This thesis gives a voice to the chronically poor people of rural Bangladesh, enabling them to tell their own stories about the nature of their financial decision making which is taking place within the marketing systems that are operating in all poor villages in the region. Financial decision...

Financial planning in its broadest terms is now in the spotlight as it draws interest from a wide range of groups including consumers, regulators, government, the financial services industry, accountants and most importantly educators. This paper presents a descriptive analysis which provides a...

The paper uses an Australian case study to investigate the changing face of the financial planning arena. It provides an introduction to the establishment of the financial planning industry in Australia. In particular it focuses on the way financial planners have been required to develop...

Building and maintaining financial security is increasingly difficult for a growing portion of American households. Wealth is less prevalent in middle-class households and increasing among the already well-to-do. At the same time, poverty is growing and concentrating disproportionately among the...

What began several years ago as a network of matched savings programs to encourage low-income Texans to save has blossomed into a statewide, comprehensive asset-building movement now known as RAISE Texas.

A recent study finds that telephone and face-to-face counseling can be equally effective and appear to generate equivalent outcomes for consumers' creditworthiness two years later. The increase in telephone and online counseling may encourage consumers to seek earlier assistance for their credit...

Government actions, combined with oversight and standardization from industry organizations, benefit consumers by enabling them to more easily identify agencies that work in their best interest and are certified to provide them with quality financial education.

Access to mainstream financial services is on the horizon for unbanked and underbanked consumers in Houston through Get Checking(TM), a national initiative sponsored by eFunds Corp. and the University of Wisconsin Extension.