A significant percentage of households in Wisconsin and across the country are faced with medical debt. The causes of medical debt are wide-ranging given the complexities of the health care system. This brief identifies ways to help prevent medical bills from reaching unsustainable levels and strategies for dealing with existing debt. Issue Brief Medical Debt […]
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This campaign represents a coordinated effort to increase the number of people who check their credit reports regularly. The goal is to help people understand why it is important to check their credit reports, how to obtain a truly free report, and then how to interpret the reports, which are often difficult to read. The […]
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Financial coaching is a promising approach to helping individuals work towards their financial goals, but the availability of coaching is limited. In order to expand the public’s access to financial coaching, the University of Wisconsin-Extension started training new coaches in 2010. The training workshops are open to anyone interested in coaching. This brief provides an […]
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Student loan debt has attracted widespread media attention due to recent increases in the amount of student loan debt in the US and the growing share of all household debt that student loans account for. This brief reviews these trends for Wisconsin, discusses the balance between taking on too much versus too little debt, and […]
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Military families have some special things to consider when working on their finances. Families need to financially prepare for deployment and develop strategies to stay financially healthy during and after deployment. Programs specifically designed to support military families with mortgage debt, disability, and saving will be discussed. Resources: Financial Issues for Military Families Brief On-line […]
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This brief summarizes research about how children learn about personal financial topics, with an emphasis on in-school financial education. Issue Brief Financial Literacy Education for Children mp3 file* Financial Literacy Education for Children (April 9, 2012) *Listen now or download the audio file to an mp3 player for later listening by following the steps on […]
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This brief begins with a broad overview of the economic challenges survivors of domestic violence face. It then highlights early research on enhancing survivors’ financial capability. The brief concludes with takeaways from leading researchers and practitioners as well as a list of curricula and other resources. Issue Brief Financial Capability and Domestic Violence […]
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How can an educator select Personal Financial Education curriculum from what is available? This brief offers an example of one way to systematically compare educational materials based on the intended use. As an example of how this process can work four sets of materials—all available online—were downloaded and analyzed using a matrix of core competencies. […]
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Professionals working in communities often seek data that helps direct and define financial capability building strategies. But local level data on consumer and household economic trends is not widely available. This brief offers an overview of ten potential indicators as well as a few tools available online including those specifically for the state of Wisconsin. […]
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This Issue Brief highlights technology tools for promoting positive financial behaviors. Financial Education strategies using new technology and social media are discussed in the brief and during the lunchtime learning conversation on August 8. Issue Brief Using New Technologies and Social Media for Financial Education
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