On March 27th, Governor Brian Kemp proclaimed April as Financial Literacy Month in Georgia, and Attorney General Chris Carr is encouraging Georgians to take advantage of the educational resources available through the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.

“Knowing how to spend wisely and save for the future is critical to having financial ease and success,” said Attorney General Carr. “Georgians can visit our Consumer Protection Division’s website to learn more about the resources we have in place to help them with their important financial decisions.”

A 2016 Federal Reserve study reported that 44 percent of adults either could not cover an emergency expense costing $400 without borrowing money or selling assets, and the national personal saving rate of disposable personal income was 7.6 percent in December 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. In addition, student loan debt continues to rise. The Institute for College Access and Success reports that about two in three (65 percent) college seniors in the United States who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2017 had student loan debt, owing an average of $28,650. In Georgia, the default rate for student loans is 11.3 percent.

The Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division developed ConsumerEd.georgia.gov to help Georgians become savvy consumers.  It contains tools and information on saving and investing, creating a budget, understanding your credit score, managing debt, purchasing a home, buying a vehicle and protecting yourself from identity theft. The site also features a bi-weekly blog entitled “Ask Consumer Ed,” which answers consumer questions on a wide variety of topics.

The Consumer Protection Division also developed The Georgia Consumer Protection Guide for Older Adults, a comprehensive guide designed to protect seniors from becoming victims of fraud and scams and help them navigate the difficult and unique challenges that come with aging.  It offers information about scams, identity theft, credit and debt, reverse mortgages, charitable giving, home repairs, funerals, advance directives, long-term care, elder abuse and more.  You can download a PDF version of the guide at consumer.ga.gov or request a hard copy by calling the Consumer Protection Division at (404) 651-6800.

And, for our men and women serving in the military and their families, the Consumer Protection Division has a free consumer app called “Basic Training,” which contains financial information and tools for our military community. To download the app, go to consumer.georgia.gov/app.