July 2026

From Treasurer Steiner

I’ve been traveling across the state to hear what’s on Oregonians’ minds about money. Everywhere, people are worried. From increasing unaffordability to painful federal cuts that hurt families living on the edge, things are tough and getting tougher. Many local leaders told me about the dramatic increase in requests from families for help with groceries, food, transportation, and education. These are hard stories to hear, but I’m inspired by the local collaboration and support for one another so many mayors, business owners, and school officials shared with me.  Oregonians are also looking for ways to improve their long-term wellbeing. At Treasury we offer easy ways people can save for retirement, college and career programs, and disability-connected costs. We’ve also expanded incentives to help families start saving, with a $100 bonus for babies and kindergarteners. We want to give Oregonians every opportunity to reach their goals and thrive financially. Find resources and tools at FinanciallyFitOregon.org, and get connected to nonprofits in your area through our partnership with 211info.org. I’ll visit Bend and Pendleton this summer to continue my statewide conversations. I’ll also be at a Portland Pickles game on July 26 to help highlight how Oregon’s Embark savings program can help kids build toward their own dreams.  - Elizabeth Steiner, MD, Oregon State Treasurer

Know the risks at crypto kiosks

You may have seen machines popping up across Oregon that look like ATMs, but they allow you to buy and sell cryptocurrency. Regulators urge the public to understand the many risks if they are considering using these crypto kiosks.

• Understand what cryptocurrency is.
• Fees at crypto kiosks tend to be extraordinarily high.
• Importantly, money that’s fed into machines and transferred to scammers is almost always unrecoverable.

That’s made crypto kiosks a conduit for significant fraud. The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation says: “If anyone calls or texts and tells you to deposit cash into a crypto ATM, it’s a scam.”

Gig workers: Start saving for retirement with $5 a month 

Do you drive for Uber or Lyft? Deliver for InstaCart? Approximately 300,000 Oregonians participate in the gig economy. Most lack access to a company retirement plan. With as little as $5 a month, you can start saving on your own through OregonSaves, administered by the State Treasury.

Search for your unclaimed property, for free

Oregon currently has more than $1 billion in unclaimed assets like unpaid checks and utility refunds, waiting to be claimed by its rightful owners or their heirs. Is any of it yours, or your business’s? It’s free to check and get your assets, so don’t pay somebody – known as a “finder” – to do it for you!

Join us: Highlight your financial efforts and build partnerships on Aug. 11

The Oregon Financial Empowerment Advisory Team hosts its annual in-person meeting on August 11 in Tigard, at 2 p.m, in partnership with the Oregon Jump$tart Coalition. Attendees are invited to share updates about their organizations and their current projects.

Inflation and increasing unaffordability are stressing Oregon households. The 2026 Financial Wellness Scorecard showed that 73% of respondents to an Oregon survey made budget changes due to rising costs of food and housing. For households with minor children at home, that figure climbed to 82%.

Oregon Financial Empowerment Roundup

Featured Events

July 25

Financial Wellness Workshop

July 29

Student Debt Workshop

July 30

FinCamp for Educators

August 11

Financial Empowerment Advisory Team

August 12

Wildfire Insurance and Risk

August 13

Eugene Library: Buying a Car

August 18

Financial Beginnings: College Savings

August 18

Bank On Oregon Coalition

Featured Partners