Money Smart Training Program
| Word File | PowerPoint |
|---|---|
| Your Rights Your rights as a consumer |
Your Rights Your rights as a consumer |
| Bank On It An introduction to bank services |
Bank On It An introduction to bank services |
| Check It Out How to choose and keep a checking account |
Check It Out How to choose and keep a checking account |
| Money Matters How to keep track of your money |
Money Matters How to keep track of your money |
| Pay Yourself First Why you should save, save, save |
Pay Yourself First Why you should save, save, save |
| Borrowing Basics An introduction to credit |
Borrowing Basics An introduction to credit |
| Loan To Own Know what you're borrowing before you buy |
Loan To Own Know what you're borrowing before you buy |
| Charge It Right How to make a credit card work for you |
Charge It Right How to make a credit card work for you |
| To Your Credit How your credit history will affect your credit future |
To Your Credit How your credit history will affect your credit future |
| Your Own Home What home ownership is all about |
Your Own Home What home ownership is all about |
An Adult Education Program
Money Smart is a training program to help high school students and adults outside the financial mainstream enhance their money skills and create positive banking relationships.
Financial education fosters financial stability for individuals and for entire communities. The more people know about credit and banking services, the more likely they are to increase savings, buy homes, and improve their financial health and well being. The Money Smart curriculum helps individuals build financial knowledge, develop financial confidence, and use banking services effectively.
The Money Smart program may be used by high school teachers, banks, and other organizations interested in sponsoring financial education workshops. Collaboration is important to the success of any education effort. The Indiana Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) & FDIC encourages banks to work with others in their communities and teachers to deliver financial education and appropriate financial services to individuals who may be unfamiliar with the benefits of having a relationship with an insured depository institution.
The Money Smart program can help banks fulfill part of their Community Reinvestment Act obligations. The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA) encourages federally insured banks and thrifts to help meet the credit needs of their entire community, including areas of low-and moderate-income. When a bank 's CRA performance is reviewed, the institution 's efforts to provide financial education and other retail services are a positive consideration.
The Money Smart program is a set of 10 instructor-led training modules covering basic financial topics. The subject matter begins with a description of consumer rights laws and deposit and credit services offered by banks and moves progressively to topics such as choosing and maintaining a checking account, the mechanics of budgeting, the importance of saving, and how to obtain and use credit effectively.
Each training module includes a comprehensive guide for instructors and a take-home booklet containing highlights and resource material for class participants. The instructor guides have everything necessary to begin teaching the program right away -easy to follow cues and script, overheads, PowerPoint Slide Presentations and interactive class exercises. The booklets for participants are provided in Word and Adobe in a camera-ready format so that each sponsoring organization can reproduce them as needed.
The Money Smart program is designed to consume about 60 minutes of classroom time per module. A few topics, such as the module covering laws and checking accounts, are longer.
The Money Smart curriculum is provided to interested parties free of charge. Word files, Adobe, and PowerPoint Slide Presentations for Overheads are furnished, the materials are easily reproduced and have no copyright restrictions.
The Money Smart Training Modules
While the modules as listed here increase in complexity, they may be presented in any order or in any combination depending upon the interests and knowledge level of the targeted audience.
- Money Smart was designed by educational experts.
- It is easy to teach and easy to learn.
- It was designed to be flexible; it can be taught in its entirety, or specific modules can be used to fill in the gaps in other financial education programs.
- It is not copyrighted, thus encouraging reproduction and wide dissemination.
- It carries the FDIC seal.
- It is designed to move adults into healthy banking relationships.
- Banks can receive Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) credit for their involvement in offering Money Smart in their communities.
- It is free to users.
