Do you want to learn how to save, invest, and manage your money better?
This is the first post of a series I’ll be doing on government and other public sources of solid financial information. I’ve added a category called Financial Information Resources which will contain all of the posts in the series. I’ll be characterizing and rating the sites based on the type of information they have as well as how valuable I found it to be. So without further delay, my guide to Financial Information Resources:
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Site: MyMoney.gov
Provider: US Government
Type of information: General personal finance info including: Budgeting & Taxes, Credit, Financial Planning, Home Ownership, Paying for Education, Privacy, Fraud, & Scams, Responding To Life Events, Retirement Planning, Saving & Investing, Starting A Small Business
Languages: English and Spanish
Synopsis: The US Federal Government has developed a surprisingly good (if somewhat basic) reference site for financial information and to promote financial literacy. The impetus behind this was the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACT Act) of 2003. The information may seem like common sense to many of us who have taken it upon ourselves to become more educated about our money but in my opinion is a great place to start if you’re just now taking charge of your financial life.
My Ranking: 4.0/5 - The site provides a large collection of information regarding personal finance. The more advanced stuff is missing but isn’t really something I would expect to see here.
In the site’s words:
MyMoney.gov is the U.S. government’s website dedicated to teaching all Americans the basics about financial education. Whether you are planning to buy a home, balancing your checkbook, or investing in your 401k, the resources on MyMoney.gov can help you do it better. Throughout the site, you will find important information from 20 federal agencies government wide.
About the site.
Title V of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACT Act) established the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (Commission) with the purpose of improving the financial literacy and education of persons in the United States. To reach the widest number of people possible, the Commission established a website and a toll-free telephone number to coordinate the presentation of educational materials from across the spectrum of federal agencies that deal with financial issues and markets.
I’ve ordered their MyMoney Toolkit, will review it’s contents when I receive it.