April is Financial Literacy Month, and District residents can participate in free educational programs, resources and services that promote inclusive prosperity, economic growth and personal financial well-being offered by the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB).
The DISB, a financial regulator and consumer advocate, protects financial interests of residents by offering free educational resources to help consumers make more informed decisions regarding everyday financial matters.
Among the programs and resources that will be offered include:
“Many Americans live paycheck to paycheck and worry about not having enough funds to cover daily expenses let alone planning for retirement,” said Commissioner Stephen C. Taylor. “Mayor Bowser and her administration are committed to helping all District residents break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck by providing the educational tools and strategies for managing household debt and create pathways to the middle class.”
Financial educational initiative Financially Fit DC, includes an online program connecting residents to programs and resources to improve residents’ financial capability and set and meet financial goals. Looking to get out of debt? Looking to buy a home? Need to build your emergency fund? To get started, go to welcome.financiallyfitdc.com.
Financial fraud prevention presentations that help residents identify scams and if you are a victim report the incidence to DISB for investigation. Worried about your grandparents being exploited by financial con artists? Check out these sessions.
Tax Preparation Sessions. On Saturday, April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., come to the Reeves Center located at 2000 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009 for a resource fair and free tax prep. Have you procrastinated on filing your 2017 tax returns? Are you worried that you owe? Do you need your tax refund completed for free? District residents who earn less than $53,000 and meet other qualifications can get taxes prepared for free by certified volunteers with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Go to disb.dc.gov for more details and to RSVP for the fair.
Small Business Capital. Do you need seed money to open your own business? Looking for payroll assistance or line of credit for business expansion? Looking for business investors? DISB administers programs that facilitate access to capital for District small businesses and entrepreneurs. Visit https://disb.dc.gov/service/small-business-resources, to learn more about DCBizCAP.
Student Loan Debt. Have you gotten a call about consolidating your student loans? Need help in navigating the student loan repayment process? Want to know more about loan forgiveness programs? To get a review of your student loan situation, contact the District’s Student Loan Ombudsman at (202) 727-8000 or DCLoanHelp@dc.gov.
Insurance and Your Responsibilities. What is the difference between water damage and flooding? If your friend’s car is vandalized on your property, are you responsible? Has your policy been updated to include your new, most valuable possessions? What if your pet bites a visitor? Will your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy mitigate your out-of-pocket expenses? DISB provides information on often-missed insurance considerations that can lead to more costs down the road.
Visit disb.dc.gov to get the most current details about our activities or to request materials or a Departmental speaker for community events. Subscribe here to get updates from DISB. Also, you can follow the Department on Twitter: @DCDISB and @BankonDC and on Facebook.
