To say that the current economic times are challenging might seem like an understatement. With daily market swings and global financial uncertainty, people everywhere are concerned about protecting and preserving their money. While this uncertainty can make all of us feel a little lost as to what to do next, it's more important than ever to be proactive about your personal finances and manage your money with care.

For just under a year now, the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy has been putting their heads together to come up with policies and programs that promote financial literacy for all Americans. Their goal -- and mine -- is to provide substantive guidance and resources that can help people make smart financial choices during both good times and bad.

To that end, the Council is offering the following tips with links to useful information that can help you understand your own financial situation and take steps to protect and improve it.

1. Understand how your bank or credit union account is insured. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) or the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) insures all deposits at insured banks and credit unions up to at least $250,000*. To check whether your financial institution is insured visit here or here.

2. Understand how your investments are protected. Brokerage firms are required to be members of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which insures customer securities accounts up to $500,000, including $100,000 in cash claims, when a brokerage firm fails. To learn more about these protections, visit www.sec.gov/answers/investoralert.htm or go to www.sipc.org.

3. Always keep lines of communication open with your mortgage lender. As soon as you know you may have difficulty meeting your mortgage or home equity loan payments, contact a counselor to work out a payment plan at HOPENOW.com or by calling 888-995-HOPE (4673).

4. Protect your credit score. Only put on your credit cards what you can afford to pay back. For other hints on improving your credit score, visit controlyourcredit.gov. Also, to protect against identity theft, get a free copy of your credit report at annualcreditreport.com.

5. Make sure you have a rainy day fund. Keep an emergency fund worth three to six months of your monthly expenses in an insured account. If you don't have an emergency fund, try to start one. Visit the budget calculators on www.controlyourcredit.gov/html/debt_management.html. Continued...