Money as You Grow featured in the CFPB’s fourth annual financial literacy report!
As you may know, I am a big fan of the Elizabeth Warren-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They’ve done so much to give consumers a voice when it comes to the big, confusing finance industry. And they’ve done just as much to promote financial literacy, because the more we know about money the savvier we’ll be when it comes to taking out college loans, borrowing for a home, using credit cards, saving for retirement, and so on.
During President Obama’s first term, I was chosen to participate in the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability. There, I developed a program for teaching kids of various ages the financial facts of life. I called it Money as You Grow. The website—packed with activities and conversation starters for parents—was a runaway hit. Nearly 1.5 million visitors checked it out. That caught the attention of the CFPB, and in 2016 they adopted it as a cornerstone of their financial literacy efforts.
I was proud then and I’m even prouder now that the work we did for Money as You Grow is all over the Bureau’s just-released fourth annual financial literacy report! It’s worth a read, whether you’re a parent, an educator, or just a cheerleader of fin lit. (Rah, rah, index funds!) The report boasts of the CFPB’s huge achievements, including partnerships with 2,700 libraries nationwide and the distribution of 10,000,000 copies of their excellent publications. But the mention of Money as You Grow is especially meaningful to me because my forthcoming book, Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even If You’re Not), was inspired by the research that went into that project. The book arrives (drum roll…) in February, but you can pre-order it at IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. Or—of course—at your local book seller!
