Essential Money Management for Homeless

Regardless of your income, money management is a useful skill. These resources offer info on budgeting, assistance programs, and more, for unhoused peoples.

While each person's needs are different, general financial literacy can be a useful lifeline in building self-sufficiency.

The following resources provide helpful information on managing money, locating assistance programs, and building skills for those currently experiencing homelessness.

Assistance: Food, Housing and More

Securing food, housing and other benefits can be a crucial lifeline while working toward financial security.

Take a look through the below resources to find organizations and programs that can connect you with different kinds of assistance.

General Financial Assistance and Benefits

• SSA - People Experiencing Homelessness: Homeless people can apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) to receive benefits.
  
• Spotlight on Homelessness: Benefit Eligibility: Social Security's guide to help homeless people understand the eligibility criteria and how to receive benefits from the agency.
  
• SSA BEST Questionnaire: An online tool to help people determine on what benefits they are eligible from the SSA.
  
• Benefits Finder: Use the Benefits.gov search tool to find government benefits you're eligible for.
  
• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): LIHEAP assists with the energy cost of low-income households.
  
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): A program that provides support to low-income families with children to achieve self-sufficiency and financial stability.
  
• Veterans Pension and Survivors Pension: Eligible homeless veterans can receive a tax-free pension as benefits for low-income veterans with wartime services.
  
• VA Compensation: Eligible homeless veterans can receive compensation for wartime service-related disabilities or discharge.
  
• Mental Health Services for Veterans: United States Department of Veterans Affairs offers free mental health services for veterans experiencing homelessness.
  
• Health Care for Veterans: VA offers health care for homeless veterans like 24/7 confidential support calls and national health care programs.

Food Assistance

• 10 Myths and Facts About SNAP for Homeless Persons: The pamphlet depicts the facts on SNAP and how homeless people can use the program to get meals.
  
• Feeding America Nationwide Network Of Food Banks: An online directory of food banks that provide meals to individuals in need throughout the US.
  
• SNAP State Directory of Resources: An online directory of all the local SNAP offices.
  
• Food Pantries: Food Pantries is an online directory of food pantries centers, soup kitchen, and food banks that assist homeless people in the US.
  
• Emergency Food Resources: An online directory of food banks, soup kitchen, and pantries that helps homeless people find meals in their local area.
  
• The Salvation Army Cure Hunger: The Salvation Army runs a daily feeding program such as hot meals or groceries for people in need.
  
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A program that provides applicants supplemental budget for buying nutritious food for their family.

Housing Assistance and Shelter Programs

• 211: A non-profit organization that helps people find social services available from the government including housing, healthcare, food, and employment assistance.
  
• Homeless Assistance Directory: An online directory of local organizations and government agencies that homeless individuals can contact for assistance.
  
• Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Program: Continuum of Care helps individuals and families experiencing homelessness get transitional and permanent housing.
  
• Find Affordable Rental Housing: Details about all the government's housing programs for different types of beneficiaries.
  
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program: HUD and VA program that helps homeless veterans with getting permanent housing.
  
• Covenant House: Covenant House provides housing to young adults who are experiencing homelessness, run-away, or victim of human trafficking.
  
• Homeless Shelter Directory: An online directory of homeless shelters and organizations that helps homeless people find local shelters in the country.
  
• Supportive Housing And Shelters: ShelterListings is an online directory of different types of shelters like homeless shelters and transitional housings that fight homelessness.
  
• Find Transitional Housing In Your State: An online directory of transitional housing to help fight homelessness throughout the country.
  
• The Salvation Army Housing Assistance: The Salvation Army provides a safe shelter through transitional or permanent housing for people in need or who are experiencing homelessness.
  
• Family Promise: The organization provides homeless prevention programs through shelters, food assistance, and financial stabilization.

Building Financial Literacy

"Financial literacy" is the general ability to understand finance and effectively use financial skills to manage your own money.

Financial literacy, like any skill, takes time to develop. Take steps to build your financial skills with the articles, videos, and games below.

Articles, Podcasts, and Videos

• Money Minutes: Personal Finance 101: The first series of the Money Minutes that focuses on the principles of personal finance.
  
• Money Minutes: Personal Finance 201: The second series of Money Minutes that focuses on credit, taxes, identity theft, money management, and banking.
  
• FDIC's Money Smart Podcast Network: A podcast version of the Money Smart Computer-Based Instruction.
  
• FDIC's Money Smart Computer-Based Instruction: Money Smart Computer-Based Instruction provides free financial education for young adults.
  
• Next Gen Personal Finance Video Library: Videos focused on personal finance.

Games and Online Tools

• SPENT: A decision-making game that stimulates living paycheck-to-paycheck and how to adapt for financial stability.
  
• Financial Football: A free interactive 3D game that utilizes football to teach finance skills to the player.
  
• Hit the Road: A simulation game that challenges players to budget money to reach the destination.
  
• Payoff: An experimental game that involves using fake mobile bank accounts and challenges players to make the correct financial decisions.
  
• Your Money, Your Goals Toolkit: A toolkit focused on teaching money management, credit and debit, and choosing necessary financial products for teens.
  
• CashCourse: A tool provides financial lessons through instructor assignments or self-study.

Tips for Carrying Cash and Preventing Fraud
Part of financial literacy includes learning how to prevent fraud and how to safely carry cash. Read up on those topics below.

• A Guide to Robbery Prevention and Response to Robbery: The guide helps homeless individuals prepare how to keep their lives and properties safe.
  
• 16 Tips for Carrying Cash: The guide provides crucial information on how to handle cash on hand and how to keep it safe.
  
• Theft and Pickpocket Prevention: The guide provides safety tips on preparing precautions and to avoid pickpocket or theft.
  
• How to Protect Your Identity: Annual Credit Report provides a guide to help students protect their personal information and steps on how to report suspicious activities in the credit card.
  
• Avoiding Identity Theft: Consumers should be aware of the danger of identity theft and steps on how to avoid fraudulent activities.
  
• What to Do When Information Is Lost or Exposed: List of steps to determine breach and tips on how to protect yourself from identity theft.
  
• Fraud Prevention: Knowledge is Power: List of different types of scams and steps of how to identify a scam.

Budgeting Tips and Tools

Budgeting might not seem like a priority, but it can be an important tool in working toward financial independence.

These resources help break down the process of budgeting into bite-size pieces and give you easy ways to keep tabs on where your money goes.

Budgeting Basics and How-Tos

• Budgeting Basics: Information about the basic concepts of earning and spending money, tracking, budgeting, and needs versus wants.
  
• How to Track Your Spending: Tips on creating a budget plan to track expenses and savings.
  
• How to Make a Spending Plan: Guide on creating a spending plan and tips on tracking expenses.
  
• Budgeting for Financial Goals: Guide about spending plans, saving accounts, emergency funds, needs versus wants, and steps for achieving financial goals.
  
• Budgeting Tips for Students: Budgeting tips that help students to manage their money and to keep track of expenses.
  
• Top 10 Best Online Budgeting Tools: Best budgeting tools that help you control your finances.
  
• For Young Adults and Teens: Quick Tips for Managing Your Money: Strategies for teens on how to manage money wisely.
  
• First Job Euphoria: Needs vs. Wants: Details about needs versus wants and how to differentiate needs from wants.
  
• MonkeySee - How to Create a Budget: Videos to learn the basic principles of budgeting.
  
• How to Make a Budget: A short video about how budgeting helps control finances and reduce debt.
  
• Unit: Saving and budgeting: A video series about saving and budgeting.

Online Tools and Apps

• Ohana: A simulation bank mobile app that helps prepare teens for banking with incentive programs.
  
• Money Lover: Finance app that can be used to track money and set-up budget plans including debt management features.
  
• Toshl Finance: An app used to manage finances, track expenses, and set-up a monthly budget plan.
  
• Mint: A multi-platform app that provides access to all finances, a budgeting tool, and free credit score reports.
  
• Wally: A finance app that helps monitor spending and expenses with a budgeting tool to help increase savings.
  
• YNAB: A budgeting app that helps track expenses and spending of teens with a monthly report to monitor progress.
  
• Budgeting 101: Videos, articles, and quizzes that help teens learn budgeting skills.
  
• SAM Budget Wizard: An online tool of SAM for creating a budget plan to help in managing finances.
  
• BudgetTracker: Budget management tool that keeps track of expenses, spending, and notifications of due dates of bills.

Building Skills and Earning Money

Hoping to build up your skills or join a work program? Be sure to check out the following resources to free skills training, job search assistance, library resources, and more.

Plus, if you're looking for little ways to earn extra money, consider checking out the bottom of this section for ideas.

Skills, Training and Education

• I Want To Go To College: Now What?: U.S. Department of Education's guide to help homeless people find available options and programs for getting a college degree.
  
• Goodwill Skills Training: A non-profit organization that offers training and skill-building to help individuals find a job.
  
• Idealist: Skill Development: Idealist helps individuals connect with non-profit organizations offering job opportunities and skill development.
  
• Khan Academy: Free Educational Resources: Khan Academy is a non-profit organization that provides free online courses to help learn new skills that homeless people can use to earn money.
  
• For Students: Coursera : The platform offers a free campus student plan to learn a job-ready skill that can be used to earn money.
  
• Where to Find Local Public Libraries: Public libraries provide free computer access, resume, and job-finding assistance that homeless people can use to find work to earn money.
  
• Dreams for Change (Regional Resource): Dreams for Change offers a program that helps individuals that want to re-entry work through OJT and classroom trainings for food truck business.

Job Search Resources

• American Job Center: American Job Centers provide services such as free job assistance, training opportunities, and public rooms full of resources.
  
• VA Employment Programs for Homeless Veterans: Veterans Affairs offers programs that provide job assistance, skill development, and employment opportunities for homeless veterans.
  
• Find a Job Now: An online search tool that helps in finding available jobs throughout the US.

Ideas and Tips for Earning Money

• 40 Reliable Ways to Earn Extra Money: Guide on how to earn quick money and tips on how to reduce expenses.
  
• How to Make Money Fast: Tips and list of options on how to earn quick money.
  
• How to Get Paid for Taking Online Surveys: Review of the best online survey sites for earning extra money.
  
• Best Apps to Make Money: List of mobile apps that great for finding extra money.

Everything to Know About Banking

Banking presents a particular challenge to unhoused people for several reasons.

In many cases, requiring a state-issued ID or permanent address makes opening an account out of reach. For others, owing a bank money or having a poor record with a bank is a significant obstacle.

While we can't recommend any workarounds for the proof-of-address issue, we have gathered some resources that may be helpful for getting a state-issued ID or getting an account if you have a troubled history with a bank. Find these resources, plus info on the basics of banking, below.

Banking Basics

• How to Choose Financial Products and Services: A guide helps to identify which financial products or services fit with the needs of the consumer.
  
• ABC's of Banking: Details about the difference between commercial banks, thrift banks, and credit unions.
  
• Checking vs. Savings Account: What's the Difference?: Details about different types of banking accounts.
  
• How to Choose a Bank: Information on the types of banks with advantages and disadvantages to differentiate each institution.
  
• Credit Unions vs Banks: Comparison between a credit union and bank to help college students understand the difference between financial institutions.
  
• Types of Checking Accounts: List of checking accounts with details about the different fees and conditions.
  
• Choosing and Using the Right Bank Account: Tips on what to look for a bank account and how to find the best bank.
  
• How To Pick A Bank Account: A checklist to help students find the best bank that suits them.
  
• What Is A Credit Union?: Explanation of what is a credit union, how it functions, and the perks of being a member of it.
  
• Credit Union Products and Services: List of products that a credit union offers to its consumers.
  
• BankFind: A tool that helps find banks and financial institutions that are insured by FDIC.
  
• Credit Union Locator: An online tool that helps consumers and union members find credit union branches around in the USA.
  
• MonkeySee: The Basics of Online Banking: Videos about how online banking works and how to protect banking information online.

Banking Without an ID

• How to Cash a Check Without a Bank Account or ID: The guide provides alternative steps on how to cash a check if you have no bank account or a valid ID.
  
• How to Get Your Social Security Number and Card: Individuals can get a Social Security Number and Card as a form of identification before or while experiencing homelessness.
  
• How to Get a Non-Driver Identification Card from the DMV: Homeless individuals can obtain a DMV non-driver identification card from the listed providers.
  
• How to Obtain Your Birth Certificate: Homeless individuals can use the CDC's online portal to find local offices to request a copy of their birth certificate.

If You Have Past Banking Mistakes

• You've Been Turned Down for a Checking or Savings Account. Now What?: Guide from FDIC that provides information about possible actions you can take after being denied a bank account.
  
• Chime Second Chance : Chime offers a checking account with no credit check and ChexSystems.
  
• BBVA Easy Checking: BBVA offers a second chance checking account for individuals with bad credit history and provides an opportunity to rebuild credit.
  
• Radius Essential Checking: Radius Banks offers a second chance checking account to help individuals who are not eligible to set-up regular accounts and with bad banking history.
  
• Varo Second Chance Banking Account: Varo Bank offers a second chance account for individuals that can't open a regular banking account or have a bad credit history.
  
• Webster Opportunity Checking: Webster offers a checking account for individuals with bad banking history and the opportunity to re-establish finances.
  
• CLEANslate Checking: First Financial Bank offers a second chance banking account to help rebuild financial status with a new start.

How to Cash a Check without a Bank Account

• Walmart Check & Card Cashing: A check cashing services to get money immediately without a bank account but requires a valid ID.
  
• Money Services Check Cashing: Check cashing services from multiple stores to convert the check to money fast and requires a valid ID.
  
• PayPal Cash-a-Check: PayPal has a cash checking service that requires to send a picture of the cheque online.

Building and Repairing Credit

Maybe your future goals include renting an apartment or saving up for a car.

If so, these credit basics can break down what steps to take to build healthy credit, repair poor credit, and improve overall financial health.

• Creating a Credit Profile: How To Build Your Credit: Steps that help students start building credit and understand how crucial a credit line for obtaining assets.
  
• How to Rebuild Your Credit: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provides a step-by-step guide in rebuilding credit score back to a good rating.
  
• Credit Scores: Tips that help improve credit score to avoid financial crises and be eligible for loans or insurance.
  
• Understanding Your Credit: FTC guide provides information about credit, history, score, and report.
  
• Your Credit History: A guide to help understands how credit history affects personal finances and how to maintain a good credit score.
  
• What is the difference between a credit report and a credit score?: Consumer's guide to help understand credit score and credit report.
  
• What Is a Good Credit Score?: FICO and VantageScore are the two credit scores used by lenders.
  
• What's in my FICO® Scores?: FICO scores calculation in the credit report and the credit data affect it.
  
• Credit Matters: A podcast focused on the impact of credit on financial decisions.

Credit Cards for Those with Poor Credit
Everyone's financial situation is different, and credit cards aren't an ideal option for everyone. But if you're in a position to apply for credit card, consider the following cards for rebuilding your credit.

• Fifth Third Secured Card: An exclusive secured card from Fifth Third Bank that helps their customer start building or improving credit through cash backs.
  
• Bank of America Cash Back Secured credit card: A secured credit card by Bank of America that helps starting or rebuilding credit through 1% to 3% cashback.
  
• BBT Secured Credit Cards: Secured credit cards offered by BB&T for rebuilding credit through cash backs from purchases.
  
• First Progress Secured Credit Cards: First Progress offers secured credit cards to help students without credit history establish a credit line.
  
• Key Secured Credit Card: KeyBank's secured credit card to help their customers start establishing or improving credit through cash backs.
  
• Secured Credit Card from SunTrust: Sun Trust's credit card with 2% cashback from groceries or gas and 1% cashback on other eligible transactions.
  
• TD Cash Secured Credit Card: TD Bank's secured credit card with 1% cashback on all transactions to help build or rebuild credit.
  
• U.S. Bank's Secured Visa Card: A credit card from US Bank to start building or rebuilding a credit line through purchases and paying bills on time.
  
• M&T Secured Credit Card: M&T Bank's secured credit card that helps start building or rebuilding credit line.

Paying Off Debt

If you have outstanding debt, there are plenty of resources at your disposal to pay it off and help regain control of your financial well-being.

Start with these tips and tools to break down debt piece-by-piece.

• Debt Payoff Planner: An app that can be used on tracking debt and expenses to make managing debt easier.
  
• Coping with Debt: Guide on how to handle and eliminate debt.
  
• Getting Out of Debt: A Guide: The guide helps people learn about debt management and to handle loans properly.
  
• How to Successfully Manage Debt: Consumer's guide that provides details about the effects of debt on personal finances and credit score.
  
• 10 Smart Ways to Get Out of Debt: Ten tips on how to handle and avoid debt.
  
• Credit and Debt Counseling: Free debt counseling that helps the participant understand the state of their finances and how to handle debt.
  
• Financial Counseling Association of America (FCAA): FCAA offers free counseling, financial education, and programs to help its members handle debt.
  
• National Foundation for Credit Counseling: A non-profit organization that provides free counseling to people with debt.

What to Do When You Owe People Money

• Debts You Owe And Debts You Don't: This provides info on what to expect and what to do if the person or company you owned money has hired a debt collector.
  
• What's the best way to negotiate a settlement with a debt collector?: The guide offers tips on how to handle debt collectors and how to negotiate a settlement.
  
• What are debt settlement/debt relief services (and should I use them)?: The guide provides information about debt settlement or relief services and the risks of the services.
  
• Negotiating with Creditors: What You Need to Know: The video focused on how to repay the debt by adjusting payment plans and how to start negotiating with creditors.

Saving Money

It's completely okay if saving money is not on your radar right now. But if you're hoping to start setting aside some money soon or later in the future, these articles can help you build a simple, sustainable strategy to do just that.

Remember: saving a little bit (even sporadically) can add up over time and help with unexpected costs.

• Savings Made Simple: Strategies with checklist to start reducing expenses and creating a budget plan.
  
• Shopping Savvy: Tips for teens on how to become a savvy shopper plus steps for finding great deals.
  
• How to Save Money With Coupons: A shopping guide focused on taking advantage of coupons to save money and to strike bargain while buying groceries and essentials.
  
• 10 Tips: Save More at the Grocery Store: Shopping tips that can help find better deals and save extra money for doing daily groceries.
  
• Shopping Tips for Finding Deals: Guide on how to become a savvy shopper and tips for finding great deals.
  
• Best Money Saving Apps: Review of best money apps for increasing savings and control spending.
  
• How to Save and Invest: Tips on how to manage money wisely and how to invest to grow money.
  
• 10 Ways to Save Money: Tips on how to save money by finding ways to reduce expenses and prioritize increasing savings.

Bottom Line

Whether you're seeking affordable housing or working toward self-sufficiency, there is plenty of info out there to help you get ahead and build stability.