Saves hopes to encourage saving among all earners, it has specific programs targeted at those in the military (Military Saves) and young workers. Employers can sign up for the Split to Save program, which allows them to split worker pay between checking and savings. To help with funding and running its programs, America Saves has partnered with several large financial companies, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan.
Consumer Federation of America Lobbies for Consumers’ Interests
Established in 1968, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) lobbies legislatures to craft laws and regulations in favor of consumer interests. It is an umbrella group that includes many noteworthy nonprofit members, such as AARP, Consumer Reports, Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, and Money Management International. To help consumers directly, CFA provides resources to help learn about financial issues like identity theft, payday loans, life insurance, credit scores, and others. Through its newsroom and reports, consumers can stay up-to-date on issues that could affect their spending habits and budgeting.
The most up-to-date informational pages on CFA include banking and credit, consumer protection, housing, and investor protection. On these pages, readers can find the latest news articles and reports on these issues. For those looking for more assistance close to home, there is a webpage to locate member organizations by region.