The lack of personal finance education in this country has proven to be devastating.

It has led to many people racking up credit card and student loan debt, living paycheck to paycheck, and not saving enough for retirement. It has resulted in people not being able to buy a home or, in some cases, not able to put enough food on the table.

As a country, we’ve seen millions of Americans, with a general lack of financial planning, struggle every day with their money, only to wind up deep in debt.

Various industry research found that 2 on 3 families lack any type of emergency savings; 78% of adults live paycheck to paycheck, and 3 in 5 adults do not maintain a monthly budget.

In March, Americans started receiving the third and latest round of federal COVID-19 financial relief through the Economic Impact Payments (EIP) distributed through the American Rescue Plan. Yet, millions of eligible individuals still haven’t received the first and second payments – and likely won’t receive the third – unless they file a 2020 tax return or tax extension by May 17, 2021.

Our updated webpage provides a comprehensive overview of all three EIP payments and commonly asked questions, including how much you’re eligible to receive, how to claim your payments, how to choose whether or not to change your dependent status, and how to talk with your bank or credit union if they’ve used your payments to cover overdrawn accounts due to fees or purchases.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced it is rescinding seven policy statements issued last year that provided temporary flexibilities to financial institutions in consumer financial markets including mortgages, credit reporting, credit cards and prepaid cards. The seven rescissions, effective April 1, provide guidance to financial institutions on complying with their legal and regulatory obligations. With the rescissions, the CFPB is providing notice that it intends to exercise the full scope of the supervisory and enforcement authority provided under the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB is also rescinding its 2018 bulletin on supervisory communications and replacing it with a revised bulletin describing its use of matters requiring attention (MRAs) to effectively convey supervisory expectations.

“We are now over a year into the disruptive and deadly COVID-19 crisis. The virus has affected industry as well as consumers, but individuals and families have been hardest-hit by the pandemic’s health and economic impacts,” said CFPB Acting Director Dave Uejio. “Providing regulatory flexibility to companies should not come at the expense of consumers. Because many financial institutions have developed more robust remote capabilities and demonstrated improved operations, it is no longer prudent to maintain these flexibilities. The CFPB’s first priority, today and always, is protecting consumers from harm.”

Read more at The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rescinded seven policy statements issued last year that provided temporary flexibilities to financial institutions during the pandemic.

The rescinded policy statements – issued between March 26 through June 3 of last year – were designed to provide financial institutions with flexibility regarding certain regulatory filings or compliance with consumer financial laws and regulations. In rescinding them, the Bureau said the financial institutions have had a year to adapt their operations to the difficulties posed by the pandemic.

“We are now over a year into the disruptive and deadly COVID-19 crisis. The virus has affected industry as well as consumers, but individuals and families have been hardest-hit by the pandemic’s health and economic impacts,” CFPB Acting Director Dave Uejio said. “Providing regulatory flexibility to companies should not come at the expense of consumers. Because many financial institutions have developed more robust remote capabilities and demonstrated improved operations, it is no longer prudent to maintain these flexibilities.”

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A coalition of lawmakers and financial services advocates joined together to announce landmark legislation that would offer zero-cost, zero-penalty bank accounts to all Californians, it was announced in a statement Tuesday.

The California Public Banking Option Act (AB 1177), also known as BankCal, creates public banking legislation with existing financial institutions to close the widening racial wealth gap fueled by the exclusion of low-wage communities of color from basic banking services.

BankCal would be the first statewide program in the nation that offers residents access to a no-fee, no-penalty bank account that includes debit cards, automatic bill pay, direct deposit capacity and a platform for account holders to build credit.

New data shows auto loans lasting longer than 73 months are on the rise big time.

At the end of 2020, the average price for a new car ticked past $40,000 for the first time. In the first quarter of this year, the average price fell, but still hung around $38,000. To meet rising car prices, Americans continue to extend auto loan terms even further, and new data from TrueCar released at the end of March shows the trend in full swing.

Since February 2020, the number of Americans who financed a car for 84 months grew by 13%, but the number of auto loans with a term greater than 72 months now make up 30% of all loans. It's simple to see why car buyers are so tempted to take the longer-term loans, however.

Approximately 63 million Americans are either unbanked or underbanked, according to a report by the Federal Reserve. That means they don't use banks to make financial transactions like cashing checks, saving money or applying for credit.

That's because some are discouraged from opening accounts due to high fees. Others don't trust financial institutions. But being outside of the banking system can leave people vulnerable, especially during a pandemic where many retailers and businesses are relying on cashless transactions.

How do the unbanked or underbanked financially navigate living in the U.S.? And what does an increasingly cashless future look like for them?