Blog

 I am fascinated by the field of behavioral economics, which is a good thing since my job at Military Saves revolves around motivating service members to save. Recently, while researching something else entirely, I came across an interesting chapter on mental accounting -- “Addition by Division: Partitioning Real Accounts for...

July 22, 2019

 Karen Lynn Poff, MPA, AFC® has served as a Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent with Virginia Cooperative Extension since 1987. Following the economic downturn in 2008, she launched the Northern Shenandoah Valley Financial Education Program to help individuals and families learn to manage their finances effectively. Since then, she...

July 19, 2019

Victoria Lowell is a financial coach, which – in her words – is much like a life coach, a pitching coach, or swim coach. She is also an AFCPE® Member and AFC® candidate who is passionate about empowering women with the knowledge and skills to take a leading role in...

July 12, 2019

 What makes people unhappy with their credit cards?  Surprisingly, it’s not the interest charges.  This paper finds that what causes people stress and dissatisfaction with their credit cards has to do with how they use the cards more than how much the cards actually wind up costing.  Being late on...

July 03, 2019

 Shay James is a CPA who specializes in helping people save money, save their business, or save their relationships. She does this through a variety of strategies, most recently adding the AFC® certification to her professional arsenal of resources.AFCPE: What led you to a career in personal finance?Shay: My journey...

June 28, 2019

 This study develops a general method for evaluating changes in response relating to students’ perceptions of personal finance and financial products using data from a sample of 1,250 students aged 16-18 who participated in a financial capability education study in the UK. We find significant changes in the responses of...

June 26, 2019

 Dionne Blanks, AFC® specializes in helping her clients crush debt, increase savings, and build wealth through good management skills and an effective money mindset. She accomplishes this by working with her clients to establish customized cash flow plans for their household.AFCPE: What inspired you to pursue a career in personal...

June 21, 2019

 In Volume 30 (1) of the Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning (JFCP), Hoa Thi Nguyen’s paper presents the development and validation of a Financial Self-Efficacy Scale that was tested with women in the United States. The Women's Financial Self-Efficacy Scale (WFSES) showed good evidence of reliability and validity. Its...

June 19, 2019

Katherine Sauer, PhD is Vice President, Research and Programs for National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). She oversees educational programs, as well as research and strategic impact at a national nonprofit devoted to financial capability. In addition to financial health, she is also passionate about mental and physical health. Learn...

June 14, 2019

 Todd Christensen, AFC® is a financial educator and counselor who works with students and clients of all ages to manage their money on a day-to-day basis. Todd helps people use financial tools for building their financial hopes and dreams, while also guiding them along their path to financial stability, security,...

June 07, 2019

 Ambus Hunter IV is a personal finance educator who helps people understand their relationship with money and how finances intersect with the other essential elements of well-being: physical, career, social, and community. Ambus is passionate about helping people find balance in life, and money plays a large role in that....

May 24, 2019

Being unbanked makes it difficult for low and moderate-income (LMI) households to manage finances, save, and access credit. In this study, we assessed effects of an online tax-time savings intervention on savings account openings in the 6 months following tax filing among a sample of 4,692 LMI tax filers. New research...

May 15, 2019