HARRISBURG, PA – Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor today recognized the second Monday of Financial Literacy Month with a ‘Money $mart Monday’ virtual information session aimed to help older Pennsylvanians save for retirement, recognize scams and protect against financial exploitation.
“Pennsylvanians should know how to ‘Be Money $mart’ at every phase of their life,” Auditor General DeFoor said. “Scammers are getting more creative and using technology to target older adults who may not know how to spot the latest scams. Through this virtual information session, we’re highlighting some of the current scams impacting individuals and providing tips to help people protect their money.”
During the virtual information session, Auditor General DeFoor was joined by Michelle James, Regional Membership Development Manager from PSECU.
This session is the second in a series of videos that provides financial literacy information to Pennsylvanians of all ages. These videos will be shared each Monday in April on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and can be found on the department’s YouTube page.
DeFoor has spent the last two years promoting financial literacy across the state as part of his Be Money Smart initiative. Since initiative launched in 2021, DeFoor has:
- Visited all state and state related universities in Pennsylvania to talk about job and internship opportunities within the department and the importance of knowing how your money works;
- Met with students participating in the State YMCA of Pennsylvania Youth and Government program and visited several YMCAs across the state to talk about financial literacy;
- Worked with Junior Achievement to emphasize financial literacy messages to elementary school students;
- Partnered with local financial institutions to provide financial literacy resources to the public; and
- Partnered with Harrisburg University of Science and Technology and Members 1st to coordinate a statewide financial literacy competition for high school students in Pennsylvania.
“When I became Auditor General, I quickly saw that basic accounting errors were happening with auditees because of a general lack of understanding of finances,” DeFoor said. “Through our Be Money Smart initiative, I have crisscrossed the state promoting financial literacy education because it is vital to Pennsylvania’s growth and understanding of how taxpayer dollars are spent.”
For more information on the Department of the Auditor General’s financial literacy efforts, visit www.PaAuditor.gov/BeMoneySmart
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