Callahan Celebrates Financial Wellness

April is National Financial Literacy Month, and credit unions everywhere are celebrating. That&’;s important because according to the Credit Union National Association, 41% of Americans give themselves a score of C, D, or F in personal financial management and 61% do not have a budget.

So, what are credit unions doing to rectify that? Here are just a few initiatives:

• Taleris Credit Union, which provided the above statistics, dedicates a page on its website to financial resources where members can get help with buying a car, learn howto request their free credit report, start planning for college, and more.
• The Cornerstone Credit Union Foundation has partnered with the National Credit Union Foundation for a Financial Fitness Day fundraiser and awareness campaign featuringcausal days for credit union employees and baked goodies for sale.
• In addition to hosting its own Financial Fitness Day, the Northwest Credit Union Association is also sponsoring a series of Financial Reality Fairsat local high schools in April, May, and June.
• The Mississippi Credit Union Association is no fan of the fact a WalletHub study ranked the state 51st out of 51 for financial knowledge and education as well as planning and behavior.So, the organization is taking Aprilto tout all the ways in which the state&’;s credit unions are tackling financial literacy, including reality fairs, in-school branches,counseling, and more.
• The Michigan Credit Union League & Affiliates donated thousands of copies of the book A Dollar For Penny todonate to families attending a Money Smart Week library reading. It&’;s also encouraging the state&’;s credit unions to offer supplementalactivities to help teach children the value of money and how to save.

Callahan&’;s Strategy Lab is a great way to help leadership teams think outside the box while staying inside the credit union’s four walls. There’s even team learning experiences for financial wellness. Find out if this program is a fit for you.

For our part, the staff at Callahan & Associates wants to share our top 10 all-time favorite CreditUnions.com coverage of financial wellness.

1. A Strategy To Build Financial Wellness And The Bottom Line: Chicago-area KCT Credit Union deepens relationships and cross-sellsmember-friendly products and services via regular debt checkups.
2. Financial Wellness In America [infographic]: One-third of Americans have no retirement savings and many are unbanked, but creditunions are changing that.
3. Help Members Achieve Savings Goals: Seeing low levels of financial resiliency, Patelco Credit Union created products to help membersmeet their short-, medium-, and long-term goals.
4. 3 Investment Strategies For 3 Life Stages: Generations Community explains a three-pronged plan to catch members early and help them investfor life.
5. Credit Counseling Gives Members A Second Chance: Charlotte Metro breaks the cycle of growing debt by addressing the root cause of it.
6. Financial Freedom For Service Members: Pacific Marine uses a range of products to help members avoid payday lenders andbuild their credit.
7. Matched Savings Helps Borrowers Buy Homes: Hudson Valley FCU uses a Federal Home Loan Bank of New York program to increasehomeownership among its low-income members.
8. What’s In A Credit Score?: Truths about credit scores and tips on how to improve them.
9. 5 Steps To Start A Savings Race: An annual competition for families to improve their finances boosts one credit union&’;s business and its standingin the community.
10. 4 Tips To Make Gamification Work For Members: There&’;s no secret code to control members&’; actions, but gamification canstill help credit unions encourage financially sound behavior.
11. **BONUS** Turn Financial Wellness Talk Into Action: The need for credit unions has perhaps never beengreater for the average American household.

Don’t miss out. We’ve unlocked these exclusive archived selections for the month. Read them now before it’s too late.

And, as always, every day is a great day to celebrate financial wellness. Drop us note in the comments below and tell us what your credit union is doing.