Planning for tax-time savings
A large study exploring tax-time saving found that early messaging and small incentives were effective at encouraging some customers to save using a savings feature on their prepaid card.
Reports
We study how consumers interact with financial products and services to help identify potential problems in the marketplace and achieve better outcomes for all. Review our reports and analyses to help inform your decisions, policies, and practices. And, see reports that we periodically prepare about the CFPB.
Data point: Mortgage trends
This Bureau Data Point article describes 2020 mortgage market activity and trends using data reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).
Financial Well-Being of Veterans
This research brief explores the factors that are associated with financial well-being for veterans. It relies on data from the Bureau’s National Financial Well-Being Survey to examine the distribution of financial well-being scores for veterans in the United States.
Youth Financial Education Research Priorities
This report lays out key unanswered research questions in youth financial education identified by a range of stakeholders.
Review of youth financial education: Effects and evidence
This report is designed to help education policymakers, program leaders, financial educators, and academic researchers make evidence-informed policy, programming and resourcing decisions in school-based financial education.
Financial Well-being of Older Americans
This report explores the factors that are associated with the financial well-being of older Americans. It relies on data from the National Financial Well-Being Survey to examine the distribution of financial well-being scores for adults ages 62 and older in the United States.
2018 Financial Literacy Annual Report
The 2018 Financial Literacy Annual Report is a statutorily mandated report to Congress on the Bureau’s activities and strategy to improve the financial capability and well-being of consumers.
Child savings accounts: Advancing the field to better serve traditionally underserved consumers
The Bureau held a forum on child savings accounts. We produced a report on the forum so that you can learn more about how states and communities are offering opportunities for families to save for post-secondary education.
Measuring financial skill
The Bureau led a research effort to develop a “scale” to measure financial skill. This guide describes the research behind the Financial Skill Scale and provides detailed steps for using the scale.
Pathways to financial well-being
The Bureau conducted a study to analyze the associations between financial capability factors, financial situation, and financial well-being. This report summarizes the results of the study and show evidence of a pathway to financial well-being.
Building Blocks to Help Youth Achieve Financial Capability: Measurement guide
The Building Blocks Measurement Guide provides a means of assessing young people’s progress toward acquiring the foundations of financial capability.
2017 Financial Literacy Annual Report
The 2017 Financial Literacy Annual Report is a statutorily mandated report to Congress on the Bureau’s activities and strategy to improve the financial capability and well-being of consumers.
Who are the credit invisibles? How to help people with limited credit histories
A brief on credit invisibility, implications for consumers, and steps that communities can take to help consumers build or rebuild their credit.
Financial well-being in America
This report presents the findings of a national survey that examined the financial well-being of U.S. adults. The report shows the distribution of financial well-being scores for the U.S. adult population and for selected subgroups.
Building the capacity of tax preparation providers to encourage saving
The CFPB has identified ten promising practices for tax assistance providers to help people save when filing their taxes.
Financial Coaching: Advancing the field to better serve consumers
This report provides an overview of the 2017 Financial Coaching Symposium, including lessons learned and next steps for the field to consider.
Effective financial education: Five principles and how to use them
There is no single right way to help adults improve financial decision-making, just as there is no single right way everyone should conduct their financial...
CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale: Scale development technical report
This technical report
describes the development and scoring procedures of the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale.
Tracking success in financial capability and empowerment programs
This report provides a recommended core set of five financial outcomes for programs to track. The purpose is to assist the field of financial capability and...
Personal finance teaching pedagogy
The CFPB researched the childhood origins of financial capability and well-being to identify those roots and to find promising practices and strategies to...
2016 Financial Literacy Annual Report
The 2016 Financial Literacy Annual Report is a statutorily mandated report to Congress on the Bureau's activities and strategy to improve the financial...
Financial Coaching: A Strategy to Improve Financial Well-Being
These two reports summarize the findings of a
rigorous evaluation of financial coaching and discuss the implications for
financial education practitioners.
Tools for saving: Using prepaid accounts to set aside funds
The CFPB released the results of a Project Catalyst research project finding that offering a small incentive to prepaid card users to put some of their...
Building Blocks to Help Youth Achieve Financial Capability: A new model and recommendations
We've released a new report on our findings for how young people can acquire three building blocks of financial capability which include: executive...
Measuring financial well-being: A guide to using the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale
Following a rigorous research effort to develop a consumer-driven definition of financial well-being, the CFPB developed and tested a set of questions–a...
2015 Financial literacy annual report
Empowering people to take more control over their economic lives is essential to our mission.