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Consumer Action, a nonprofit consumer education and advocacy organization, has launched a grassroots consumer education initiative directed at empowering low-income, underserved, and other vulnerable consumers to build a strong financial foundation, achieve financial goals, plan a secure financial future, and avoid frauds and scams. The project is made possible by a community education grant from Walmart.

“We all care deeply about increasing financial understanding—it’s at the heart of what we believe,” said Mark Espinoza, senior director of public affairs for Walmart and a Consumer Action corporate advisory board member. “Walmart was founded on the idea of helping people save money so they could live better.”

Lack of access and opportunity to gain money management and broader personal finance skills can lead to poor decision making, an inability to weather even relatively minor financial setbacks, and vulnerability to frauds, scams and predatory practices. Even a basic understanding of personal finance principles can have a major impact, enabling individuals to establish a mainstream banking relationship, spend and save wisely, prepare for a financial emergency, use credit wisely, recognize predatory financial products, and prepare for a secure future. 

To reach underserved consumers across the country, Consumer Action will engage members of its network of 6,500 community-based organizations. The initiative will include a series of three regional financial health community training forums, with an expected 30-40 direct service providers attending each. Consumer Action outreach staff and financial educators will train attendees on how to incorporate the organization’s Money Management 1-2-3 personal finance curriculum into their financial literacy education efforts. 

The Money Management 1-2-3 curriculum consists of three parts, each one covering multiple topics related to a particular life stage and designed to enable consumers to make wise choices throughout their lifetime: Part 1: Getting a Strong Start; Part 2: Achieving Financial Goals; and Part 3: Planning a Secure Future. 

For each part, there is a multi-page, multilingual publication for consumers, and (in English only) a companion PowerPoint presentation and lesson plan, including class activities and take-home worksheets, for educators to use to conduct workshops for clients and community members. (All materials are available for free download on the Money Management 1-2-3 page of the Consumer Action website. The English fact sheets, PowerPoint presentations and lesson plans are available now, with the Spanish and Chinese translations of the consumer publication coming in early October, and the Vietnamese and Korean translations being available before the end of the year.) 

Trainers at the forums will cover the range of curriculum topics—from money management fundamentals (like banking, savings, credit and debt management) to more advanced financial planning considerations (like investing, retirement planning and insurance). They will also speak about ways to overcome complex barriers to financial health, including those related to social and cultural factors. And each training forum will include a session on helping consumers recognize and avoid various types of scams and frauds that threaten their financial well-being at seemingly every turn. 

At the close of each forum, participants will be invited to submit an application for their organization to receive a $3,000 grant from Consumer Action to support financial health education workshops in their local communities using the Money Management 1-2-3 curriculum. Four CBOs from each regional training forum will be awarded the $3,000 grants, for a total of $36,000 to 12 CBOs. Grantees will be required to conduct workshops in their communities over the course of the project timeline and report back with participation data and participant feedback.

“Community-level financial literacy and scam-avoidance education are absolutely critical to the effort to empower consumers to make wise money management decisions and protect themselves from products and services that would compromise their financial health,” said Anna Flores, Consumer Action’s executive director. “We’re grateful to Walmart for providing the support needed to make a real and lasting impact on households facing hurdles ranging from surging grocery prices and housing cost increases to unfavorable lending terms and a retirement savings crunch.” 

The first community training forum will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 25, in Philadelphia. The other two will take place in Boston and Chicago. Exact dates and locations will be announced via email to Consumer Action’s mailing list subscribers.

About Consumer Action

Consumer Action has been a champion of underrepresented consumers nationwide since 1971. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Consumer Action focuses on consumer education that empowers low- and moderate-income and limited-English-speaking consumers to financially prosper. It also advocates for consumers in the media and before lawmakers to advance consumer rights and promote industry-wide change.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer helping people save money and live better—anytime and anywhere—in stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, approximately 255 million customers and members visit more than 10,500 stores and numerous eCommerce websites in 19 countries. With fiscal year 2024 revenue of $648 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy, and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/walmart, on X (formerly known as Twitter) at twitter.com/walmart, and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/walmart.