About
The Howard County Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) provides professional, confidential financial counseling - a free service for the Howard County Community. With guidance you can count on, the FEC offers one-on-one support to anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in the County to navigate financial challenges and build a more secure future.
Reach Your Goals with Financial Counseling
Whether you're working to get out of debt or planning for the future, financial counseling gives you the support and guidance to move forward with confidence.
- Pay Down Debt – Get personalized strategies to tackle credit card, student loan, and other types of debt; one step at a time.
- Improve Your Credit Score – A poor credit score can keep you from renting an apartment, getting a job, buying a car, and more. Struggling with poor credit? Your financial counselor will work with you to understand your credit report and create a plan to raise your score.
- Save for the Future – Whether you're saving for an emergency fund, a big purchase, or long-term goals, we’ll help you create—and stick to—a savings plan.
- Access Safe, Affordable Financial Products – Find trusted, low-fee accounts and avoid high-cost financial traps like overdraft fees.
- Leave a Legacy – Preserve your assets for your family.
The Howard County Financial Empowerment Center is a partnership between Howard County and United Way of Central Maryland. It is based on a successful national model supported by The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. The Howard County FEC is free for anyone age 18 and up who lives, works, or goes to school in Howard County.
How to Get Started
- Make an appointment: Click the appointment link to choose the time, day, and location, and select a financial counselor.
- Prepare for your first visit by gathering pay stubs and bank statements.
- First Session: The first session lasts roughly 60 minutes. You’ll meet your counselor, complete a Financial Health Assessment, and begin setting goals.
- Check in: Additional 30 minute sessions will keep you on track to meet your goals.
Why Financial Counseling?
Finances can be overwhelming, especially when you're trying to make the right choices about debt, borrowing, and saving. A professional financial counselor can help you create a practical plan— and support you every step of the way.
Manage Your Finances With Confidence
Our Partners
The CFE Fund’s mission is to leverage municipal engagement to improve the financial stability of low and moderate income households by embedding financial empowerment strategies into local government infrastructure. The Fund works with mayoral administrations and those interested in supporting them to implement innovative programs and policies—and measures its success accordingly.
Launched at the New York Stock Exchange in April, 2012, the CFE Fund provides funding and technical assistance to mayors and their teams to develop, launch, replicate and test financial empowerment strategies.
The Office of Consumer Protection helps protect Howard County consumers and tenants by conciliating disputes, taking enforcement action, providing education on consumer and financial literacy topics, and giving tips on how to avoid scams or make smart purchasing decisions.
United Way of Central Maryland builds healthy and resilient communities, expands youth opportunity, and strengthens financial security through programs and resource hubs in communities across Greater Baltimore. For more than 100 years, United Way has strengthened lives and neighborhoods by meeting ongoing and emerging needs in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard counties.
