A survey of 194 black households in a Chicago neighborhood found that one in five did not use banks, 49% had credit cards, over 75% used alternative financial services (AFS), and many used informal financial networks. Nonbank and AFS users tended to be lower income, less educated, younger, and unmarried people. Consumer education and public policy…

The publication was produced in cooperation with the New York State Banking Department and is intended primarily as a teaching module to introduce high school students to how banks operate and how consumers can make best use of a bank's services. There is no assumption of prior banking experience or knowledge. In addition to some brief notes to…

Individuals and organizations administering consumer credit services are urged to adopt the following recommendations and the Code of Billing and Collection Practices (also included): (1) Credit grantors should support continuing educational programs at national and local levels on the nature of the consumer credit system. (2) Whenever possible,…

In the context of increased labor market flexibility and "portfolio work," adults need knowledge of financial services and their interrelationships with insurance, taxation, and welfare systems. One approach uses the radical tradition of adult education to help people develop critical awareness and control of their financial decision…

A companion volume to Part I--Summary Report, this volume contains the reports of four committees. Topics are: (1) The Role and Functioning of Consumer Credit (consumer credit and social policy, consumer credit and economic growth, structure of the consumer credit market, the economics of consumer credit, credit revenues, credit costs, and a model…

This document contains 29 two-page reports on credit, business credit, direct marketing, and real estate data prepared by the credit reporting company, TRW, for consumers. Topics covered are the following: consumer credit reports, how to obtain a copy of a consumer credit report, how credit bureaus compile consumer credit reports, the role of…

This module, one of six on teaching consumer matters to low-income adults, discusses banking skills. Topics include banking services (savings accounts, safety deposit boxes, Christmas clubs, loans, etc.), checking accounts (deposits, checkwriting, check registers, opening an account), how to use the check register (cancelled checks, deposits),…

This module is one of a set prepared in conjunction with the Title I "Project to Train Volunteer Leaders to Conduct Consumer Education Courses." It is designed to be a basic text for use in making a one-hour presentation on personal money management. Topics include reasons for having a budget and guidelines for successful budgeting, elements of a…

The impact that financial education had on the financial behaviors of (a) the agency staff who were trained to deliver the program and (b) the low-income individuals who participated in the program was investigated. Specifically, the researchers examined the relationship between total number of financial education lessons completed, prior…

A short fictional work for limited English speakers is presented that relates a young couple's experience in learning about managing their money more carefully by budgeting and maintaining a checking account. Since the couple did not have a checking account, they had to go to their savings bank in order to pay each bill and they had to keep cash…

The social invention of consumer credit has expanded greatly during the past 20 years with resulting abuses such as personal overextension of credit or lenders taking an unfair advantage of less knowledgeable consumers. With the new types of credit and great amounts of money involved, it is essential for consumers, distributors, and educators to…

The document is a manual for local consumer finance offices, to guide them in their participation as an industry in a Chamber of Commerce Business-Education Day, a program offered as a means for teachers and business executives to become better acquainted, exchange views, clear up misconceptions, and gain better insight into each other's problems.…

The teacher's guide is for a high school unit on personal income management, part of a family financial education program which also includes a unit on accepting credit responsibility. It can be used by teachers of any subject attempting to develop in students habits and attitudes in the area of earning, saving, and spending. The unit is based on…