Financial Literacy

General Guides

Financial Literacy in Public Libraries: A Guide for Building Collections: Introduction
Website: American Library Association
http://libguides.ala.org/finra-ore/personalfinance
Comprehensive personal finance guide providing information on subject areas that include budgeting, debt, and investing. This guide was created by the ALA Office of Research & Evaluation and funded by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.

Financial Literacy Education in Libraries: Guidelines and Best Practices for Service, September 2014
PDF: Reference and User Services Association
http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/ala.org.rusa/files/content/FLEGuidelines_Final_September_2014.pdf
Guidelines and best practices relating to financial literacy education in libraries.

Money Basics Tutorials, November 13, 2014
Website: GCFLearnFree.org
https://www.gcflearnfree.org/moneybasics/
This website offers free tutorials to help people learn money management skills, banking, and retirement planning.

Consumer.Gov
Website: Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
http://www.consumer.gov
Purposefully written in very simple language, this website developed by the FTC offers the basics of understanding money, credit, banking, scams, and more.

Consumer.Gov Toolbox
Website: Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
https://www.consumer.gov/content/toolbox-0
The toolbox section of consumer.gov has helpful resources for educators, advocates, and trainers. The site provides access to free lesson plans, videos, quizzes, and more.

Money Smart Week
Website: American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/offices/money-smart-week
Participate in “Money Smart Week @ your library”, a national initiative between ALA and the Federal Reserve Bank (Chicago) to provide financial literacy programming to help your community members better manage their personal finances.

Free Publications for Libraries
Website: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
http://promotions.usa.gov/cfpblibraries.html
Free financial education materials you can share with patrons or use in presentations. All materials are free from the CFPB and other government agencies. You can order up to 1,000 free copies of each publication in English and/or Spanish.

Just for You Financial Educators
Website: Federal Trade Commission
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0022-financial-educators
This website provides comprehensive financial education information by the FTC. There is information on Scam Alerts, Money & Credit, Privacy, Identity & Online Security and other topics. Bulk orders of materials are also available in English and Spanish.

Stay Connected
Website: Federal Trade Commission
https://www.ftc.gov/stay-connected
You can subscribe to an e-newsletter, scam alerts, blog posts, and other updates published by the FTC.

MyMoney.Gov
Website: Federal Financial Literacy and Education Commission
http://www.mymoney.gov
MyMoney.gov is a website developed by the congressionally chartered Federal Financial Literacy and Education Commission. The website is dedicated to teaching all Americans the basics about financial education.

Ready, Set, Bank
Website: Capital One
https://www.grovo.com/readysetbank/welcome
Capital One's Ready, Set, Bank℠ program teaches consumers basic mobile banking skills. Ready, Set, Bank is designed specifically for older adults, and offers numerous, unbranded videos to guide learners through every step of the process, with overviews and step-by-step tutorials to help them manage their finances online—regardless of where they bank. The curriculum is also available in Spanish, through Listos, Clic, Avance℠ at https://www.grovo.com/readysetbank/es/welcome. In 2019, PLA and Capital One are collaborating to educate public libraries about financial literacy tools and programming such as Ready, Set, Bank℠.

Home Buying

Buying a Home
Website: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/buying_a_home
Toolkit with general and state specific information about home buying topics. Website provides free resources to guide consumers through the nine key steps to buying a home.

Consumer Advice: Loans and Mortgages
Website: Federal Trade Commission
https://consumer.ftc.gov/credit-loans-and-debt/loans-and-mortgages
Understanding consumer loans, including home mortgages and home equity loans. Available in English and Spanish.

Retirement Planning

Preparing for Retirement
Website: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/workers-and-families/preparing-for-retirement
Available in both English and Spanish, this online toolkit offers publications, tools, and videos on retirement planning topics. An additional health and retirement section also provides further assistance with retirement planning.

Benefits Planner: Retirement
Website: Social Security Administration
https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/
This planner provides detailed information about Social Security retirement benefits under current law. Retirement related benefit calculators also available on the site.

Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement Planning, December 2014
PDF: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
https://www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/publications/taking-the-mystery-out-of-retirement-planning.pdf
Publication from the Department of Labor that provides information and planning tools for individuals planning to retire within the next decade.

Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement Planning
Website: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/Publications/nearretirement.html
Available in both English and Spanish, this online version of Taking The Mystery Out Of Retirement Planning includes interactive worksheets that you complete as you read each chapter. You can download the fully illustrated 62-page PDF narrative or call toll free 1-866-444-3272 to order copies.