Whether you want to save money for retirement, pay down college debt or improve your credit score, New Jersey says it wants to help.
As part of National Financial Literacy Month, the state is launching a free financial wellness platform called NJ FinLit. It will be available to all adult state residents.
“Understanding money, building credit, saving for a home or retirement — these are life-long lessons that persist well after we leave the classroom,” Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday. “New Jersey was a leader in getting personal financial literacy into our K- curriculum, but this new platform will close the circle to ensure every resident has the tools they need to take control of their financial future.”
NJ FinLit offers tools and courses on money topics. Users who open an account will start with a “Your Money Personality” financial behavior assessment, which analyzes each user’s financial “personality.” The assessment will lead to a personalized and interactive learning experience for users, the state said.
The courses offered include budgeting, mortgages, health care, college savings, student loan repayment, banking, credit, financial planning, long-term care and more, the state said. Tools include retirement and home affordability analyzers, student loan and budget tools and personal finance calculators.
After you create an account, the program asks some personal questions so it can give you tailored advice. It asks for your birthday because age matters when it comes to setting goals, but the other information requested comes is more general. It asks, among other things, whether you’re employed, have bank accounts, if you save enough to your k plan to get employer matching funds and the range of your credit score. It doesn’t ask for specifics such as account balances.
You can read more about its privacy policies on the NJ FinLit website.
State treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio said the COVID pandemic “laid bare the fact that New Jersey families most affected by the economic downturn were the ones with the fewest resources to cope with financial instability.”
“We understand that navigating the increasingly complex world of personal money management can be a daunting challenge,” Maher Muoio said. “We want all New Jerseyans — from young adults and parents planning for college, to seniors hoping to enjoy retirement — to be able to take advantage of our website’s user-friendly interactive tools, videos, and articles and put them to use to help better understand and manage their financial resources.”
The state cited a Capital One CreditWise survey that found that % of Americans rank their finances as the most significant source of stress. The governor’s office didn’t immediately respond to inquiries about the cost of the program to the state.
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Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMuellerNJAdvanceMediam. Follow her on Twitter at KPMueller.
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