Discover financial empowerment resources
Discover financial empowerment resources
This brief is the first of a five-part series that will highlight the need and opportunity for integrating financial capability services into social service programs to improve overall outcomes that lead to financial well-being. This introductory brief covers (1) the state of households’...
The findings in this report from the National Asset Scorecard for Communities of Color (NASCC) survey reveal major disparities in wealth accumulation across various racial and ethnic groups in Los Angeles. Our analysis shows that with respect to types and size of household assets and debt, there...
Many laws affect your financial rights and responsibilities within your relationships. In Ontario most of the laws apply to two-person relationships and some laws apply differently to married couples than to partners who are not married. Either way, these law can affect you financially when you...
This is the slide deck for the CFED-hosted webinar "Programs, Policies, Partnerships: Coming Together to Heal the Racial Wealth...
EPIC’s first issue brief, “Income Volatility: A Primer,” was a comprehensive literature review of what is known about the prevalence, causes, and impacts of income volatility. This second brief looks at managing income volatility at both the household and societal levels. It presents a...
These are the slides from Webinar #2 in the Financial Coaching Listening & Learning Series hosted by the CFED and developed by the assets & Opportunity Network. This webinar examines key findings from the CFS Financial Coaching Census, reviews client-centred frameworks for financial...
This study presents findings from our children’s education savings programs, which EARN has offered for 13 years. The research yields insights into how families save and how these programs have impacted their lives. The goal of this paper is to share key results with the field, with the specific...
This is the slide deck from Webinar #1 in the series "Financial Coaching & Counseling Listening & Learning Series." Financial coaching has gained momentum in the last 5-6 years and so has the number of national research projects and pilots. This webinar explores the results of the first...
Just over seven years after the Government of Ontario launched a major poverty reduction strategy, it has broadened the scope to include not just families with children but, also, adults and people experiencing homelessness. This paper drills down on one key but complex policy file that is...
This paper presents quantitative and qualitative evidence of the relationship between exposure to a community-based Children’s Savings Account (CSA) program and parents’ educational expectations for their children. First, we examine survey data collected as part of the rollout and...

he goal of the Your Money, Your Goals toolkit is to make it easier for volunteers, lay counselors and workers, mentors, and coaches to help the people they serve become more financially empowered. The toolkit is divided into two parts: The four-part Introduction is for community volunteers. This...
The findings of the 2016 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard presented here confirm the gravity of the challenges of growing financial insecurity and inequality. To build the opportunity economy we want and need, the status quo is no longer acceptable. Instead, we need to embrace policy...
The effects of different types of debt can vary widely: some debt is considered productive by advancing young adult households' financial health while other debt can be unproductive, pushing their financial health out of reach. A savings account may help young adult households reduce their reliance...
The objective of this article is to study cash use in Canada. The Bank of Canada, as the sole issuer of Canadian bank notes, needs to understand the public’s demand for cash. However, measuring cash use is difficult because it is an anonymous payment method. Given this, cash use is typically...
There is concern that the increasing number of alternative financial services in communities across the US is risking individuals' financial health by increasing their use of these highcost services. To address this concern, this study used restricted-access, zip code data from nationally...
This summative evaluation of the Canada Education Savings Program (CESP) examines the performance of the CESP. The CESP, which includes the Basic Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG), the Additional-CESG (A-CESG) and the Canada Learning Bond (CLB), provides incentives to save for post-secondary...
It is what dreams are made of. Everyone knows that in order to make dreams a reality, post-secondary education is necessary–– and it can be expensive. That’s why we have created the Canada Learning Bond Toolkit: to let families know that there is free money and other grants that will help...
Your Money, Your Goals is a set of financial empowerment materials for organizations that help people meet their financial goals by increasing their knowledge, skills, and resources. Whether you’re helping people get a job, find a place to live, or deal with a legal problem, money always...
Financial decision-making is complex and contextual. Prior research undertaken suggests that a wide range of shifting factors can have an impact on decisions and outcomes. In 2014 ASIC launched the Australian Financial Attitudes and Behaviour Tracker (the Tracker) to track a number of financial...
CFED has developed a Household Financial Security Framework to help us think through what it takes, at the household level, to build financial security over time. Reducing poverty and achieving financial security and empowerment is a dynamic process in which households iteratively gain skills,...
In this inaugural report, researchers from the JPMorgan Chase Institute analyzed proprietary data from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to determine how income and consumption fluctuate on a monthly and a yearly basis. Drawing from detailed transaction information for nearly 30 million customers, we...
The goal of the Your Money, Your Goals toolkit is to make it easier for volunteers, lay counselors and workers, mentors, and coaches to help the people they serve become more financially empowered. Module 1-2: Setting goals, saving, and planning. Module 3-5: Managing income and spending money....

The widening wealth gap in the United States is a worrisome sign that millions of families nationwide do not have enough in assets to offer better opportunities for future generations. On the basis of data collected using the National Asset Scorecard for Communities of Color (NASCC) survey, we...
This report summarizes the main themes, ideas and discussion points that emerged from the fourth national conference on financial literacy, which was hosted by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) in Vancouver, B.C. on November 6 and 7, 2014. The conference brought together the top issues...
The four papers in this series propose federal reforms to turn tax programs right-side up, redeploying existing spending to help all Americans save, invest, and build wealth. This summary is followed by four policy papers that stand on their own and as constituent parts of a comprehensive analysis...