DISB is using April’s Financial Literacy Month to raise public awareness about the importance of financial education and information.

“This is a good time to review your personal finances,” said DISB Commissioner Thomas E. Hampton. “We believe that if people learn properly how to assess their financial well-being, they can take the steps to improve it.”

According to a 2004 study by the National Council on Economic Education, some 10 million households in the United States do not use insured banks. That means these household do not use the mainstream, insured financial institutions for services such as loans, savings or check cashing. They use nontraditional banking systems such as check cashers or payday lenders. Alternatively, they operate solely on a cash basis without access to credit that comes from banking with traditional banks. More than a third of workers, some 37 percent, say they aren’t saving for retirement. And a growing number of households in Washington, DC, are taking on more debt and saving less than ever before. A recent study commissioned by the Consumer Credit Counseling Services revealed that overall consumer debt has increased by 38 percent for households at all income levels over the last year. Currently, the national personal savings rate is 0 percent, something that hasn’t occurred since the Great Depression.

Because of these alarming trends, DISB will host a series of brown-bag lunches every Wednesday in April at its office at 810 First Street, NE, Suite 701, from noon to 1 pm: “Money-Saving Wednesdays” will include Making Saving a Habit (April 4), Five Keys to Investing Success (April 11), ABCs of Saving for Education (April 18) and Planning a Worry-Free Retirement (April 25). During the seminars, attendees will be able to sign up for DC Saves, a new District initiative and local offshoot of America Saves, a nationwide campaign in which a coalition of nonprofit, corporate and government groups helps individuals and families save and build wealth. DISB has been working with several District partners to motivate Washingtonians to reduce debt, save money and build wealth. A DC Saver is anyone who agrees to save regularly for a specific goal such as a rainy day fund, car or home purchase, college or high school tuition, retirement or debt repayment and reduction. DC Savers set monthly saving goals of as little as $10, and then develop a strategy to deposit this amount to a savings account each month. District banks have signed on by offering savings accounts to DC Savers at no cost for 12 months.

Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin Bernanke recently encouraged all America Saves campaigns to expand efforts and combat the low savings rate. In response, DC Saves will focus on promoting savings and motivating individuals, particularly those in low- and moderate-income households, to take financial action. Launched in 2001 with one city, Cleveland, Ohio, America Saves now has 53 local, state and national campaigns. Currently, more than 61,000 Savers list their top savings goals for emergency funds, savings and investment, homeownership and retirement savings. The goal of DC Saves is for a change in behavior among individuals and families when it comes to wealth building.

Other Projects

DISB is committed to a wide range of activities during the month of April to promote financial literacy. Besides its brown-bag lunch series, the agency will be hosting a seminar on saving for education (see below) and there are upcoming seminars on mortgage lending in both April and May (more information to come). The agency’s goal is to ensure the consumer has on hand as much information as possible and to provide the opportunity for consumers to check credentials and file complaints against any financial-service provider.

“With identity theft on the rise and the plague of predatory lending,” Hampton said, “our job in providing consumer education has become even more important than ever before.”

Upcoming seminar on April 26: “ABCs of Saving for Education”

We all know it – education can be expensive. Do you need help planning for future education costs for yourself or your children? And it is easier than you thought. For April’s Financial Literacy Month, the DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking and the DCSaves Campaign invite you to attend a seminar on April 26 on the “ABCs of Saving for Education.”

Presenter: Laurent Ross

Learn about strategies and savings plans for primary and secondary school (K-12) and college. Topics include Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, 529 plans (including the DC College Savings Plan), prepaid tuition plans, tax benefits of assorted savings plans, and how to balance education savings with saving for retirement and other goals.

Location: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 910 G Street, NW, Main Lobby

Time: Thursday, April 26, from 3 pm to 4:30 pm