SECU launches Own Your Money

To help consumers build their financial knowledge and more effectively manage their money, SECU — Maryland’s largest credit union — is launching Own Your Money, a free, interactive financial education program, according to a press release.

Easily accessible through a computer, tablet or mobile device, Own Your Money uses short, on-demand learning modules — including videos, animations, and other interactive tools — to guide users through more than 20 critical personal finance topics.

Specific topics focus on money basics (checking accounts, overdrafts, taxes, budgeting, prepaid cards, identity protection, mobile payments, etc.); credit and borrowing (building emergency savings, estate planning, financing higher education, investments, insurance, retirement, etc.); and planning and savings (auto loans, home ownership and mortgages, credit cards, payday loans, credit scores, etc.), according to the release.

“Regardless of whether you have a specific financial goal in mind, such as improving your credit score, or you’re preparing for one of life’s milestones like buying a house or going to college, Own Your Money offers simple, practical guides to help get you where you want to go,” said Kevin Stehl, vice president of marketing, product and digital, at SECU, in the release.

Own Your Money’s quick and easy learning modules, which are available in English or Spanish and offer access for learners with disabilities, “enable users to invest in themselves, make smart financial decisions, and build a great financial future,” Stehl continued, in the release.

Own Your Money is the latest in a series of programs offered by SECU to help its members better understand and manage their personal finances. Other programs include Retirement Central, Accel Financial Counseling, and Homebuying 360 — a resource which allows SECU members to learn about the home buying process, research properties and neighborhoods, select a Realtor find a mortgage that fits their needs, and get rebates of hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars, according to the release.

Own Your Money is free and open to the public. For more information about Own Your Money and SECU’s other personal finance programs, go to www. secumd.org.