New Government Web Site Focuses on Financial Literacy

As it becomes more widely known, the enhanced www.MyMoney.gov will undoubtedly help many viewers get a better grasp on their financial lives. For wealth managers, the Web site could serve as one element in what many attest is their ongoing effort to educate even their more sophisticated clientele about financial matters. Perhaps more important, it provides a resource for educating the children of their affluent clients. The site has an excellent section focused on "Youth"–a kind of Finance 101 for the 12-to-20 age group approaching the time when they will take responsibility for their financial lives.

FLEC, which was established under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, was mandated to develop a national financial education Web site as well as a hotline (1-888-My Money) and a national strategy on financial education. The Secretary of the Treasury chairs the commission. FLEC comprises 20 other federal agencies: the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; the Office of Thrift Supervision; the Federal Reserve; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; the National Credit Union Administration; the Securities and Exchange Commission; the Departments of Education, Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Veterans Affairs; the Federal Trade Commission; the General Services Administration; the Small Business Administration; the Social Security Administration; the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; the Office of Personnel Management and its newest member, the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Michael S. Fischer ([email protected]) is a New York-based financial writer and editor and a frequent contributor to Wealth Manager.