Advocacy, Not Infomercial

The FoolProof team believes that some financial literacy programs
offered to young people are driven by the wrong agenda.


.For instance, many programs developed by financial institutions either put forth the agenda of those institutions or neglect to cover important topics that might conflict with the institutions' goals.

A perfect example is the way virtually all financial literacy programs associated with financial institutions present credit cards. The programs normally don't say the most important thing about credit cards: you should always try to pay off your card balance in full every month. A credit card company can't say that message strongly and clearly. The card companies would go broke if all their customers actually paid off their balances.

That's why credit card companies—including those from banks and credit unions—push all consumers to charge more than we can afford to pay off every month. The companies want us to finance our purchases.

 

But what's good for the company in this instance
isn't good for you or your students.

We tackle issues head-on:

  • Here's how we explain the danger of credit cards to your students:

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  • And here's what we say about most advertising:

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Why we are different:

The power of FoolProof comes from our strong, independent nature: we are consumer advocates.

Our messages for high school students were developed to protect the students, not push any product or service.

  • For instance, FoolProof may be sponsored in schools by credit unions. But no credit union has any input or influence over FoolProof's messages.

    Before any credit union signs up to support FoolProof, here's what we tell that credit union:

    If you are considering becoming a FoolProof credit union, it is important that you understand FoolProof for High School's independent role. FoolProof provides high school students a voice they can trust because it speaks for students, not for any business.

  • We developed FoolProof to provide straightforward, independent information that really equips young people to deal with the intricacies of the financial system and the consumer marketplace.


Work through our modules and then tell us if you think we've succeeded in our mission: real consumer advocacy, not infomercial.