Institute of Consumer Financial Education

ICFE eNEWS #17-26 - July 6th 2017 ICFE E-NEWS Consumer Alert What's Being Removed From My Credit Report? By John L. Culhane, Jr. on January 5th, 2017...Continue reading

ICFE eNEWS #17-25 - June 29, 2017 Determining Wants From Needs: Five Need-Producing Attitudes By Jim Garnett, a/k/a Ask Mr.G, a member of the ICFE's Board of Educational Advisors...Continue reading

ICFE eNEWS #17-24 - June 25th 2017 ICFE Showing Young People How to Spend! The National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education recently presented the U.S. findings for 15 year-old youths at a meeting on financial literacy. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin emphasized the importance of financial education at all stages of life in helping Americans make "independent financial decisions and informed choices" and to become "financially capable, at all ag...Continue reading

ICFE eNEWS #17-23 - June 15th 2017 ICFE Certified Master Consumer Credit Care Specialist Awarded to Jeffrey Major, Market Manager with Pioneer Services-Mid County Bank in Colorado Springs, CO ICFE Certified Master Consumer Credit Care Specialist - CCCCSJeffrey Major Photo... Jeffrey Major, a Market Manager with Pioneer Services a Division of MidCountry Bank in Colorado Springs, CO was awarded the ICFE'’'s Certified Master Consumer Credit Care Specialist (which consists of four courses and earns 20 AFCPE CEs): Certified Credit Report Reviewer - CCRR Certified Credit Repair Specialist - CCRS Certified Credit Scoring Specialist - CCSS Certified Debt Collection Compliance Specialist DCCS Jeffrey has over 10 years of financial counseling and coaching experience and 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Achieving ICFE certifications signifies Jeffrey Major has met exacting education, examination and experience requirements and it shows his commitment to the highest professional and ethical standards - qualities that are highly valued by today's consumers. Attaining the ICFE Certifications adds to an individual's own marketability. Top people in the personal financial education, credit and debt counseling and military counselors are among the 5000 ICFE certificants who recognize the distinct advantages for their constituents by earning one or more ICFE Certifications. One way to set yourself above and apart from the crowd and show you possess the energy and drive to be a leader in the financial counseling and education fields is to earn ICFE Certifications. For more information visit the continuing education credits (CEU) page.

ICFE eNEWS #17-22 - June 12th 2017 Identity Theft Risk Management and Cyber-Security: Connecting the Dots By Yan Ross, Director of Special Projects, ICFE...Continue reading

ICFE eNEWS #17-21 - June 7th 2017 ICFE Certified Master Consumer Credit Care Specialist Awarded to Kathleen Caffarelli of ID Watchdog in Denver, CO Kathleen Caffarelli, Operations Manager with ID Watchdog since January 2015 was awarded the ICFE'’'s Certified Master Consumer Credit Care Specialist (which consists of four courses and earns 20 AFCPE CEs):... Certified Credit Report Reviewer - CCRR Certified Credit Repair Specialist - CCRS Certified Credit Scoring Specialist - CCSS Certified Debt Collection Compliance Specialist DCCS Kathleen Caffarelli has 35 years of call center expertise and customer care operations leadership experience. She is also an ICFE Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist XV - CITRMSXV. Achieving ICFE certifications signifies Ms. Caffarelli has met exacting education, examination and experience requirements and it shows her commitment to the highest professional and ethical standards - qualities that are highly valued by today's consumers. Attaining the ICFE Certifications adds to an individual's own marketability. Top people in the personal financial education, credit and debt counseling and military counselors are among the 5000 ICFE certificants who recognize the distinct advantages for their constituents by earning one or more ICFE Certifications. One way to set yourself above and apart from the crowd and show you possess the energy and drive to be a leader in the financial counseling and education fields is to earn ICFE Certifications. For more information visit the continuing education credits (CEU) page.

ICFE eNEWS #17-20 - May 31st 2017 My Three Most Important Financial Tips For Graduates By Jim Garnett, a/k/a Ask Mr.G, a member of the ICFE's Board of Educational Advisors...Continue reading

ICFE eNEWS #17-19 - May 22nd 2017 Federal Trade Commission Blog: "Most ID Theft Victims Don't Need a Police Report" By Yan Ross, Director of Special Projects, ICFE...Continue reading

ICFE eNEWS #17-18 - May 4th 2017 Penn Corner - FTC update Penn News for April / May 2017...Continue reading

ICFE eNEWS #17-17 - May 1st 2017 Ask Mr G's "10 Tips for Dumping Debt" If you want to get rid of debt, here are some great tips! By Jim Garnett, a/k/a Ask Mr.G, a member of the ICFE's Board of Educational Advisors... 1. Choose to live differently. I like Dave Ramsey's philosophy: "Live like you must live now, so you can live like you want to live later." Dumping debt begins with a determined attitude which then compels us to definite actions. 2. Stop creating debt. Stop using your credit cards, stop borrowing, and live within your means. 3. Spend less than you make. If you are running out of money before you run out of month, you are spending more than you make. Click here to download my "Debt Doctor Budget Sheet" to help you decide how much and where to reduce your spending. 4. Avoid going into debt to pay off debt. Borrowing to pay off debt requires no change in your spending habits and therefore, does not produce long-lasting results. It is similar to digging a hole in your front yard to fill in a hole in your back yard. 5. "Snowball" your debt payments. List all your monthly payments and keep paying at least that minimum on each debt. Soon you will be paying more than is required, and the extra amount will be placed on the principle. As one debt is paid off, transfer that payment to another debt, until eventually you are making payments on only the final few debts. These payments will be much larger than the minimum required, with the extra going to principle. Some people prefer to pay off the smaller debts first, others will pay first the ones with the highest interest rates. 6. Fund an emergency savings account. Quickly acquire $1000 in an emergency savings account, and fund it each paycheck with an automatic payroll deduction. After acquiring $1000 in the account, then shoot for three months income in the account, then six months. We will either pay for emergencies by planning ahead, or we will pay for them by using credit and going into debt. 7. Get your credit report. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and get a free credit report. Take care of any delinquent debts, and dispute any information that is incorrect. 8. Use automatic payments. Pay as many things (including savings) as you can with electronic, automatic payments. What we do not see or touch, we do not spend. 9. Focus on getting out of debt instead of just creating tax deductions. The deduction for $5000 of interest paid on a home mortgage entitles you to no more than $1250 savings on your taxes. Ask yourself, "Would I rather have the $1250 tax savings or have $5000 in my hand from not paying mortgage interest because my house is paid off?" If I want deductions, I will give more to charities instead of giving interest payments to banks. 10. Commit future monies to debt reduction. Make the decision right now that at least 75% of any raises, bonuses, tax refunds, or any other additional income will go to dumping your debt.

CFE eNEWS #17-13 - April 3rd 2017 Ask Mr G's "How Credit Savvy Are You?" By Jim Garnett, a/k/a Ask Mr.G, a member of the ICFE's Board of Educational Advisors...Continue reading

ICFE eNEWS #17-11 - March 7th 2017 10 Things You Should Know About Debt Settlement By Jim Garnett, a/k/a Ask Mr.G, a member of the ICFE's Board of Educational Advisors...Continue reading

ICFE eNEWS #17-09 - March 1st 2017 How Do We Get Teens To Care About Their Financial Future? U.S. Lags in International Financial Literacy (from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)) ...Continue reading