Campus 

Financial Aid Information

Financial Aid Office

For information on grants, loans, scholarships, work-study programs, or a broad range of other financially related issues (i.e. tax returns, glossary of commonly used financial terms, money management tools, free online interactive money management courses, etc.) please visit http://www.csun.edu/financialaid or call (818) 677-4085. For an in-person visit, go to the first floor of Bayramian Hall.

Financial Planning Organizations that are on Campus

CSUN Saves	All across campus, students just like you are proving that you don’t have to be rich to build wealth. All you have to do is to learn about your finances. One of the ways to educate yourself on financial related issues is to become a CSUN Saves member. As members of CSUN Saves, students are paying off their debts and actually saving, so that they can reach their financial goals! CSUN Saves can help with tips and tools to help you set goals, develop strategies to reach those goals, and start saving! So what are you waiting for? Join CSUN Saves today and start making your dreams a reality by visiting https://americasaves.org/local-campaigns/csun-saves/.
CSUN Smart Spenders	The purpose of forming this organization is to provide California State University, Northridge (CSUN) with a community of cost-conscientious students to facilitate fun opportunities to learn and share ways to spend smartly money by the means of saving, budgeting, coupons, freebies, and awareness of discounts and opportunities available to each member. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/smartspenders/.
Center for Financial Planning & Investments	The center can help students with their personal financial planning and provide information about financial related issues. The center is located in the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330-8245. To learn more about the center or to access links to instructional material that can help you learn more about personal finance, please visit http://www.cfpionline.org/. To schedule an appointment to visit the center, please emailcfpi@cfpionline.org.
Bookstein Tax Clinic	The mission of the Bookstein Tax Clinic is to provide pro bono representation to low income taxpayers facing tax disputes with the IRS, and to educate low income taxpayers and taxpayers who speak English as a second language about their rights and responsibilities under the federal tax system. To learn more visit/bookstein-institute.
The Wayne and Roberta Colmer Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA)	The VITA program provides timely and relevant federal and state information to the community concerning taxpayers’ rights and responsibilities. In addition, this program satisfies the widespread need for free tax return assistance, primarily for low-income individuals, senior citizens, non-English-speaking individuals, and the disabled located in CSUN’s surrounding community. /acctis/volunteer-income-tax-assistance-program.

Financial Education Courses

University Catalog

The catalogue has a list of courses that are offered each semester. FIN 102 (Financial Literacy), FIN 302 (Personal Finance), and FCS 323 (Family & Individual Money management) are some of the financial related courses being offered. https://catalog.csun.edu/general-education/courses/

Identity Theft & Fraud Information

Department of Police Services

Every student should be familiar with the Department of Police Services page. Information ranging from enrolling in a crime prevention program to Identity theft and fraud information can be found on http://www-admn.csun.edu/dps/police/. To reach campus police by telephone call (818) 677-2111.Campus police is located on the corner of Darby Ave. and Prairie St.

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Community

Financial Assistance

LA County Helps	Need Assistance With Healthcare, Buying Food, Childcare, Bills, or Something Else? “LACountyHelps!” is a website that quickly and confidentially checks what assistance programs you (or your family) are eligible for.  http://lacountyhelps.org/go/?frompage=topic1&lastPage=PageIntro001
The Department of Water and Power (DWP)	Can’t Pay Your Water or Power Bill? The Department of Water and Power (DWP) offers several programs to either low-income individuals / families or persons who have experienced severe economic hardships. Call 1-800-342-5397 for more information or visit https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/ladwp/residential/r-financialassistance?_adf.ctrl-state=sj0qo479a_4&_afrLoop=56061673635186

Identity Theft

LA County

The Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs is ready to help get your identity back. For more information, please visit their website at https://dcba.lacounty.gov/portfolio/filing-an-identity-theft-police-report/ or call them at (213) 974-9459.

Consumer Information

Consumer Action

Consumer Action is dedicated to helping individual consumers assert their rights in the marketplace and to advancing pro-consumer industry-wide change for the benefit of all. We achieve this mission through consumer education, multilingual and multicultural community outreach and issue-focused advocacy. Consumer Action advances consumer rights, nation-wide, by referring complaints, publishing educational materials in multiple languages, advocating for consumers in the media and before lawmakers, and comparing prices on credit cards, bank accounts and long distance services. Consumer Action provides free, non-legal advice and referrals on a wide range of issues, in Chinese, English and Spanish. For more information call (213) 624-8327 or visit https://www.consumer-action.org/.

Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs

To promote a fair and vibrant marketplace, we serve consumers, businesses, and communities through education, advocacy, and complaint resolution. We serve over 750,000 consumers annually and are the largest local consumer protection agency in the United States. The following is a list of our specialized programs. These programs focus department services in targeted areas to protect the diverse needs of consumers in Los Angeles County: Consumer Protection Services, Real Estate Fraud & Information Program, Small Claims Court Advisor Program, Dispute Settlement Service, and Adult Protective Services – Fraud Protection Program. To learn more visit http://dca.lacounty.gov or call (800) 593-8222.

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State 

California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)

The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is here to protect and serve California consumers while ensuring a competent and fair marketplace. DCA helps consumers learn how to protect themselves from unscrupulous and unqualified individuals. The Department also protects professionals from unfair competition by unlicensed practitioners. To learn more visit http://www.dca.ca.gov/ or call (800) 952-5210.

California Department of Insurance

The Department’s statewide toll-free consumer Hotline, 800-927-HELP (4357), provides callers with immediate access to current information on insurance issues.  The Hotline is staffed by knowledgeable insurance professionals who can answer questions, give direction, and provide assistance to consumers who are experiencing insurance related problems or concerns. To learn more visit http://www.insurance.ca.gov/ or call 1-(800) 927- 4357.

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National

Financial Literacy and Education Commission	MyMoney.gov is the U.S. government’s website dedicated to teaching all Americans the basics about financial education. This website is a product of the Congressionally chartered Federal Financial Literacy and Education Commission, which is made up of more than 20 Federal entities that are coordinating and collaborating to strengthen financial capability and increase access to financial services for all Americans. The Commission was established by the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act, Title V of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-159). To learn more visithttps://www.mymoney.gov/.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)	CFPB’s mission is to give consumers the information they need to understand the terms of their agreements with financial companies. They are working to make regulations and guidance as clear and streamlined as possible so providers of consumer financial products and services can follow the rules on their own. To earn more visit https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ or call (885)411-2372.
Department of Labor	DOL’s mission is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights. The Department of Labor administers and enforces more than 180 federal laws. These mandates and the regulations that implement them cover many workplace activities for about 10 million employers and 125 million workers. To learn more visit https://www.dol.gov/.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)	The FTC works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To learn more visit https://consumer.ftc.gov/   OR   https://www.ftc.gov/. To talk over the phone with some at the FTC call 1-877-382-4357.
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)	FINRA is an independent, not-for-profit organization authorized by Congress to protect America’s investors by making sure the securities industry operates fairly and honestly. FINRA is also tasked with helping educate investors. To learn more visit https://www.finra.org/investors.