The Casper Journal :: Casper's Community Newspaper

A popular comedian once said that the average person’s understanding of high finance consists of knowing his or her ATM code.

Unfortunately, that is all too true. And it is one of the reasons why Uncle Sam launched a website devoted to financial education.

The Financial Literacy and Education Commission, which was created by law, has established a website and a toll-free telephone number to coordinate the presentation of educational materials from more than 20 federal agencies that deal with financial issues. The mymoney.gov website is dedicated to helping Americans understand more about their money n how to save it, invest it and manage it to meet their personal goals.

Mymoney.gov allows visitors to quickly find any number of financial topics of interest to them. Clicking on a topic redirects consumers to a categorized list of links that offer specific information on a topic—such as retirement planning, a favorite subject for those of us at Social Security. For example, the retirement planning section has links to information from the Department of Agriculture on “Financial Security in Later Life,” from the IRS on “Individual Retirement Arrangements,” from the Department of Labor on the “Top 10 Ways to Beat the Clock and Prepare for Retirement,” from the Federal Trade Commission on “Living Trust Offers,” and, of course, from Social Security on any number of retirement planning topics. And there is a related topics section on saving and investing money, with more than a dozen worthwhile links.

Also, there is a free "My Money" tool kit that has information to help you choose and use credit cards, get out of debt, protect your credit record, understand your Social Security benefits, insure your bank deposits and start a savings and investing plan. Just visit www.mymoney.gov to find out more. Or you can call 1-888-696-6639 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. eastern time (except federal holidays).

(Public Affairs Specialist Mike Baksa may be reached at michael.baksa@ssa.gov)

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