New from the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse! |
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Happy March! Spring is in the air and flowers are starting to bloom! We hope this newsletter finds dads and the providers who serve them happy and healthy. March is National Credit Education Month, which means there is no better time to educate yourself and others on the importance of understanding the ins and outs of your credit score and being financially responsible. The pandemic has hit some families hard and many may be facing financial insecurity. It is important, especially during hard times, to try and keep your credit secure and to stay out of debt as much as possible.
Did you know that one in five Americans find errors on their credit reports and that more than 90% of home and auto insurers use credit ratings to decide whom to cover and what premiums to charge? And credit card debt is high in the United States—it passed the $1 trillion (that’s a T!) in 2019. The average American household with a credit card owes over $8,000.
It’s to your advantage to actively monitor your credit score as well as educate yourself on how to properly manage it. Having good credit starts with financial literacy, so this month we will share resources on how dads can be financially healthy as well as resources you can use with your children to help improve their financial literacy. They are never too young to start learning, and it starts with you.
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Did you know more young adults aged 20-24 declare bankruptcy than graduate from college? Credit cards are the biggest contributor to this. One reason many young Americans have poor credit may be that their state educational system is not developing financially literate graduates. Check if your state is making the grade.
Parents also need to teach their children about saving money, wise spending, and how to build good credit sooner rather than later. The Guide to Securing Your Child’s Credit Future was designed to empower parents with a helpful step-by-step process that will provide you with the tools you need to ensure that your children develop a healthy relationship with credit and understand financial literacy by the time they graduate. This guide is a great resource for all parents, but it is particularly useful for parents who may feel that they don’t know enough about finances and credit-related concepts to teach their children. Even parents who have no financial education or experience with finances, or who have personal struggles with debt, can successfully use this guide.
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If you are a single dad, your kids are likely dependent on you for most of their physical, emotional, and financial needs. The current coronavirus pandemic may have amplified those needs and you may be feeling even more overwhelmed if your job stability is up in the air. All of this in addition to the fact that you may need to balance working from home with supporting your kids while they school from home, not to mention increased grocery and utility bills. Tips on how to manage those increasing costs and other impacts of the pandemic while continuing to make meaningful memories with your kids might be a help right now. Check out The Good Men Project’s Financial Literacy Tips for a Single Dad in an Economic Crisis. It provides some great advice for keeping it together financially during these trying times.
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Do you have very young children? Your money choices directly impact their understanding of money and how to save or spend it, so it’s important to model behaviors that lead to sound money choices for your children. Sesame Street for Kids has developed Finances for Kids: For Me, for You, for Later: First Steps to Spending, Sharing, and Saving, simple activities about making good choices; what has value; and spending, sharing, and saving. Over time you'll see that, through everyday conversations and fun activities, you can help your child grow up to make good financial decisions. Materials are also available in Spanish.
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The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) believes that “incorporating stronger attention to strengthening financial capability can help families succeed economically, and can help human services programs better accomplish their goals. ACF encourages a broad range of ACF-supported programs to highlight the importance of financial capability in their programs and to consider how they can structure their services and activities to strengthen financial capability among the populations they serve. |
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One way programs that serve dads can provide financial capacity building is to assist fathers with filing their taxes and making them aware of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). If they qualify, the EITC can provide tax benefits for fathers and families. It is intended to reduce the amount of tax owed by working people with low to moderate income and can often lead to a refund. However, many people don’t know that the EITC exists or they don’t check to see if they are eligible when completing their taxes. Stay up to date on the EITC by visiting this DadTalk Blog and share information with the dads you serve.
Another financial resource is MyMoney.gov, which provides information and links to a collection of federal guides and curricula for teaching financial capability concepts to dads. This collection is designed specifically for teachers and educators, including those who work with children as well as practitioners who teach adults. Also, Bringing Attention to Financial Capability in Human Services Programs provides programs with resources to help educate families on financial capability.
Lastly, the Financial Empowerment Training for Social Service Programs: A Scan of Communifty Based Initiatives is a resource that resulted from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) effort to learn what tools local service providers need to help their clients increase their financial capabilities. In creating this resource, the CFPB explored how programs have succeeded--or struggled--in providing training, tools, and resources to change case manager and client behavior. So this resource provides invaluable information for programs offering, or wanting to offer, financial literacy services to clients.
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Disclaimer: Reference to specific products, services, or companies does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the U.S. Government, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), or the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse. ACF is not responsible for the contents of “off-site” web page references or for any private, third-party, pop-up, or browser-integrated software or applications. |
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Upcoming Events
NRFC is monitoring events and will update our website and in newsletters if events are canceled.
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Our Mission: The goals of the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse are to provide, facilitate, and disseminate current research and proven and innovative strategies that will encourage and strengthen fathers and families and providers of services.
Our Resources: Visit the NRFC website for fatherhood topics and tools, news, and new publications, which can be found through the NRFC online library search.
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