The Federal Reserve

• The head of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, has said that "in today's complex financial markets, financial education is central to helping consumers make better decisions for themselves and their families." The Fed has a number of programs that seeks to educate consumers on how to take charge of their money. It has a primer on bank products, such as savings and checking accounts, mutual funds and annuities (the most important lesson: banks must return deposits, which are insured, while consumers cannot recoup investment losses). It also has information on how to do banking safely on the Internet, plain English explanations of the Fed and its role, as well as resources in Spanish.
  
  

National Endowment for Financial Education

• The National Endowment for Financial Education is another great resource that seeks to teach Americans how to manage their money wisely. It has a high school program, as well as information for adult consumers and resources for educators who want to make financial education an important part of their students' lives. This nonprofit organization has also long been an advocate for public policy emphasizing the importance of financial education, and it conducts research in this area as well.
  
  

U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission: MyMoney.gov

• The U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission runs MyMoney.gov, a resource mainly for adult consumers. It has a collection of information from 20 federal government agencies and offers information on financial decisions such as taking on a mortgage, starting a 401(k) retirement plan, as well as everyday tasks, such as how to balance a checkbook and keep track of expenses. It also has updates on common financial scams--such as those offering debt absolution and promises of avoiding foreclosure.
  
  

New Projects: The Financial Literacy Center

• Annamaria Lusardi, a leading academic crusader for financial literacy, founded the Financial Literacy Center in March 2010 in the hopes of finding new ways to educate people about their finances. Before the year is out, the Center will research a number of topics, including workplace education for new hires, the public's knowledge of Social Security benefits, planning for retirement and how low-income individuals and minorities make financial decisions.
  
  

Going Forward

• The aforementioned resources are an excellent place for anyone who has financial questions, no matter the topic. However, financial education must strive to be more comprehensive, and adults should ensure that their financial knowledge is not limited to just one area.
  
  Students and others must learn how to do routine tasks, such as holding savings and checking accounts, deciding whether or not to do direct deposit and balancing a checkbook. Given the rising cost of tuition, student should understand loans before committing. Consumers must also understand bigger one-time decisions, such as what size mortgage they can afford, or how to finance the purchase of a car.
  
  Finally, people must understand longer-term issues, such as what instruments are best for saving for retirement and what insurance they may need.
  
  All of these are topics that a person should understand before he takes control of his finances.