Information for Financial Literacy

There are an enormous number of websites offering financial information to help us pay less and spend our money wisely.  Unfortunately that information is hard to find without reading through website after website after website.  Enter Twitter.  One of the great things about it is you can find entries that people have added using hashtags.  Searching for a hashtag (such as #VirtualAbility) finds all comments that have that hashtag.  Also, each account is its own “subsite” where an organization can post information in its own space.

To use Twitter, go to https://www.twitter.com and sign up for a free account.  You will need to verify the account using a link sent to the email address you used to create the account.  Below are several Twitter hashtags and subsites that will show useful financial tips and tricks, along with associated websites that contain more information.

• #SavingsTipTuesday
• #SavingsFactFriday
• @Career1Stop (https://www.careeronestop.org/):  A great employment starting point for people with disabilities.
• @RealEconImpact (https://www.nationaldisabilityinstitute.org/):  has free classes on strategies to build financial wellness of people with disabilities.
• @AmericaSaves (https://www.americasaves.org/):  America Saves is a campaign coordinated by the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America (CFA - https://consumerfed.org/) and is dedicated to helping individuals save money, reduce debt, and build wealth.
• @IRS (https://www.irs.gov/):  the one and only USA Internal Revenue Service.  While many people denigrate the IRS and try to avoid all dealings with it, there is no question that their website contains the original source material for all Federal tax information.  There are useful pages on how to get free tax preparation help, how to file, etc.
• @FDICgov (https://www.fdic.gov/):  the official Twitter channel for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency created by the Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation's financial system... (https://www.fdic.gov/about/strategic/strategic/mission.html).

Other sources of information:

• ABLE National Resource Center (http://www.ablenrc.org/):  Living with a disability is often associated with significant amounts of extra costs. That’s why individuals and families can now contribute to ABLE accounts—tax-advantaged savings that can fund disability expenses.
• Five things you should know about ABLE accounts:  https://americasaves.org/blog/1323-5-things-you-should-know-about-able-accounts.
• Multiple states now offer ABLE accounts. Compare programs here: http://www.ablenrc.org/state_compare/
• Learn more about tax time savings here:  https://americasaves.org/for-savers/make-a-plan-how-to-save-money/saving-at-tax-time
• Tax assistance is available for individuals with disabilities from https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/disability-and-earned-income-tax-credit
• Money Smart has accessible materials frequently used by disability organizations:  https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/
• Individual Development Accounts are a savings option for people with disabilities where funds are matched.  Check out Prosperity Now (https://prosperitynow.org/issues/individual-development-accounts) and the USA Health and Human Services website (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/programs/afi).

If you have other good sources of information, comment below!