Financial Well-Being For All

Financial well-being isn't a thing credit unions do. It is THE thing credit unions do.

Financial wellness is at the heart of credit unions’ mission within our communities and deeply embedded into our structure. Financial well-being for all is about motivating and supporting individuals to make sound financial decisions. Whether we are working with members in savings account programs or high school students in the classroom preparing them for college, we want to help our credit unions help their members achieve
their financial dreams.

What exactly is financial well-being?
Financial well-being is a state of being wherein a person can fully meet current and ongoing financial obligations, can feel secure in their financial future and able to make choices that allow them to enjoy life.

Control - Control over a person's day-to -day, month-to-month finances.
Capacity - The capacity to absorb a financial shock.
Choice - The financial freedom to make choices that allow a person to enjoy life.
Goal - On track to meet a person's financial goals.

Financial health and well-being are what a person does with their money and how a person feels about their money.

According to the 2020 U.S. Financial Health Pulse more than two thirds of people in America (167 million people ) are not financially healthy, and disparities have widened by race and income and persisted across gender.

Nearly 90% of those earning less than $30,000 annually are financially vulnerable or merely coping (financially unhealthy), and more than three quarters of those earning $30,000 to $59,900 are similarly challenged. At the other end of the spectrum, financial health is elusive for 40% of those earning $100,000 or more.

Four types of behaviors are hypothesized to support financial well-being:

Effective routine money management, which encompasses often unconscious habits, intuitions, and decision-making shortcuts (heuristics).
Financial research and knowledge-seeking, which support purposeful, informed financial decision-making.
Financial planning and goal-setting, which give purpose and structure to individual financial decisions.
Following through on financial decisions, the final step between intentions and desired outcomes.

Free Financial Well-Being Resources

Additional Financial Well-Being Resources and DakCU Partnerships

Pee Wee and Friends
- Pee Wee and Friends® helps credit union kids learn about saving money and smart spending. This program is filled with financial literacy opportunities, as well as other fun activities for kids in kindergarten - sixth grade.

Envisant (Blog)
- Providing credit unions the counsel, products and services that help their businesses see success.

Zogo
- The new way of delivering Financial Education to young adults. Zogo partners with credit unions across the country to provide members and their families with gamified financial education, backed by scientific research. Founded in 2018 in a dorm room at Duke University by three college students, Zogo has since flourished into an industry leader in financial education. Backed by behavioral science, its award-winning suite of products offers bite-size modules and tangible incentives to make financial literacy education accessible, fun, and rewarding. Zogo partners with 200+ financial institutions in all 50 U.S. states to help them educate, engage and empower the next generation of financial decision-makers. With Zogo, you too can improve customer loyalty, acquire new users, and create a better user experience.
- How CUs Can Guide Gen Z to Start Saving

For questions regarding Financial Well-Being For All, please contact:

Lindsey Hefta
Director of Marketing
701-250-3968
lhefta@dakcu.org