Measuring financial well-being: A guide to using the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale

"Following a rigorous research effort to develop a consumer-driven definition of financial well-being, the CFPB developed and tested a set of questions–a “scale”–to measure financial well-being. The scale is designed to allow practitioners and researchers to accurately and consistently quantify, and therefore observe, something that is not directly observable–the extent to which someone’s financial situation and the financial capability that they have developed provide them with security and freedom of choice. This guide describes the research behind the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale and provides detailed steps for using it, including how to score individuals’ responses and compare their scores.

Take a look at the user guide...:
Financial well-being

Today we begin to share the story of your complaints

"Every day, we hear directly from the American public about your experiences in the consumer financial marketplace. We hear from consumers in their own words about the pain of having a home in foreclosure, the frustration of trying to correct an inaccurate credit report, or their helplessness in dealing with an abusive debt collector.

Today, for the first time, we are making consumers’ complaint narratives – the heart and soul of the complaints we receive – public. These narratives are important because they tell the story of what happened in the consumers’ own words. Making these consumer narratives public, amplifies the voice of the consumer..."
Consumer finance complaints

Data Point: Credit Invisibles

"Consumers with limited credit histories reflected in the credit records maintained by the three nationwide credit reporting agencies (NCRAs) face significant challenges in accessing most credit markets.1 NCRA records are often used by lenders when making credit decisions. In particular, lenders often use credit scores, such as one of the FICO or VantageScore scores, that are derived entirely from NCRA records when deciding whether to approve a loan application or in setting a loan’s interest rate. If a consumer does not have a credit record with one of the NCRAs or if the record contains insufficient information to assess her creditworthiness, lenders are much less likely to extend credit. As a result, consumers with limited credit histories can face substantially reduced access to credit.."
credit, consumer finance

Your Money, Your Goals: Financial empowerment tools for social services

"Many people feel overwhelmed by their financial situations, and they may not know where to go for help. For many low-income Americans, frontline staff of nonprofit and public social services programs are in a unique position to provide that help.
Their clients already know and trust them, and in many cases, they’re already sharing financial information with them. Social workers and case managers know, however, that the financial stresses clients face may interfere with their progress toward other goals, like finding and keeping secure housing, staying in school, or even landing a job. As they make progress toward those goals, financial missteps can often erase their hard-fought gains.
That’s why social services programs across the country are taking steps to integrate financial empowerment into the work they do each day with their clients. To support their efforts, we’ve developed and field-tested a toolkit for financial services programs called Your Money, Your Goals..."

Consumer finance

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Follow the activities of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on its newly created web site. The agency was created in 2010 with the passage of the The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. "The central mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is to make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans—whether they are applying for a mortgage, choosing among credit cards, or using any number of other consumer financial product."