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.
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:
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.
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
- National Credit Union Foundation - Financial Well-Being For All
- National Credit Union Foundation - Development Education
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
- Know My Debt
- NEFE - The Personal Finance Ecosystem
- National Credit Union Association (NCUA)
- South Dakota Consumer Protection Resources
- North Dakota Financial Institution Resources
- U.S. Currency Education Program
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Additional Financial Well-Being Resources and DakCU Partnerships
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For questions regarding Financial Well-Being For All, please contact:
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