The Filene Research Institute has sold its popular Debt in Focustool to San Francisco-based SavvyMoney, a comprehensive resourcecompany providing a mix of “do it yourself” tools and advice tohelp individuals get out of debt quickly.

According to Mark Meyer, CEO of Filene in Madison, Wis., themove forward in a relationship with SavvyMoney has been a way tolive the Edward Filene quote: “Progress is the constant replacingof the best there is with something better still.”

“With Filene's success, we have also learned ourlimitations. In order to be our best, Debt in Focus foundSavvyMoney to be the best company to align with in order tomeet our members' ever-evolving needs,” said Meyer.

“We are looking forward to collaborating with the Filene teammoving forward to provide the very best product for the creditunion industry. Together, with our technical expertise andtheir unparalleled expertise in the industry, we will shape thenext version of Debt in Focus to help improve the user experiencefor consumers and credit unions, and maximize the overall impact ofthe tool on helping users turn their financial lives around,” saidJB Orecchia, CEO of SavvyMoney.

Debt in Focus is the product of an i³innovation team's goal to make financial guidance simple,powerful and anonymous. More than 500,000 consumers have receivedfinancial assessments, workable budgets and actionable guidancethrough 300 credit unions since the tool was publicly launched inApril 2010, Filene said.

For consumers, particularly those intimidated by traditionalofferings, it provides a thorough debt analysis, along with all ofthe support necessary to help in reaching their debt managementgoals, Filene said.

Credit unions will get more out of Debt in Focus, with bettertechnology, increased branding flexibility, enhanced administrativetools, and providing a soup-to-nuts solution for members, theorganization said.