April marks Financial Literacy Month, but we at the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) also like to call it Financial Empowerment Month. While financial literacy – knowing how to save, spend, and budget – is crucial, being empowered to make your finances work for you is just as important for leading a financially healthy life. It’s estimated that these avoidable mistakes due to a lack of financial education cost Americans an average of more than $1,500 each year, and as the cost of living continues to increase, more and more families across the country and in our city are struggling to make ends meet. But New Yorkers do not have to face this challenge alone.
NYC Financial Empowerment Centers – located across the five boroughs – offer FREE and professional one-on-one financial counseling to help New Yorkers reach their goals and make the most of their money. Since 2008, our Financial Empowerment Centers have helped tens of thousands of New Yorkers reduce their debt by more than $114 million and increase their savings by more than $13 million.
As a client myself, I can personally attest to how lifechanging receiving financial empowerment services can be for a family. My counselor guided me through my family’s income and expenses, and helped us create a budget and spending plan that worked for us. She also helped me submit my application for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which lifted thousands of dollars of debt off my shoulders. While my student loans may have been forgiven, I will always owe my financial counselor a debt of gratitude for helping me get my financial health on track. Getting rid of that debt and straightening out my family’s finances has given me more space to focus on teaching my own children about how to grow into being financially healthy adults.
My daughter started high school this year, which made me realize how important it is to have honest and direct conversations about money with our children now, while they are still young enough to learn from us and avoid the financial mistakes we made in our youth. So, our team got to work. As announced in Mayor Eric Adams’ fourth State of the City address, working together with NYC Public Schools, we will launch an ambitious approach to give children the tools and resources they need to learn the ins and outs of finances. From multi-generational workshops to an In-School Baking pilot program, we will lay the foundation for a lifetime of good financial health for all public school students.
Our team at DCWP works hard every day to make this city more affordable and ensure working-class New Yorkers are not only supported but empowered. Take advantage of these critical, free resources – they can change your life. Call 311 or visit nyc.gov/TalkMoney to make an appointment at a NYC Financial Empowerment Center today.
Vilda Vera Mayuga is the Commissioner for the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP). Learn more about the city’s financial empowerment services at nyc.gov/TalkMoney.
