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Free financial counseling and coaching

NYC Financial Empowerment Centers | NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP)

1. How it Works

NYC Financial Empowerment Centers provide free, one-on-one professional financial counseling and coaching to help you reach your goals.

  • Your financial counselor will work with you to:
    • Manage your money
    • Check your credit
    • Set up a spending plan
    • Open a safe and affordable bank account
    • Contact your lenders about debt, including student loans
    • Develop a strategy to reduce your debt or lower payments
    • Access emergency government resources
  • In your first session, you will develop a list of action steps to help you reach your financial goals.
    • Your counselor will ask you about your financial history and ask to see any financial documents.
    • You may attend as many follow-up sessions as you want with your counselor.
  • You can meet with a counselor in person or over the phone.
    • You can choose your preferred language for services.
  • Services are secure and confidential.
  • Financial Empowerment Centers do not provide loans or grants.

2. Determine your eligibility

You are eligible for free financial counseling if you:

  • Live or work in NYC; and
  • Are at least 18 years old

Income and immigration status do not matter.

3. What you need to include

Your financial counselor can better support you if they have more information about your finances. If you don’t have your documents with you, that’s OK too!

Financial documents you can show your counselor include:

  • Bills or statements
  • Copies of your credit report
  • Collection notices
  • Copies of your tax returns
  • Paystubs
  • Court papers
  • Student loan bills or loan information, which can be found on studentaid.gov

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4. How to Apply

4. How to apply

Here are your options.

Apply by phone

Come back to it later.
We can send you a link to this page to help you get back to it when you’re ready.

More ways to get help with this program

Learn more online

Go to the DCWP webpage about Financial Empowerment Centers or read the FAQ.

Call 311

Say “Financial Empowerment Centers” or “financial counseling”

Call the Financial Empowerment Center hotline

212-487-4583

Last Updated August 8, 2023

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