ATLANTA, GA – As April is Financial Literacy Month, Attorney General Chris Carr is inviting Georgians to explore related resources available through the Office of the Attorney General’s digital platforms.

“We believe that providing additional resources to increase financial literacy will put all Georgians in a much better position should they face economic challenges,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “ConsumerEd.com was developed by the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit to educate Georgians on how to make smart financial decisions. It contains tools and information on saving and investing, creating a budget, understanding your credit score, managing debt, buying a home, purchasing a vehicle and protecting yourself from identity theft. The site also contains a blog entitled “Ask Consumer Ed,” which answers real-time questions on a wide variety of consumer topics.”

A 2015 Federal Reserve study found that almost half of U.S. households could not afford an unexpected $400 expense without borrowing money or selling assets. What’s more, 13 million American households have trouble obtaining consumer credit, because they lack sufficient credit history, which makes it challenging, if not impossible, to buy a house, purchase a car or obtain a credit card.

Student loan debt also continues to rise. According to the Institute for College Access and Success, 68 percent of graduating seniors from public and private non-profit colleges in 2015 had student loan debt, with an average of $30,100 per borrower.  For Georgia borrowers, the default rate for student loans is 12 percent. 

An additional resource from the Consumer Protection Unit is a free consumer app called “Basic Training,” which contains financial information, tools and calculators for service members, veterans and their families. To download the app, consumers can go to consumer.georgia.gov/app.