Make Change that Counts: National Financial Literacy Strategy 2021-2026

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The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s (FCAC’s) mandate is to protect Canadian financial consumers and strengthen financial literacy. 

The National Strategy is a 5-year plan to create a more accessible, inclusive, and effective financial ecosystem that supports diverse Canadians in meaningful ways. The National Strategy is focused on how financial literacy stakeholders can reduce barriers, catalyze action, and work together, to collectively help Canadians build financial resilience.



CFPB Consumer Education Resources

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Resources to provide consumers up-to-date information to protect and manage their finances during the coronavirus pandemic. Resources include:

  • mortgage and housing assistance
  • managing your finances
  • student loans
  • avoiding scams

And resources for specific audiences, including:

  • older adults & their families
  • parents & kids
  • people experiencing homelessness



Measuring the Financial Well-Being of Hispanics: 2018 Financial Well-Being Score Benchmarks

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This report provides a foundational set of benchmarks of the financial well-being of Hispanics ages 18 and older in the United States in 2018, as measured by the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale, that practitioners and researchers can use in their work. The benchmarks were developed using data from the FINRA Foundation’s 2018 National Financial Capability Survey. This report specifically shows financial well-being score patterns for Hispanic adults by socio-demographics, financial inclusion, safety nets, and financial literacy factors. The report highlights key findings in the data and the implications for organizations that are planning to use the benchmarks.



Get Smarter About Money: Financial Literacy 101 videos

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GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca is an Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) website that provides unbiased and independent financial tools to help you make better financial decisions. This series of videos covers different financial literacy topics., including:

  • What is an RRSP?
  • What is a TFSA?
  • What is a mutual fund?
  • Why open an RRSP?
  • What is an RESP?

 



Financial Well-Being: A Conceptual Model and Preliminary Analysis

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Based on an extensive literature review and re-analysis of existing qualitative data, this report offers a working definition and an a priori conceptual model of financial well-being and its possible determinants. Using survey data from Norway (2016), ten regression models have been conducted to identify the key drivers of financial well-being and enhance the understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for the unequal spread of well-being across the population. The preliminary analyses in this report were consistent with both the definition and the model, albeit with some nuances and unexplained effects.

The empirical analysis identified three sub-domains of financial well-being. It was found that all three measures share three behaviours as their main drivers: ‘active saving’, ‘spending restraints’ and ‘not borrowing for daily expenses’. Also, ‘locus of control’ stood out as an important explanatory variable, with significant impacts on all three levels of well-being. Beyond that, some distinguishing characteristics were identified for each of the measures.

Momentum’s Money Management Courses

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The money management courses are offered online, on demand, for free. Learn at your own pace and on your own schedule on a variety of topics, including:

  • budgeting
  • credit
  • assets
  • banking
  • consumerism
  • education savings

 



GFLEC – Finlit Talks

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This video series offers concise summaries of in-depth academic and practitioner presentations, in plain English, for dissemination to a worldwide audience. For convenient viewing, most videos are between three and six minutes long.



The TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index)

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The TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index) measures knowledge and understanding that enable sound financial decision making and effective management of personal finances among U.S. adults. The P-Fin Index is an annual survey developed by the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, in consultation with Greenwald & Associates. It is unique in its breadth of questions and its coverage of the topics that measure financial literacy. The index is based on responses to 28 questions across eight functional areas: earning, consuming, saving, investing, borrowing/managing debt, insuring, comprehending risk, and go-to information sources.



Money Mentors – Savings & Debt Resources

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Collection of money management resources, including how create effective budgets, realistic spending plans, deal with your debts, save more money, build a stronger credit rating, and prepare for retirement.



Financial Well-being among Black and Hispanic Women

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This paper provides an in-depth examination of the financial well-being of Black and Hispanic women and the factors contributing to it, using the 2018 wave of the National Financial Capability Study. Differences between Black and Hispanic women versus White women are documented, in that the former are more likely to face economic challenges that depress financial well-being. Controlling for differences in socio-demographic characteristics, there are important differences in the factors that contribute to financial well-being for Black and Hispanic women compared to White women. This includes distinct impacts of education, family structure, employment, and financial literacy. Results imply that extant financial education programs inadequately address the needs of Black and Hispanic women.



Fearless Woman: Financial Literacy and Stock Market Participation

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Women are less financially literate than men. It is unclear whether this gap reflects a lack of knowledge or, rather, a lack of confidence. This survey experiment shows that women tend to
disproportionately respond “do not know” to questions measuring financial knowledge, but when this response option is unavailable, they often choose the correct answer. The authors find that about one-third of the financial literacy gender gap can be explained by women’s lower confidence levels. Both financial knowledge and confidence explain stock market participation.



Testing the use of the Mint app in an interactive personal finance module

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To advance understanding of effective financial education methods, the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) conducted an experiment using Mint, a financial improvement tool offered by Intuit, whose financial products include TurboTax and QuickBooks. This study measures Mint’s effectiveness at improving students’ financial knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Students at the George Washington University participated in a half-day budgeting workshop and were exposed to either Mint, which is a real-time, automated platform, or Excel, which is an offline, static tool. 

The authors found that participation in both workshops was associated with improved preparedness to have conversations about money matters with parents, a greater sense of financial autonomy, and an increased awareness of the importance of budgeting, but that participants in the Mint workshop were more likely to have a positive experience using the budgeting tool, to feel confident that they could achieve a financial goal, and to be engaged in budgeting one month after the workshop. Results show that even short financial education interventions can meaningfully influence students’ financial attitudes and behavior and that an interactive tool like Mint may have advantages over a more static tool like Excel. 



2019 Financial Literacy Annual Report

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The 2019 Financial Literacy Annual Report of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights the Bureau’s Start Small, Save Up campaign, the Office of Financial Education’s foundational research, in conjunction with the Office of Older Americans, to understand the pathways to financial well-being, the Office of Servicemembers Affairs’ Misadventures in Money Management online training program, the Office of Older Americans’ Managing Someone Else’s Money guides, and the Office of Community Affairs’ Your Money, Your Goals toolkit, along with other direct to consumer tools, community outreach channels, and areas of research.



2020 Financial Literacy Annual Report

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The 2020 Financial Literacy Annual Report details the United States' Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection's financial literacy strategy and activities to improve the financial literacy of consumers. Congress specifically charged the Bureau with conducting financial education programs and ensuring consumers receive timely and understandable information to make responsible decisions about financial transactions. Empowering consumers to help themselves, protect their own interests, and choose the financial products and services that best fit their needs is vital to preventing consumer harm and building financial well-being. Overall, this report describes the Bureau’s efforts in a broad range of financial literacy areas relevant to consumers’ financial lives. It highlights our work, including the Bureau's:

  • Response to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Pivot to financial resilience
  • Start Small, Save Up campaign
  • Foundational research to understand the pathways to financial well-being
  • Misadventures in Money Management online training program
  • Managing Someone Else’s Money guides
  • Your Money, Your Goals toolkit
  • Paying for College tool
  • Direct to consumer tools, community outreach channels, and areas of research



Connecting to Reimagine: Money & COVID-19 webinar series

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This webinar series released by the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) features speakers from the public, private, and academic sectors.

Past and upcoming webinar topics include:



Review of Financial Literacy Research in Canada: An Environmental Scan and Gap Analysis

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The Review of Financial Literacy Research in Canada highlights past and current advancements in financial literacy research (produced by government and non-governmental stakeholders) while identifying existing gaps within the financial landscape. The overriding goal is to help strengthen the financial well-being of all Canadians. The review contains four research priorities: managing debt, navigating the financial marketplace, building savings, and budgeting.



Financial Literacy Month – 10th anniversary Resources

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For the 10th anniversary of Financial Literacy Month in Canada, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has released resources to help Canadians learn how to manage their finances in challenging times.

Resources include the following topics:

  • Keep track of your money
  • Minimize debt
  • Reassess financial goals
  • Protect yourself against financial fraud
  • Set up an emergency fund
  • Understand financial products and services

 



COVID-19 Resources for people with disabilities

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National Disability Institute (NDI)'s Financial Resilience Center offers resources and assistance to help those with disabilities and chronic health conditions navigate financially through the COVID-19 crisis.

Resource topics include:

  • Information on the COVID-19 stimulus
  • Employment and unemployment
  • Public benefits
  • Managing money
  • Housing, food and healthcare
  • Scams



Real Money, Real Experts Podcasts

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Real Money, Real Experts is a personal finance podcast written and produced by AFCPE (Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education). Their membership community offers a place for financial counsellors and financial fitness coaches to share best practices, solve similar struggles, and access tools and resources.

Recent episodes include the following topics:

  • Economic Self-Sufficiency: How Financial Professionals Support Individuals with Disabilities
  • Empowering Communities after COVID-19
  • Where Race & Gender Intersect: Why the Wealth Gap is Widening and How to Help

 



Financial Literacy and Wellness Among U.S. Women: Insights on Underrepresented Minority Women

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The 2020 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index) survey was fielded in January 2020 and included an oversample of women. This enables examining the state of financial literacy and financial wellness among U.S. women immediately before the onset of COVID-19. A more refined understanding of financial literacy among women, including areas of strength and weakness and variations among subgroups, can inform initiatives to improve financial wellness, particularly as the United States moves forward from the pandemic and its economic consequences.



COVID-19 Financial Resilience Hub

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The Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) focuses on financial literacy research, policy, and solutions.

This toolkit contains suggestions and resources for managing personal finances and protection against the financial emergencies caused by COVID-19.



Millennials and money: Financial preparedness and money management practices before COVID-19

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Millennials (individuals age 18–37 in 2018) are the largest, most highly educated, and most diverse generation in U.S. history

This paper assesses the financial situation, money management practices, and financial literacy of millennials to understand how their financial behaviour has changed over the ten years following the Great Recession of 2008 and the situation they were in on the cusp of the current economic crisis (in 2018) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Findings from the National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) show that millennials tend to rely heavily on debt, engage frequently in expensive short- and long-term money management, and display shockingly low levels of financial literacy. Moreover, student loan burden and expensive financial decision making increased significantly from 2009 to 2018 among young adults.



Financial literacy and financial resilience: Evidence from around the world

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This study presents findings from a measurement of financial literacy using questions assessing basic knowledge of four fundamental concepts in financial decision making: knowledge of interest rates, interest compounding, inflation, and risk diversification. Worldwide, just one in three adults are financially literate—that is, they know at least three out of the four financial concepts. Women, poor adults, and lower educated respondents are more likely to suffer from gaps in financial knowledge.



Launch of the OECD/INFE 2020 International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy

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This report provides measures of financial inclusion including elements of financial resilience and a newly-created score on financial well-being.

Twenty-six countries and economies, including 12 OECD countries, participated in this international survey of financial literacy, using the 2018 OECD/INFE toolkit to collect cross-comparable data. The survey results report the overall financial literacy scores, as computed following the OECD/INFE methodology and definition, and their elements of knowledge, behaviour, and attitudes.

The data used in this report are drawn from national surveys undertaken using and submitted to the OECD as part of a co-ordinated measurement exercise; as well as data gathered as part of the OECD/INFE Technical Assistance Project for Financial Education in South East Europe.



National Strategies for Financial Education: OECD/INFE Policy Handbook

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Financial education has become an important complement to market conduct and prudential regulation and improving individual financial behaviours a long-term policy priority in many countries. The OECD and its International Network on Financial Education (INFE) conducts research and develops tools to support policy makers and public authorities to design and implement national strategies for financial education.

This handbook provides an overview of the status of national strategies worldwide,  an analysis of relevant practices and case studies and identifies key lessons learnt. The policy handbook also includes a checklist for action, intended as a self-assessment tool for governments and public authorities.



G20/OECD INFE Core Competencies Framework on financial literacy for Adults (aged 18+)

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This document describes the types of knowledge that adults aged 18 or over could benefit from, what they should be capable of doing and the behaviours that may help them to achieve financial well-being, as well as the attitudes and confidence that will support this process. It can be used to inform the development of a national strategy on financial education, improve programme design, identify gaps in provision, and create assessment, measurement and evaluation tools.



OECD/INFE Toolkit for measuring financial literacy and financial inclusion

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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation establishes evidence-based international standards and finding solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges.

The OECD/INFE Toolkit includes a financial literacy questionnaire that captures the financial literacy of diverse populations, first piloted in 2010. In 2015/16 around 40 countries and economies participated in an international survey of adult financial literacy competencies; using data collected using this toolkit.

The OECD/INFE financial literacy and financial inclusion measurement toolkit incorporates:

  • Methodological guidance.
  • A questionnaire designed to capture information about financial behaviour, attitudes and knowledge, in order to assess levels of financial literacy and financial inclusion.
  • A list of the questions included in the questionnaire, and information about whether they will be used to create core financial literacy scores used in previous OECD reports (Annex A).
  • Guidance on how to create the financial literacy scores (Annex A).
  • Guidance on briefing interviewers (Annex B) and discussion around online surveys (Annex C).
  • A checklist for countries wishing to submit data to the OECD (Annex D).



Budgeting resources webinar

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This webinar hosted by Credit Canada features guest expert Prosper Canada's Manager of Learning and Training, Glenna Harris. She shares some of their tried-and-true resources to help get people started on budgeting and debt management.

She also provides a new tool - Financial Relief Navigator - that can help connect people with income supports they might be eligible for.



Pressure Creates Diamonds: Money Management During Coronavirus

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The town hall with CFPB Director Kraninger and Pro Linebacker Brandon Copeland includes steps, and tools to help people plan and persevere during financial challenges.

The page also includes access to free resources on a number of topics including mortgage help, dealing with student loans, paying bills, building savings and more.



COVID-19 financial literacy resources

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CPA Canada has put together resources to help manage your finances and provide you with the tools you need during this crisis – and beyond.



COVID-19 Financial Resource Centre

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Credit Canada has pulled together financial information from trusted sources and released original content to help Canadians manage their finances during COVID-19.



Accessing Financial Literacy Education Programs: Barriers and opportunities for women living on low incomes

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When women living on low incomes are able to access effective Financial Literacy Education (FLE) programs, they will be better positioned to fully participate in economic life, help build a stronger economy, and improve the quality of life for themselves, their families, and their communities.

This needs assessment was part of Families Canada’s 3-year project titled “Increasing financial literacy opportunities for women living on low incomes: An action plan for change.” Partners included the Canadian Credit Union Association and Vancity. Funding was generously provided by the Department for Women and Gender Equality. The project seeks to ensure organizations have the information they need to adapt their existing financial literacy initiatives and programs to better meet the needs of women living on low incomes. 



Disability Alliance BC

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Disability Alliance BC supports people in British Columbia with disabilities through direct services, community partnerships, advocacy, research and publications.

Their website provides information on disability benefits including the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), CPP Disability, Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSP) and more.



Plan Institute Learning Centre

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The Plan Institute Learning Centre presents workshops, webinars, publications and other resources for individuals and/or families of a person with a disability, support-care workers, and organizations.



Set a Goal: What to Save For

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America Saves, a campaign managed by the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America, motivates, encourages, and supports low- to moderate-income households to save money, reduce debt, and build wealth.

Information and tips for setting a savings goal, making a savings plan, how to save automatically, and other tools and resources are included. 



Webinar series on remote program delivery

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A series of webinars hosted by ABC Life Literacy Canada to support literacy practitioners across the country to implement remote program delivery.

Topics include:

  • How to Use Zoom & Google Meet (formerly Google Hangouts)
  • How to Use WhatsApp & FaceTime
  • How to Use Skype & GoToWebinar
  • Tips for remote delivery of ABC workshops
  • Community Webinar: Adapting Programs to a Changing Landscape
  • Activate Learning



Soaring with savings

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Saving is an important part of financial well-being. Saving money helps you manage short-term needs such as day-to-day spending. It protects you and your family during emergencies. It is the key to reaching your future hopes and dreams.

Maybe you are recovering from a hard time financially and re-starting your savings. Or maybe you are setting new goals, large or small. It is always a good idea to check your savings habits. Savings can give you peace of mind and the freedom to do the things you enjoy.

These worksheets can help you think through what kind of saving is important for you. It can help you create a plan for achieving your financial goals. The worksheets also contain information about savings plans and government supports for education and retirement.

Download the accompanying training deck and facilitation guide for activities, facilitation techniques, tools and resources to use with the Soaring with savings worksheets.

Soaring with savings was made possible through the generous support of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).

We are grateful to Momentum Community Economic Development Society and Family Services Greater Vancouver for their content consultation on this resource.

Added on December 17, 2020:  SWS Worksheet #6b - CLB checklist
SWS Worksheet #6b - CLB checklist (Fillable PDF)

November 24, 2020:
Soaring with savings - Training tools - Training deck and facilitator guide