#FridayFollow: Focus on the areas that light you up the most

Get to know new AFCPE Board Member, Jen Hemphill, AFC®! Jen has been active in the AFCPE community since 2008, when she became a FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellow. As an AFC, Jen is passionate about helping women become confident and take control of their money. As a board member,...

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#ResearchWednesday: Financial Knowledge, Confidence, Credit Use, & Financial Satisfaction

In our article, “Financial Knowledge, Confidence, Credit Use, and Financial Satisfaction” we investigate the associations between consumers’ confidence in their financial knowledge and their financial behaviors and financial satisfaction. We observe that in order for customers to use their financial knowledge when making credit card use decisions, they must be...

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How Credit Karma goes beyond credit

A woman who found her way out of a predatory car loan with guidance from Julie Tran, AFC®. A heart attack survivor with medical debt who started repairing his credit and created a plan to help him avoid bankruptcy with advice from Joshua Van Every, AFC® candidate. A young soldier who...

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#FridayFollow: From Ironing Dollar Bills to Leaving a Lasting Impact

Eve Pentecost, CFP® is an assistant professor at The University of Alabama, working with students from across the country – and even outside it – as they prepare for rewarding careers and enrich their knowledge in consumer affairs and financial planning. Her appreciation for money and how to treat it...

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#ResearchWednesday: Reframing Retirement Savings: Getting to Your Sustainable Lifestyle Level

Do not ask how much you need to save for your retirement, rather work out how much you can afford to spend now. Many people find it difficult to see themselves in retirement, and to estimate how much money they will need. This pushes them into denial, and they end...

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Student Loan Essentials

Student loans have become an important part of the advisor/client relationship. Most clients, and most advisors, however, find student loans confusing and difficult to manage. This post will walk you through the essentials that all advisors need to understand about student loans.  Types of Loans Student loans fall into one...

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Strengthen Your Financial Preparedness for Emergencies Big and Small

Disasters and emergencies take time, money and resources away from other priorities. So why aren’t we doing more to be prepared? In collaboration with the AFCPE, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has compiled financial preparedness resources on the AFCPE website for financial professionals to reference and review with clients...

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What to know about the new health reimbursement arrangements

Two new health reimbursement arrangements—the Individual Coverage HRA (ICHRA) and the Excepted Benefit HRA (EBHRA) are officially on the market, on the heels of a big push for flexibility and accessibility in the healthcare market. Looking to attract talent and make the most of their benefits budget, companies across the...

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#FridayFollow: Siblings with a Spirit to Serve

Carl and Carletha Windom are Accredited Financial Counselors® (AFC®) who have a spirit to serve. As siblings, the Windoms have a strong family history of military service. Their individual and collective experiences have given them an understanding of the unique challenges that military service members face, instilling a passion to...

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AFCPE Community: FTC offers you free client resources

AFCPE members and the FTC have a lot in common. As financial counselors, coaches, and educators, you work to help improve the economic well-being of individuals and families. As the nation’s consumer protection agency, the FTC also educates people across generations about issues that affect their daily lives, including their...

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First-Gen Financial Aid Tips: Understanding Some Infamous Acronyms

On Friday November 8, 2019 colleges and universities across the U.S. celebrated the 3rd annual First-Generation College Celebration Day!1 As a first-generation student who has worked with fellow first-generation students, I know there are many terms used in higher education whose meaning is not easily understood by every student and...

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#ResearchWednesday: How do money-lessons taught by family at an early age affect the development of money habits and skills?

Financial literacy has become a popular topic of study and research. For several years now, academics have advocated for more financial literacy education in schools, and public funding for other such programs. At face value, this seems like a good thing: the more financial education the better. But this assumes...

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