Free Services Teach Residents to Save Money, Manage Debt

LARGO, MD — A shared effort to bolster families financial knowledge and budgeting skills is now open to Prince George's County residents.

United Way of the National Capital Area officially has opened its first Financial Empowerment Center at the Prince George's Community College Largo campus. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held this week.

The FEC at PGCC is the first of several Financial Empowerment Centers that United Way NCA will open across the region as part of its Community Commitment, which is a $12.3 million investment to address the education, financial stability and health of residents throughout the National Capital community over the next five years.

Nearly one in three households in the region does not have sufficient savings to subsist at the poverty level for three months, United Way says. That means that the loss of a job, a serious medical issue or another crisis can leave families in a dangerous situation.

About 260,000 residents in the region belong to a household that is “unbanked,” which means they are are not connected with mainstream banking services and may be using predatory services like check cashing and payday loans to make ends meet.

To help families break the cycle of poverty, the new center offers free services to educate people about how to create a household budget, manage debt and save for the future. Services include one-on-one financial coaching, personal and business-focused workshops, tax preparation, housing counseling and more.