Financial Capability Month is Here!

The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) is pleased to be one of the many partners celebrating April 2015 as Financial Capability Month in our state. Understanding the importance of financial education, Washington Governor Jay Inslee proclaimed April as Financial Capability Month: http://www.dfi.wa.gov/documents/financial-education/2015-financial-capability-month.pdf.

This month presents opportunities for partners like DFI, the Jump$tart Washington Coalition and the Financial Education Public Private Partnership (FEPPP) to collectively highlight and support the work being done in our state to increase and improve financial education - and urge that more be done to improve the financial capability of all Washington residents.

As organizations continue to assess our nation's financial literacy, results continue to illustrate the need for personal finance education both in and outside of the home:

Results from the Financial Industry Regulator Authority (FINRA) Foundation’s 2012 State-by-State Financial Capability Survey reveal that:

• Fewer than half (41%) of Americans surveyed reported spending less than their income.
• Over a quarter (26%) reported having unpaid medical bills.
• More than half (56%) do not have rainy-day savings to cover three months of unanticipated financial emergencies.
• Over a third (34%) reported paying only the minimum credit card payment during the past year.
• On a test of five basic financial literacy questions, the national average was 2.88 correct answers.

[FINRA Investor Education Foundation, FINRA Foundation Releases Nation's State-by-State Financial Capability Survey, May 29, 2013, http://www.finra.org/Newsroom/NewsReleases/2013/P268095, http://www.usfinancialcapability.org/]

Representatives from local community groups, financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations, businesses, schools, libraries, government agencies and media outlets will conduct classes, seminars and other activities to educate consumers about money management and generating awareness of financial education available on a wide range of topics.

DFI’s Financial Education Clearinghouse http://dfi.wa.gov/financial-education/ provides access to resources - from budgeting and saving, credit and debt, to health care and mortgages, and has a special section on avoiding scams – into a single site.

For more information about DFI outreach, workshops, partners, programs and information, visit http://dfi.wa.gov/financial-education/ and follow our Twitter @DFIConsumers and @FinEd4All blog www.finlit.blogspot.com and Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/wadfi.