Financial Well-Being for All: Your Association is Here to Help

​Financial well-being resources are available through DakCU and the National Credit Union Foundation to help your members achieve financial stability and success.

By Lindsey Hefta, VP of Marketing & Communications

Being in the business, you already know that financial well-being isn’t just something credit unions do—it’s the thing we do. Credit unions were built on the mission of providing safe, affordable financial services to everyone, and that mission is more important now than ever.

According to the recent 2024 U.S. Trends Report, overall financial health remained steady between 2023 and 2024, with 70% of the country remaining NOT financially healthy. Just 30% of households were financially healthy, 53% were financially coping, and 17% were financially vulnerable, roughly the same rates as in 2023.

The day-to-day financial health indicators – such as short-term savings, debt manageability, spending relative to income, and ability to pay bills on time – weakened while forward-looking indicators strengthened. What does that mean? These results show that a greater share of households feel confident about their financial future compared with last year, even as more households report challenging financial circumstances in the present.

In addition, households with outstanding credit card debt increasingly struggled with day-to-day financial health indicators. Households with investments experienced increased levels of confidence in their financial futures, and middle-income households experienced an increase in financial vulnerability.

With financial health trends ultimately showing increased challenges—like reduced savings and growing financial uncertainty—many people are still looking for guidance. That’s where your credit union comes in.

Going forward, it's important to focus on helping those members and employees who are having trouble paying off debt, to help prevent further financial problems. The report’s findings also highlight the need to make investing more accessible for people who have been left out in the past. This could include things like offering retirement plans to part-time and gig-workers, and creating simpler, more trustworthy investment advice that is easier for members to understand.

As financial first responders, we can help members with tailored programs, financial counseling, and expert advice. Are you aware the National Credit Union Foundation has a library of best practices and actionable insights to support your financial well-being for all strategy? Whether your members are looking for ways to budget better, save smarter, or plan for the future, we have resources are available to support you supporting them:

• Dakota Credit Union Association – Find resources and partnerships here.
• National Credit Union Foundation – Explore tools like webinars, case studies, and research.

Let’s help your members continue to take control of their financial future, and work together to make financial well-being a reality for all!

For questions regarding financial well-being for all, please contact me.