www.cfed.org

Savings Strategies and Techniques for Low-to-Moderate Income Households

Andrea Levere

Seventh Annual Financial Literacy Leadership Conference, September 29, 2014

CFED (Corporation for Enterprise Development) empowers

individuals and families to build and preserve assets by

advancing policies and strategies that help them go to college,

buy a home, start a business, and save for now and for the

future.

Identify Good Ideas: CFED’s research finds

ideas with potential for making the economy work for everyone,

particularly those on the margins.

Develop partnerships: CFED works in

partnership with diverse organizations across the country to

promote lasting change.

Bring Them to Scale: CFED brings together community practice,

public policy and private markets to achieve the

greatest economic impact.

We combine the vision of a think tank with real-world experience to:

About CFED

Liquid Asset Poorlack savings to cover

basic expenses for three months if job loss, a

medical emergency, or other crisis leads to a

loss of income

$5,887 for a family of four

Persistent financial insecurity

Source: 2014 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, CFED (http://scorecard.cfed.org)

High-cost loans are the only option for

many with subprime credit scores, which can create a cycle of

debt

No slack: liquid asset poor borrow to cover unexpected costs

Source: 2014 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, CFED (http://scorecard.cfed.org)

8.2%

20.1%

8.2% of households are unbankedNo checking or savings account

20.1% of households are underbankedHave an account, but still rely on alternative financial services

30.8%

30.8% of households do not have a savings account

Unbanked and Underbanked Households

Source: 2014 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, CFED (http://scorecard.cfed.org)

Boost Savings

• Emergency savings, IDAs, prize-linked savings

• Children’s savings accounts

• Retirement savings (e.g. Obama’s myRA proposal)

Increase Consumer Protections

• New “cop on the beat” with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

• Curb predatory payday and small dollar lending

Savings and Asset-building Programs and Policies that Work

www.cfed.org

Andrea Levere, President, CFED

alevere@cfed.org