The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the CFPB) looked at the information sources consumers are exposed to when they make financial decisions. Empowering consumers to make the financial decisions that will help them meet their own life goals is a critical part of the mission of the CFPB. To...

Recognizing the potential of financial coaching to improve the well-being of consumers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) commissioned a rigorous study on the impact of financial coaching programs.1 Using a randomized controlled trial design, this study allows, for the first time, a...

Consumers of financial products and services need both a safe, transparent marketplace, and the financial capability to navigate that marketplace effectively. This report describe initial research funded by the CFPB into how people acquire financial capability, to inform financial education and...

For financial educators and others who help people with decision-making, there is evidence that providing financial rules of thumb to consumers can work better than more detailed and complex financial education in some situations. To further explore the potential of rules of thumb for financial...

In order to provide practitioners and researchers with a standard, reliable, and broadly available way to measure individual financial well-being, the CFPB led a rigorous research effort to develop a consumer-driven definition of financial well-being, and then tested a set of questions–a...

In order to support and guide efforts to improve the effectiveness and quality of financial education, the CFPB is taking up this challenge to provide stronger evidence of what works to improve financial decision making and financial well-being, while ensuring the appropriate research protections...

The CFPB has developed a strategy and a range of initiatives to help consumers take control over their financial lives. Broadly, this strategy recognizes that financial literacy and financial capability require more than simply providing consumers with more information. Being able to manage one’s...

Where and when during childhood and adolescence do people acquire the foundations of financial capability? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) researched the childhood origins of financial capability and well-being to identify those roots and to find promising practices and...

The CFPB has undertaken a broad array of education initiatives this year, as well as continued or expanded upon prior initiatives. These initiatives are described in more detail in various sections of this report. The CFPB’s financial education research is focused on identifying the knowledge,...

One promising opportunity for teaching young people about financial capability occurs when they are participating in programs that provide youth training and employment. Nearly 20 million youth were employed in July 2013 alone, 2 so youth employment programs offered in local communities...

In 2012, The Financial Clinic (the “Clinic”) and Branches had the opportunity to influence the emerging financial coaching sector by putting its philosophies and model to test through a random control trial study report titled “An Evaluation of the Impacts and Implementation Approaches of...

This report presents the results of the Survey of Consumer Views on Debt (“survey”) which was conducted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“Bureau”) between December 2014 and March 2015. The survey results substantially expand the understanding of debt collection in the United...

There is wide variation in how people in the U.S. feel about their financial well-being. This report presents findings from a survey by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on the distribution of financial well-being scores for the U.S. adult population overall and for selected...

As financial educators know, making day-to-day decisions on spending money is one of the biggest challenges consumers face in keeping their financial lives in order. Many people find it difficult to manage their household finances on a daily basis, let alone over the long term. This brief from the...

Because of the key role that financial education can play in people’s lives, the CFPB has conducted research over its first five years into what makes financial education effective for consumers. What do we mean by “effective?” It does not just mean training that helps people perform better...

The report discussed in this brief, “Building blocks to help youth achieve financial capability: A new model and recommendations,” illuminates critical attributes, abilities, and opportunities acquired during the years spanning preschool through young adulthood that support the development...

Over the last decade, initiatives to enhance the financial stability of the economically vulnerable population have multiplied and shown promise. But there is as of yet no strategy on a national scale that addresses the unique consumer financial product and service needs of low-income and...

Payday loans typically carry annual percentage rates of 300 to 500 percent and are due in a lump sum, or balloon payment, on the borrower’s next payday, usually about two weeks later. These loans are advertised as quick fixes for unexpected expenses, but repaying them consumes more than a third...

Very little is known about the number or characteristics of credit invisibles or consumers with unscored credit records. This Data Point documents the results of a research project undertaken by Staff in the Office of Research of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to better...

This brief discusses the process and results of the Financial Coaching Impact Study to help financial coaches and other financial educators seeking to integrate these techniques into their work. The study showed that coaching is a flexible approach that can work for many types of clients with a...

This is a companion guide to the 'Your Money, Your Goals' curriculum by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the United States. This guide- Your Money, Your Goals: Focus on People with Disabilities—contains information, tips, and tools based on the insights from people with...

A financial well-being questionnaire developed by the Consumer Financial Protection...

Understanding financial well-being is crucial to helping consumers achieve it. Financial educators, coaches, and other practitioners work to help people improve their financial lives and get to a better state of financial well-being. To tell whether these efforts are successful, the field needs a...

The purpose of this white paper is to outline how the ongoing struggle of many consumers to manage their finances can be mitigated in the future by focusing specifically on youth financial education. What we propose here is a comprehensive strategy to impart personal financial-management skills to...

he CFPB and the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity (the Office of Fair Lending) have taken important strides over the last year in our efforts to protect consumers from credit discrimination and broaden access to credit, as we identify new and emerging fair lending risks and monitor...