Description
Financial struggles of American families are headline news. In communities across the nation, families feel the pinch of stagnant and sometimes declining incomes. Many have not recovered from the Great Recession, when millions lost their homes and retirement savings. They are bombarded daily with vexing financial decisions: Which bills to pay? Where to cash checks? How to cover an emergency? How to improve a credit report? How to bank online? How to save for the future? Low- and moderate-income families have few places to turn for guidance on financial matters. Not many can afford to pay a financial advisor to help navigate an increasingly complex financial world. They do their best with advice from family and trusted individuals.Social workers, financial counselors, and human services professionals can help. As "first responders," they assist families and help in finding financial support from public and private sources. But these professionals are too often unprepared to address the full range of financial troubles of ordinary working families. Financial Capability and Asset Building in Vulnerable Households prepares social workers, financial counselors, and other human service professionals for financial practice with vulnerable families. Building on more than 20 years of research, the book sets the stage with key concepts, historical antecedents, and current financial challenges of families in America. It provides knowledge and tools to assist families in pressing financial circumstances, and offers a lifespan perspective of financial capability and environmental influences on financial behaviors and actions. Furthermore, the text details practice principles and skills for direct interventions, as well as for designing financial services and policy innovations. It is an essential resource for preparing the next generation of practitioners who can enable families to achieve economic security and development.
Table of Contents
AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: Setting the Stage: Financial Capability and Asset Building in Financially Vulnerable HouseholdsChapter 1: Financial Well-Being: Basic ConceptsChapter 2: Financial Vulnerability in American Families: A PortraitChapter 3: History of Financial Capability and Asset Building in AmericaChapter 4: Financial Institutions, Products, and ServicesChapter 5: Understanding Household Finance: Income Statements and Balance SheetsPart II: Household Finance: Building a Foundation for Financial Capability and Asset BuildingChapter 6: Household IncomeChapter 7: Taxes and Financially Vulnerable HouseholdsChapter 8: Values, Goals, and Spending PlansChapter 9: Short-Term and Emergency SavingsChapter 10: Long-Term Savings and Asset Accumulation: Building a FutureChapter 11: Credit and Credit BuildingChapter 12: Higher EducationChapter 13: Housing and HomeownershipChapter 14: Debt, Problem Debt, and Debt NegotiationChapter 15: Risk Management and InsuranceChapter 16: Identity Theft and ProtectionChapter 17: Collections, Garnishments, and BankruptcyChapter 18: Preparing for Financial Security in Old AgeChapter 19: Putting Financial Affairs in Order: Estate PlanningPart III: Human Services: Financial Capability and Asset-Building PracticeChapter 20: Financial Capability in the Social Environment: Preparing for Financial Capability and Asset-Building PracticeChapter 21: Financial Practice with Individuals and FamiliesChapter 22: Financial Capability and Asset Building in Organizations, Communities, and PolicyChapter 23: Career Pathways in Financial Capability and Asset-Building PracticeGlossaryIndex
