Free Financial Webinars from County Extension Office

Financial Webinars

by Elaine Courtney

Financial Webinars–Participate from your office, home or web-enabled device. It’s easy! Visit the registration link to reserve your spot. Then log on the day of the webinar to participate.
Thursday, August 9 – 11:30 to 12:30 p.m.
The 4 Don’ts of Talking About Money
Learn how to better communicate when discussing finances to help maintain a happy relationship and a secure financial future.
http://bit.ly/MTFam
Thursday, August 23 – 11:30 to 12:30 p.m.
What’s Your Money Personality?
Learn how to evaluate your money personality and the effect it can have on your financial situation.
http://bit.ly/MoneyP

How to Organize Your Coupons with a Binder!

Help for Difficult Financial Times | USA.gov

Great resources to assist you and your family cope during these difficult financial times: Help for Difficult Financial Times | USA.gov

10 Tips for Staying on Budget

In this article by Sarah Siddons, you'll explore 10 tips for staying on budget, without losing your sanity. 

Get-Out-of-Debt Checklist from Real Simple Magazine

Get-Out-of-Debt Checklist

Does the old saying "Another year older and deeper in debt" ring too true? Take these steps now to reduce your debt and fix credit problems.

Free Yourself From Credit Card Debt

• Transfer your balance to a low-rate card. But only under certain circumstances. A zero percent teaser offer can be a good option if you plan to pay off your balance completely and you don’t charge anything else on the card. However, make sure that the lender is not charging any balance transfer fees, and beware: Terms can be changed at any time.
• Negotiate a lower rate. It’s possible if you have good credit.
• Close unused cards. If you never use a credit card, close the account and cut up the card to discourage identity theft. Make sure to get rid of newer cards first; a lengthy credit history with a single lender helps to improve your credit score.
• Visit creditcardnation.com. The calculator estimates the time it will take to pay off your credit card debt.

Fix Your Housing Debt

• Contact a certified financial planner to discuss your situation and options. They are trained to provide advice for prudent money management.
• Consider refinancing. If you have an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), find out if you can refinance it to a fixed-rate mortgage. With a fixed-rate you’ll benefit from refinancing if you have top-notch credit and good, steady income.
• If you’re in danger of foreclosure, research your alternatives. You may be tempted to cut your losses and move on, but visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Web site (hud.gov) to research your other options.

Handle Student Loans

• Consolidate your student loans. Lock in a reduced interest rate to make your monthly payments more manageable and your budget more predictable.

Take Steps to Improve Your Credit

• Run a credit check on yourself. For a free credit report once a year, visit annualcreditreport.com. Related: How to Check Your Credit
• Consider a secured loan for debt consolidation. A single monthly payment can help you chip away at your debt faster. And if you make all your payments on time, your credit will improve.
• Limit yourself to three or four cards. Every new credit card application results in a credit-report inquiry, which causes your credit score to drop by as many as five points.
• Write out a strict budget and stick to it. It sounds like a no-brainer, but the best way to improve your credit score is to cut unnecessary spending and redirect extra income to start paying off debt.

Couponing 101 @ Your Library

At the Niceville Community Center

Thursday, June 14, 2012

6:30 pm

Free Program

Sponsored by

Got Coupons? USA’s coupon classes are designed to educate people on how to cut their grocery bills from 50 – 90 %! 

Best Free Websites and FAQ's Libguides on Investing and Finance

This libguide resource will provide the best of the best "free" websites as well as answer basic questions on investing and finance.

MAXIMUM VACATION 4 MINIMUM $

ONLINE WEBINAR - Participate from your office, home or web-enabled device
It’s easy! Then log on the day of the webinar to discover ideas for planning your vacation and getting the most for your money. Just click on the registration link below to reserve your spot. (For web-enabled devices—download free app from Citrix GoToMeeting)

Thursday, May 24, 11:30 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. CDT

To Register:

http://bit.ly/maxvacmindollars

For more information contact::

Elaine Courtney UF/IFAS Okaloosa County Extension

ecourtne@ufl.edu 850-689-5850

Your Mind and Your Money

Your Mind and Your Money, feature series exploring behavioral finance and its implications for investors produced by Nightly Business Report, in partnership with Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

Are You Financially Fit?

A brochure and a workbook (in both English and Spanish) created by researchers at Florida State University after a three-year study contrasting the personal finance strategies of households who had similar opportunities to accumulate wealth over their lifetimes but ended up with very different amounts of wealth nearing retirement (released 2010).

• Brochure in English (PDF 592 KB) | en Español (PDF 588 KB)
• Workbook in English (PDF 804 KB) | en Español (PDF 731 KB)

Online Personal Finance Game for Middle and High School Student

The Gen i Revolution is a competitive online game developed by the Council for Economic Education to teach personal finance skills to middle and high school students. The "Murktide," a confusion about basic personal finance principles, is rapidly spreading across the population, and middle and high school students are the last line of defense against a lifetime of poor financial decisions. By completing 15 interactive missions, the students are able to help people in financial trouble and beat back the Murktide infestation.

Financial Literacy Resources for Parents and Children

Many schools no longer offer formal financial literacy classes as part of their curriculum.  Leaving it up to the parents to educate their children.  Here are some great online resources to assist you:

The Council for Economic Education's Financial Fitness for Life Parent Guide is a comprehensive resource that helps parents lead kids K-12 through all of the important aspects of personal finance.

The Muppets teach young children about spending, saving and giving in Sesame Street's "For Me, For You, For Later" videos and printable activities. A parents' guide is included.

At The Mint, activities, games, quizzes, pointers and tools relating to personal finance are broken down into sections for children, teens, parents and teachers. It was created by Northwestern Mutual Foundation with the Council on Economic Education.

Consumer Jungle, a collaboration between the University of Arizona's Take Charge America Institute and the Young Adult Consumer Education Trust provides tweens, teens and young adults with lessons, blogs, games and interactive tools dealing with credit, savings, insurance and more.

Visa partnered with consumer advocates, educators and financial institutions to create Practical Money Skills for Life, geared toward consumers and students of all ages. It includes videos, podcasts, articles, calculators and lesson plans intended to teach the essentials of personal finance.

Kids Count, a free activity workbook and online field trip, are intended to bridge the gap between classroom and home education about personal finance. You can also order an educational board game for $25. The materials are created by the Networks Financial Institute at Indiana State University.

Videos from the Biz Kid$ public television series, as well as games and other activities, teach children how to make and manage money. Funded by America's Credit Unions and presented by WXXI-TV, the Rochester, N.Y., public TV station.

Yes You Can offers a full curriculum, newsletters and tools to help parents and educators teach young people how to build financial independence. The site is sponsored by American Century Investments.