Latest news with #financial education
CNA
22-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Money Talks - MT Explains: Understanding the benefits of corporate insurance
Many jobs come with corporate insurance coverage but for those who want extra protection, they may consider paying for a personal insurance policy. Which policy should you claim first and how do you make the most out of your company insurance policy? Peggy Chan from the Institute for Financial Literacy shares what to look out for.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
7 credit score myths you should stop believing
If you've ever learned anything about credit scores from a friend, a family member, or social media, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you may have some unlearning to do. In my past role as an NFCC-certified credit counselor and my cumulative 12 years working as a financial educator, I've heard some bizarre myths and rumors about credit scores, a few of which are really popular. Sure, myths can be fun. But when it comes to credit scores, they have major consequences. Some of the most commonly held myths can leave you with perpetually low credit scores and make it hard for you to qualify for mortgages or credit cards. Here are the most common and harmful credit myths I've come across, and the truth you need to know about each one. This embedded content is not available in your region. Top credit score myths debunked 1. Checking your credit reports lowers your scores When I encourage people to pull their credit reports, I tend to hear the same response: "Won't that hurt my credit scores?" The answer is a firm "no!" The truth is, pulling your own credit reports does not hurt your credit scores at all. In fact, if you don't pull and review your reports, you may never be able to build good credit. That's because reviewing your reports helps you with all of the following: Finding out what's in your credit file Discovering what needs to be improved Finding and disputing credit report errors Catching signs of identity theft You can pull your credit reports for free once a week at 2. You need to carry a balance to build good credit I wish I had a dollar for every time someone told me that carrying a 30% credit card balance (that's a balance equal to 30% of your card limit) helps you build good credit scores. The reality is that the lower your credit card balance is, the better for both your credit scores and your wallet. When you have low balances, you reduce your credit utilization ratio (the amount of credit you're using compared to your total available balance). The lower your credit utilization, the better it is for your credit scores because you're showing lenders that you don't need credit cards to cover your expenses. Additionally, if you pay off your full credit card balance by the monthly due date — which I highly recommend — you can avoid high interest charges. 3. I don't need to worry about my credit until I want a loan In my credit counseling days, I often got calls from people who wanted help fixing their credit ASAP. Often, it was because they had just submitted an application for a car loan, or made an offer on a new home. Unfortunately, I had to let them know that it usually takes months, and sometimes years, to clean up credit mistakes and build good credit. For example, even if you pay off your credit card today, it can take a month or more for the $0 balance to show up on your credit reports and be factored into your credit scores. And if you want to build good credit scores, it can take months or even years, depending on the condition your credit is in now. 4. Paying off collection debt helps your credit scores I receive several emails a month from people who are desperate to remove old collection accounts from their credit reports. The reason? They want to improve their credit scores — fast. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that paying off a collection account will improve your credit scores. Here are a few credit score facts to keep in mind before you consider sending money to a debt collector: Medical collection debt under $500 has no impact on your credit scores. Paying off a collection account does not remove the account from your credit reports. Most credit score calculations do not make a distinction between paid and unpaid collections. That said, depending on the type of debt, you may want to pay off collection accounts anyway. It can stop debt collectors from contacting you or even taking legal action against you. However, if the debt is old and close to falling off your report (typically seven years from the original delinquency), paying may reset the clock on the debt. So, if you're unsure about how to handle a debt in collections, it's a good idea to reach out to an accredited credit counselor for guidance. 5. Disputing accurate information will improve your credit scores Most credit myths are a mix of truth and fiction, and this one is no different. Here's what's true: If you find an error in your credit reports, you have the right to file a dispute (for free) and get the information corrected or removed. But you do not have the right to get accurate information removed from your reports. Unfortunately, some people view the dispute process as an invitation to try and remove any negative information, even if it's accurate. In fact, there are credit repair companies that charge money to dispute correct information on your behalf. If you do dispute correct information, there's a chance it will be removed from your reports while the credit bureau investigates your claim. But once they confirm that it's accurate, the information will reappear on your reports. 6. A good credit score means you're rich Wealth doesn't impact your credit scores, at least not directly. Yes, your income level can impact how much money you borrow, whether you're able to repay loans and credit cards, and other behaviors that affect your credit. However, your income is not a factor in determining your credit scores. In fact, even if you're considered rich, but you don't pay your debt on time, you will have poor credit scores. 7. Bad credit history follows you forever As a credit counselor, I spoke to many people who believed that a bankruptcy or foreclosure from the '80s or '90s was still damaging their credit. While events such as bankruptcy, foreclosure, and repossession will cause severe damage to your credit scores, the damage only follows you for a limited time. Here's a breakdown of the timelines: 7 years: Missed debt payments (at least 30 days late), vehicle repossession, home foreclosure, and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. 10 years: Chapter 7 bankruptcy and positive credit information As negative information gets older, it has less of an impact on your credit scores. Once it's removed, it has no impact at all. Up Next Up Next
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Schoolchildren call to be taught more financial education
'In three years at secondary school, we've only had one day of financial education,' says 14–year–old Eashan Brown. 'We had one day where we did a bit about budgeting, saving and spending. We were given like a set amount of money that we had to divide between rent and groceries and things like that. 'Apart from that one day, we haven't really had any other formal education about our personal finances.' Eashan is one of a number of children increasingly calling for more financial education in the curriculum. Some 84 per cent of school age children said they want to see financial education included on the Government's new national curriculum, according to research by GoHenry, shared exclusively with This is Money. Financial education became part of the curriculum in 2014, but only local government–maintained schools are legally required to follow this curriculum. Academies, free schools and private schools don't have to do so. The Government is currently reviewing the existing curriculum, with recommendations set to be published later this year. According to Louise Hill, founder of GoHenry, four in five schools don't have to follow the national curriculum. She told This is Money: 'Financial education is not rated or score, and it isn't inspected by Ofsted. 'The result of all of that is that over 60 per cent of kids leave school saying that they don't remember being taught anything about money.' In May, This is Money reported that 74 per cent of young people don't realise that financial education is on the curriculum, based on data from Boon Brokers. 'It was fun,' Eashan said of his school budgeting workshop, ' but it wasn't enough to actually learn.' Eashan, understandably, wants financial education to go further at his school. He added: 'I think it should just cover saving and spending and learning how to budget. I just think of saving and spending is really important for people at our age. 'People get an allowance of like £5 per week from their parents, but then it is instantly spent on sweets or fast food on the high street. 'They don't really understand the importance of saving for something bigger and something more enjoyable, and then they go begging to their parents.' Children at Eashan's school have even lost money trading cryptocurrency, he says. Financial education has its benefits for children in the short term, Eashan says, but also over the rest of their lives. He said: 'If you get to 22 and you're thinking of buying a one bedroom flat or you are going to start renting, that's great, but you're not equipped with the skills to be able to make and save that money, or to be able to budget properly for your essential needs and the things that you don't necessarily have to have.' These skills are essential to adult life, and children are aware of this. GoHenry's data reveals that 84 per cent said financial education is equally or more important than maths, English and science, with 90 per cent aware it will help in later life. Hill said: 'Our kid's–eye view of the national curriculum makes clear that children want to learn more about money in school… It certainly doesn't go into enough detail and, most importantly, it doesn't start early enough. 'Cambridge University did research several years ago that showed financial habits start to be formed from the age of seven. 'So if we're leaving it for secondary school, and some schools are delivering it and some schools aren't, and the provision is patchy, we're really leaving kids behind.' GoHenry is calling for the Government to make financial education compulsory from primary school. Almost a quarter, 22 per cent, of the 2,000 children surveyed said they think financial education should be a standalone subject. Currently, it is taught across subjects, often PSHE and Maths. Hill said: 'We recommend that financial education is inspected and scored by Ofsted and so that it is something that is monitored and the schools understand is important enough that it is being monitored. 'By separating it out from [subjects like] Maths and making it to standalone subject, you can certainly get a lot more hands on, give students a lot more real life examples and relate it directly to real life so that kids learn and engage with it.' In its current state, financial education in schools doesn't seem to be paying off. Some 72 per cent of children said they learned most of their money skills from their parents. Worryingly, 26 per cent said social media was their main source of financial knowledge. Parental support has been key for Eashan when learning about money. He said: 'Since I was really young, mum has involved in me in things like how we pay the mortgage, why we've got a mortgage, and having cars on finance versus buying them outright, or taxes and tax brackets.' Many children don't have this experience, and for many parents it can be difficult to pass this information on if they don't fully have a grasp of it themselves. Hill said: 'If parents can support their kids with learning about money, that's fantastic. When we talk to parents, and we do talk to an awful lot of parents, what comes back again and again is that they don't necessarily all feel confident enough to do that. 'If parents are not confident with money, it's asking a lot for them to be able to unlock that learning for their child. 'If we can get financial education made mandatory on the national curriculum, then we can be sure that an entire generation grows up with those money skills for life and that it can be delivered by people with the expertise to do that.'
Khaleej Times
12-07-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
UAE summer: Some parents use holiday to teach kids budgeting, financial literacy
As travel, dining out, and summer camps fill up family calendars across the UAE, many parents are turning these holidays into something more meaningful — teaching their kids about money. Globally, concerns are rising about young adults' financial dependence. A recent 2025 report by revealed that 50 per cent of parents in the US are still covering their adult children's expenses, averaging over Dh5,400 ($1,474) per month. In the UAE, many parents are taking a proactive approach to financial education — turning everyday outings, like grocery runs or family day trips, into real-life money lessons to foster independence early on. Smart money habits With children at home and summer spending on the rise, the break offers a valuable opportunity to teach budgeting, saving, and mindful spending. From small allowances to setting savings goals, experts say the most effective lessons often come from everyday experiences. Educators said that summer presents a golden window to instil smart money habits in children. 'Summer offers students the chance to rest, reset, and reconnect with themselves, their families, and the world beyond the classroom,' said Amanda Murphy, head of Secondary at GEMS International School – Al Khail. While financial literacy is embedded in the school's IB curriculum, especially in the Middle Years Programme and Business Management classes, Murphy believes the most powerful lessons come outside of textbooks. 'Structured financial literacy programmes during the holidays may benefit some, but they should be balanced with time for real-life experiences," she added. 'Learning is never confined to school walls nor should summer feel like an extension of the timetable. At its best, it's a time for unstructured learning, joy, and making memories — because those are investments, too," she further noted. Everyday moments, lasting lessons Girish Hemnani, a Dubai-based life coach and energy healer, echoed this sentiment. 'Teaching financial literacy during the holidays is a wonderful opportunity for experiential learning,' he said. ' Summer outings, camps, and even everyday shopping trips can become powerful lessons in mindful spending, budgeting, and making purposeful choices." "These real-life situations allow children to see money not as a source of stress or entitlement, but as a tool to be used with awareness and intention," he added. Hemnani also urged parents to model healthy financial behaviour. 'It's important for parents to examine their own relationship with money. Children model what they observe more than what they're told. Being honest with your own financial mindset and allowing room for conversation rather than control creates a healthy emotional foundation for your child.' Delayed gratification pays off Ben Lebig, a registered financial planner, has been giving his daughter money lessons from a young age. Now a teenager, she's applying those skills in real life. For the Filipino expat, conversations about money are a regular part of family life. 'Since my daughter was still very young, we have already started teaching her about handling money,' he said. 'We've always encouraged her to manage her own money from allowances, gifts, or selling used books,' he added. 'Fifty per cent of anything she receives goes straight into savings. It's a non-negotiable rule.' Lebig said the payoff is clear. Now that his 15-year-old daughter's outings with friends have increased during the break, she's putting those lessons into practice. 'This is where our lesson about delayed gratification becomes handy… If she sees anything she likes, she is taught not to impulsively purchase it but to discuss it with us first.' He said this has helped her not only plan better, but also question whether she truly wants something. 'Over the years of patiently teaching my daughter how to handle her finances, we now visibly see significant improvements… She's maturing, and we involve her in family finance discussions too.' Dh30 pocket money and a sense of purpose For Arijit Nandi, father of a nine-year-old, it started with just a few dirhams a month. 'I've started giving my son about Dh30 per month as pocket money,' he said. 'He keeps it in his piggy bank and only buys something after discussing it with us. Since it's summer break and he's at home, my wife sometimes sends him alone to a pastry shop or a fast food joint while she waits in the car. She gives him cash, he makes the purchase, and brings back the change.' This small activity, he said, has made a big impact. 'We've set spending limits, which has helped him develop a strong sense of responsibility. He often spends less than he's allowed. Occasionally, he even uses his saved-up money to buy birthday gifts for friends and cousins.'
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Bobbi Brown Wants To Show The World ‘That Anything Is Possible' Through New YouTube Series ‘I Am Me': ‘It Was A Labor Of Love'
Bobbi Brown On its face, a partnership to launch a women's empowerment YouTube series between Jones Road Beauty and JPMorganChase might be surprising—but according to Jones Road founder Bobbi Brown, there is a throughline between the work she does with makeup and skincare and the work JPMorganChase does: confidence. When anyone—particularly a woman—is confident, be it through Jones Road's Miracle Balm or through financial education via JPMorganChase, they are their best selves. The two companies teamed up for the YouTube series 'I Am Me'—which has hosted such guests as Gloria Steinem, Brooke Shields, Joanna Coles, Dr. Becky Kennedy, Sabrina Elba and JPMorganChase's chief marketing officer Carla Hassan as part of its 10-episode season one. Brown pitched the idea to Hassan, telling me on Zoom that 'I don't know if I'm shameless, but I pitched it in the elevator.' Brown and Hassan 'It took me a long time to get her to say yes,' Brown continues, saying that after about eight months, 'I was going to walk away. I was done.' Finally, Hassan said yes, and the connective tissue became apparent between the two companies. 'Confidence and empowerment is not just about the way you look,' Brown says. 'It's about how much money you make, how you got there, how you feel comfortable asking for a raise, where you learned about money.' Brown herself admits she is 'not someone that's comfortable with money and investing. I know how to make it, I just don't know what to do with it after that.' Enter JPMorganChase. Hassan says that JPMorganChase supporting the I Am Me series 'was a natural fit for us' because the series reflects the company's aim to empower people to be their best selves. Of being interviewed by Brown, she adds, 'Bobbi has an incredible ability to make every person feel comfortable, and it felt like I was just sitting with her in her living room having a conversation. Her ability to do this made it natural for me to reflect on my journey and the lessons I've learned.' Coles—who has had a long career in media but is now chief creative and content officer at The Daily Beast—said that Brown 'is a deceptively charming interrogator—like a beam of light that scans your soul for cracks.' Coles and Brown 'She gets you talking before you realize she's gone three layers deep,' Coles says. 'Being interviewed by her is equal parts therapy and truth serum. I also love her take on beauty—at a certain age, less is more—and thank God for that.' Connecting empowerment (a la the I Am Me series) with beauty (what Brown is most known for, having launched not just one but two top-selling beauty brands), 'It's always been my platform of empowerment, confidence, self-esteem—my whole life,' Brown tells me. 'We wanted to really have it be behind Jones Road's message.' After a women of influence event Brown hosted for 31 women at her hotel in Montclair, New Jersey called The George—an event that was not for public consumption—Brown wanted to come up with a way to bring the inspiring conversations to a larger audience. 'So I am someone that, when I have an idea in my head, I obsess until I get it done,' Brown says. Then, as this idea was formulating, she enters the elevator at a conference and finds 'this nice woman with the happiest face,' Brown says. 'And I'm attracted to people like that. And I'm like, 'Hi, I'm Bobbi. Who are you?'' It was Hassan. Brown worked her contacts to come up with the first season's guests, and the Jones Road team 'pitched in on top of their other work,' she tells me. 'So it was a labor of love.' Shields and Brown Brown has hosted a few podcasts before, but is quick to say 'I'm not a journalist.' That said, she has the key to being a good journalist in spades: curiosity. 'And I like people and I want to understand who they are,' she says. 'So I ask questions.' The episodes are all around 10 minutes in length, a deliberate choice by Brown because 'I have no attention span,' she admits, adding that 'I would've done 'em shorter, even. But there was a lot of information, and it was also great for me.' Before her work with Jones Road, Brown had been a celebrity makeup artist—if not the celebrity makeup artist—for 30 years and had launched her eponymous brand, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. Her proverbial Rolodex is massive. 'I'm really lucky because in my line of work, I get to meet all these great people,' she says, adding, 'I'm a connector.' The name I Am Me was chosen because 'I tried to be someone else many times and it didn't work, right?' Brown says. 'I've just learned that the more comfortable I am with who I am, the better I feel. That makes you feel more confidence. Confidence, to me, is really about being comfortable with who you are.' The goal, she adds, is for women and men watching the series to simultaneously want to be the best versions of themselves, while accepting themselves just as they are. Brown's I Am Me conversations are easy and off the cuff; she only prepares 'the morning of while I'm getting my hair done,' she tells me, looking at notes her executive producer has prepared—but not being too rehearsed. 'I'm someone that has learned by what I've seen, what I've experienced,' she says. Brown loves it when she hears women talk about the struggles of womanhood—how life can sometimes be a shitshow, in her words, especially if you're raising kids, too. 'I want people to understand that I'm not Miss Perfect,' she tells me. Bobbi Brown on April 18, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic) Shields, an actress and the CEO and founder of Commence, has known Brown for over 40 years. 'Being interviewed by her feels like chatting with an old friend,' she says. 'My personal takeaway was it's never too late to be a CEO or entrepreneur. There's high demand from women over 40 for brands like Commence, my care brand, and Jones Road, Bobbi's makeup line. Our once-overlooked community has incredible spending power and is showing up for both of our brands—it means everything to us, and that's who we recorded this episode for.' Steinem was I Am Me's very first guest—she's quick to share that the original concept of the series actually launched at a talking circle Brown was a part of in Steinem's living room in April of last year. Less than one year later, the debut episode of I Am Me was, poignantly, filmed—in a true full circle moment—in that same living room. 'Because I know Bobbi Brown and the ethical and inclusive business she has created, I was honored that the I Am Me concept would be launched in my living room,' Steinem says. 'I should put a plaque on the door—she created a historic event here!' Brown and Steinem As for a season two of the series? Brown is hopeful, but cognizant that 'we would certainly have to take it out of Jones Road and get a production company to really do the whole thing, because my team will kill me,' she says. 'I really did take them away from their regular work to do [this].' The YouTube series isn't the only new project on Brown's stacked docket this year. On September 23 her memoir, Still Bobbi, will hit shelves, which has left Brown feeling 'very exposed,' she tells me. 'I feel like I'm walking around in my underwear—not quite naked, but my underwear.' That said, 'it was very cathartic writing this book,' she adds. 'I learned a lot about myself.' This is Brown's tenth book—a feat, she tells me, because 'I don't know how to type'—and that 'the book is really—it's my story, but it's about resilience. It's about, yeah, these things happened personally and in business, but it doesn't define me. And it's okay to be upset and be sad and be angry, but then it's what you do with that.' Of I Am Me, Brown says that she had fun doing it, and that she hopes viewers see 'that anything is possible,' she says. 'And even in your own life, realize that things aren't perfect to anyone. Anyone out there. And you could still be successful and you could make some pivots, but anything's possible.'
