Training Videos
We've put together some tutorials on the $Goal$: Financial Action Tracker and the Focus Card. You can view the full list of videos by visiting our YouTube channel.
$GOAL$: Financial Action Tracker
$Goal$: Financial Action Tracker App Client App Tutorial
$Goal$: Financial Action Tracker Coach's Portal Tutorial
$Goal$: Financial Action Tracker Coordinator's Portal Tutorial
Focus Card
Know Your Customer (KYC)
Economic Justice
Recommended Resources
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Read our blog post on guaranteed income here.
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Navigating the Promise and Pitfalls of Debt Consolidation? Read this Prosperity Now brief, and find similar resources on our insights page.
We also recommend the following briefs:
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Centering Blackness: The Path to Economic Liberation for All
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Harnessing the Power of Banks: The Community Reinvestment Act and Building an Inclusive Economy
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Here to Stay: Promoting Financial Security and Economic Opportunity for Immigrants in California
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Making Safety Affordable: Why Intimate Partner Violence is an Asset-Building Issue
We frequently share economic justice resources on our Twitter feed. Follow us @CmntyFnclRsrcs for the most up to date information.
Smart Banking
7 SIMPLE STEPS TO MOVE YOUR CHECKING ACCOUNT
If you decide to move your account from a large commercial bank to a community bank or credit union, here’s a helpful checklist.
1. Open Your New Account
In most cases, you should be able open a checking account with an initial deposit of $25 to $100. Many prepaid debit card accounts require no initial deposit. At a credit union, you’ll also become a member and co-owner at the same time.
2. Order New Checks and an ATM/Debit Card
These typically arrive within 1 to 2 weeks.
3. Ask Your Employer/Benefits Administrator to Reroute Your Direct Deposit
When you open your new account, ask the bank or credit union for a direct deposit authorization form that includes your new account information. Give this form to your employer and anyone else who makes direct deposits to your account. It may take one or more pay cycles for the change to be made, so keep your old checking account open and watch for the switch.
4. Contact Companies that Direct-Debit Your Account
Using your last bank statement, make a list of any businesses that you’ve authorized to directly debit your account. Ask your new bank or credit union for an automatic payments authorization form that includes your new account information. Send this to the businesses on your list.
5. Set-up Online Bill Paying for Your New Account
If you like to pay bills online, set up bill payment information for your new account. Also, stop any automatic, recurring payments you have established through your old account.
6. Close Your Old Account
Once you have started receiving direct deposits into your new account and are sure that there are no outstanding checks or automatic debits that need to clear, close your old account. Warning: do not just withdraw the last dollar and assume the account will fade away on its own. Your old big bank may start charging you fees for having an empty or inactive checking account. Instead,
follow the bank’s procedure for closing out the account.
7. Enjoy your new local banking relationship!
This is a revised checklist. The original was produced by the New Rules Project’s Community Banking Initiative.
Visit https://banklocal.info/move-your-account for articles, graphs, studies, and more.
View as a PDF here.
Credit
Trying to figure out where to start on building your credit? Read the Credit Building Pathway that will help you navigate.
The CFPB's Your Money Your Goals have a few great sections on managing debt and understanding your credit.
Check your credit score at Credit Karma
Review your credit report at Annual Credit Report
Learn more about credit inquiries: Can you remove hard inquiries from your credit reports?
Other Tools
