This is a household profile of a participant in the U.S. Financial Diaries project. Tim and Clara Adrian are in their early 30’s and live in Mississippi in a four-bedroom house that they own. While Tim and Clara both earn regular incomes, however, the linchpin in their budget is the income they...

This report explores the behaviors and outcomes related to savings and financial well-being of low- and moderate-income (LMI) tax filers in the United States. Findings from research conducted by Prosperity Now, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis and SaverLife...

This study covers the rapidly growing literature on the causal effects of financial education programs in a meta-analysis of 76 randomized experiments with a total sample size of over 160,000 individuals. The evidence shows that financial education programs have, on average, positive causal...

For most households in America, financial shocks are inevitable. The car will break down. The house will need a repair. A key earner for a household will be laid off. These shocks can be devastating to household finances. And while the COVID-19 pandemic, which we are still recovering from, was a...

This study examines the affect that an increase in household income, due to a government transfer unrelated to household characteristics, has on children's long-term outcomes. It is found that increased income increases children's educational...

Ending homelessness in Canada requires partnerships across public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. Preventative measures, and providing safe, appropriate, and affordable housing with supports for those experiencing homelessness is needed.  This paper provides a series of joint...

Despite progress on many fronts, the number of people becoming homeless in Canadian cities was not declining. As a consequence, there has been a discernable shift in municipal responses to homelessness in recent years. Inspired by policy innovations in the United States, a number of cities are now...

As we hurtle towards a human community of 9.7 billion people by the year 2050, coupled with new technologies and the growing challenges of our planet’s carrying capacity, there is more and more discussion of systems and how they change or are created. The post-war era has witnessed an...

Last year marked the seventh straight year of solid employment gains in Canada following the recession. But, scratching beneath the surface shows the credit went solely to part-time positions. Steep losses in energy-producing provinces are only partially to blame for the decline in full-time...

This paper provides a description of how having liquid savings contributes to people’s financial stability and resiliency, and the unique opportunity that tax time offers to begin saving for the short and longer term. Starting to save or continuing to save when receiving a tax refund may lead to...

A tax refund is often the largest amount of money a low-income household will receive throughout the year. It offers a unique opportunity to think long term and save for the future. Thus, in 2018, Momentum launched a new pilot program called Tax Time Savings (TTS), presented by ATB. It was through...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s continuing effort to encourage saving at tax time is now part of a larger Bureau initiative to support people in building liquid savings. The new initiative is called Start Small, Save Up. The vision for Start Small, Save Up is to increase people’s...

Every year there is one key and predictable moment – tax time – when many consumers who are struggling to make ends meet have an opportunity to choose to build savings that will insulate them from some of the financial stress that may occur later in the year. In 2013, nearly 93 million...

A lack of emergency savings renders low-income households vulnerable to material hardships resulting from unexpected expenses or loss of income. Having emergency savings helps these households respond to unexpected events, maintain consumption, and avoid high-cost credit products. Because many...

Making the transition from in-person to virtual program delivery has become a necessary step in continuing financial empowerment services during these times of physical distancing. Financial education workshops are a valuable part of any financial empowerment program, and there are many different...

In 2018, over 12.7 million Canadians engaged in formal volunteering, with a total of 1.6 billion hours of their time given to charities, non-profits and community organizations—equivalent to almost 858,000 full-time year-round jobs. Today, Canadians are courageously volunteering in the...

In recent years, there has been growing academic and media attention regarding income inequality—the disparity in the distribution of income across households. This report focuses on a less studied issue, how income varies within households even over relatively short periods of time....

This report presents the results of a large-scale field experiment that the tax preparation company H&R Block (the Company) conducted in collaboration with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the CFPB). The field experiment investigated whether customers could be encouraged, through...

For people living with low incomes in Canada, tax time is an important opportunity to access a wide range of federal and provincial/territorial benefits and credits. However, many people with low incomes experience barriers to tax filing that prevent them from accessing these important sources of...

This toolkit contains resources and information which may offer support to organizations, agencies, or frontline staff supporting individuals, during a challenging time. This toolkit was developed in response to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and more resources will be added as they become...

While cyber criminals are always looking for ways to trick you into revealing information they can use to access your accounts, we have a few simple tips to avoid getting tricked by “one time passcode” scams that you may encounter while attempting to access your accounts...

This infographic explores 3 forms of economic abuse and associated tactics used to coercively control intimate partners. These abusive tactics are compounded by economic systems that systemically oppress groups including Black, Indigenous, and people of colour; people with disabilities; people...

This reports on research results from an experiment in Malawi that varied the timing of workers' income receipt in two ways. First, payments were made either in weekly installments or as a monthly lump sum, in order to vary the extent to which workers had to save up to make pro table investments....

Over the first three quarters of 2020, disposable income for the lowest-income households increased 36.8%, more than for any other households. At the same time, the youngest households recorded the largest gain in their net worth (+9.8%). These changes were driven by unprecedented increases in...

Managing financial health is difficult during ordinary times—and especially so in challenging times like the ones we're currently facing. Guest speaker RuthAnne Corley, the Senior Stakeholder Engagement Officer with the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), discusses how to manage your...