Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education

Much like the board game Othello, personal finance and healthy economic habits take a minute to learn, but a lifetime to master.There has always been a lot to know and keep up with in the field of financial education, but this has increased exponentially with the increase in information and technology. This makes organizations like the AFCPE more mandatory than ever before. Since 1983, the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education has set the standards for the field of personal finance and finance counseling. AFCPE professionals have helped individuals and families learn, grow, and cultivate their best financial practices. AFCPE's Rebecca Wiggins took a moment out of her busy schedule to share some of three decades worth of experience. AFCPE was founded in 1983 by experts in the field who recognized the need for professional support for financial counselors and educators. Our organization is uniquely built upon decades of field research, from which our certification programs like the AFC® (Accredited Financial Counselor) were created. Our certification marks represent the highest standards of excellence in the field of financial counseling and education. AFCPE programs train professionals to guide clients through a holistic counseling framework of life-cycle financial education. This allows the professional to provide a high-level, tailored approach based on the needs of each client to effectively analyze and create lasting financial behavior change. AFCPE's mission is to provide professional development experiences for financial educators, practitioners and researchers to improve the economic well-being of individuals and families worldwide. AFCPE supports professionals from a variety of sectors. Many of our professionals inform the work of the field through academic research. AFCPE professionals also provide financial education to service members and their families on military installations, or through classes they teach at a college or university. Others work in banks or credit unions, financial aid offices, or law firms. Many work in Cooperative Extension, nonprofit community agencies, credit counseling agencies, or private practice. What makes our professional base so unique is the overlap of educator, researcher and practitioner roles and the way our professionals work together, support each other and strengthen the work being done in the field