Resources for Financial Educators 

January 24th Recording

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently issued two new reports on the financial opportunities and challenges facing Southern communities. The reports examine a range of issues in the region, such as access to banking services, access to capital such as mortgage loans and small business loans, as well as other issues such medical debt. These reports build on CFPB’s prior work to explore regional trends in consumer finances, particularly in rural areas.

Presented by Diane Standaert, Senior Engagement and Policy Fellow.

October 25th Recording

In August 2022 the federal government enacted the Inflation Reduction Act that ushered in new tax credits and rebates to help homeowners make energy efficiency improvements. In this session Michigan and Wisconsin Extension specialists will share details about how residents in your communities can access these credits and rebates when making heating, air conditioning, water heater, insulation, window, and other home improvements that reduce energy costs.

Presenters will also focus on how community residents can avoid home remodeling scams as well as sharing information about a new sustainable living curriculum created by three land grant universities.

Presented by Dr. Erica Tobe, Jenny Abel, and Sherrie Gruder.

Dr. Erica Tobe is an extension specialist of the financial and homeownership education team with MSU Extension. In this role, Tobe provides program leadership including serving as the team grant principal investigator and providing primary oversight in research initiatives and curriculum development. Jenny Abel is the Program Manager for Financial Security at University of Wisconsin Madison. She works with Extension educators around the state to help meet the financial education needs of local residents. Sherrie Gruder, LEED AP, is a Distinguished Sustainable Design Specialist and Energy Strategist with UW-Madison Division of Extension. Sherrie provides statewide education and technical assistance on sustainable community development, clean energy strategies, and green building to support the resilience and economic vitality of Wisconsin communities, local governments, tribes, and businesses.

August 23rd Recording

Have you visited a car dealership with all those new, intriguing, shiny cars? Are you tempted to buy? Showing three toy cars: one economy car, one moderately priced car and one luxury car without mentioning the price of each car, participants will vote for the car they would like to buy. After making their choices, participants will explore the decision-making and thinking skills required to make a “good deal” by analyzing deals criteria—income test, downpayment option, the time option, and the interest rate of different car deals. Collateral, credit, contracts, loans, liens, principal, and net income are all parts of the car deal venue for teaching personal finance. Access to a complete ready-to-use FREE pdf lesson and alternate online version provided

Presented by Jeannette Bennett, Federial Reserve Bank of St. Louis. A Senior Economic Education Specialist for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and is based in Memphis.  She is a national award winner for the teaching of economics and was designated as a Master Economics Teacher.  With experience in many levels of education, she has served as a teacher, school administrator, adjunct professor, and curriculum consultant and designer.  She has written curriculum for various organizations before beginning her career at the Federal Reserve in 2004.  As Senior Economic Education Specialist, she continues to write, design, develop and present economic and personal finance curriculum and resources in workshops and conferences throughout the region and across the nation. She has authored and co-authored numerous curricula and was presented a national award in 2022 by the National Association of Economic Education for her service in education. Bennett has degrees in education, educational leadership, curriculum, and administration.

June 28th Recording

Celebrate the 30-year anniversary of PowerPay – a debt reduction tool created by Utah State University in 1993. PowerPay has provided personalized debt repayment plans, is used and recommended by Extension professionals in multiple states, and is utilized by the military and large corporations. Learn how this long-standing Extension program is one of the best free tools to help consumers streamline their debt payoff, saving money on interest and years of debt repayment. Discover how to use PowerPay and how to incorporate it into financial education to enhance consumers’ ability to make realistic debt payoff plans.

Presented by Melanie Jewkes, Extension Professor and Vincenza Vicari-Bentley, AFC, Extension Program Coordinator. Melanie D. Jewkes is an Extension Professor with Utah State University, based in Salt Lake County.  She oversees programs in family finance, nutrition and food preservation. She directs the PowerPay program and the USU Extension HUD- and USDA Rural Housing-approved online homebuyer education course. Vincenza Vicari-Bentley is an Accredited Financial Counselor and Program Coordinator for the Empowering Financial Wellness program with Utah State University-Extension, based in Salt Lake County. 

May 24, 2023 Recording

This session chronicles the successes of The University of Tennessee Extension’s (UT Extension) work as a third-party partner in the delivery of workforce development programming geared toward individuals receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. An overview of the federal program funding this work and a discussion of how UT Extension forged a state-level partnership for the delivery of workforce services will be discussed. Initial markers of program success will be offered.  Finally, in an effort to advance Extension’s capacity in workforce development, lessons learned will be outlined.

Presented by Dr. Sneed, Assistant Professor and Consumer Economics Specialist with University of Tennessee. Dr. Sneed is responsible for planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating research-based adult and youth Extension programs in Consumer Economics. Dr. Sneed's specific focus areas include behavioral economics, workforce development for limited resource populations, programming for limited resource audiences, and programs in family resource management. Dr. Sneed's research interests center on consumer behavior especially as it relates to food resource management and food access. Dr. Sneed's extensive external funding and his scholarly works position him as a leader in the fields of local foods, food marketing, food resource management and access, and family resource management.

March 22, 2023 Recording

Did you know you can get insurance for your pets? Almost 4 million pets in the United States were covered by insurance in 2021. But how does it work? How expensive is it? And, most importantly, is it worth the cost? Join us to learn about how pet insurance works and how people can make informed decisions about whether pet insurance can help them save money at the vet office. 

Carrie Sorenson, Financial Wellness Educator with University of Maryland Extension 

August 24, 2022 Recording

This webinar provides an overview of USDA NIFA Programs and Partnerships, where we support American communities by delivering actionable, decision-relevant information, that helps build household and community resilience. Jess Turner will introduce current priorities, partnerships, and initiatives and offer a framework through a grass root approach for rural (financial) resilience.

Jess Turner, United States Dept. of Agriculture, National Institute of Food & Agriculture
Jess Turner was sworn in as a Biological Science Program Specialist with USDA NIFA Institute of Youth and Community (IYFC) Division of Family & Consumer Sciences (DFCS) on June 5, 2020. The focal point of her work is the coordination and success of six (6) Competitive Grant Programs to include: Small Business Innovation Research Program 8.6 Phase 1 & Phase 2 (SBIR 8.6 PI & PII), COVID-19 USDA NIFA Rapid Relief Response Team (Rapid Response), Farm Benchmarking Management and Benchmarking (FBMB), AFRI Agriculture and Rural Communities (AERC) Rural Economic Development (A1661) **Institute of Food Production and Sustainability (IFPS) Division of Agricultural Systems (DAS), Extension Risk Management Education (ERME) and one Non-Competitive Grant Program: Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDC).

July 27, 2022 Recording

This financial literacy education program consists of 12 lessons and an accompanying facilitator guide. It provides action-oriented strategies and tools to support adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. It is intended for staff and volunteers of community service organizations who work with this audience. The curriculum intends to build participant confidence and a sense of control when dealing with money management. Some topics covered include making good money decisions, organizing and keeping records, saving, making and managing a spending plan, protecting your money, paying bills, understanding credit, and controlling debt.

Presented by Brenda Long. Brenda is a Senior Extension Educator with Michigan State University Extension and has been based in Ionia County since 2002. Her programming has been focused on health, financial capacity and homeownership education. Long has been instrumental in developing and/or training for county, regional and statewide programs. She has also been the Principal Investigator for several federal grants

June 29, 2022 Recording

Planning AHEAD is a new curriculum that was created in response to community assessment data showing a need to help those left behind (especially spouses/partners) after a loved one dies to transition to living on their own. The curriculum features seven modules covering the topics of Getting Started, Handling Financial Changes, Advance Medical and Legal Directives, Estate Planning, Choices in End-of-Life Care, Final Wishes, and Understanding Grief. Planning AHEAD provides clear and comprehensive tools to help people make their end-of-life wishes known and to ease the transition for loved ones left behind.

Presented by Jenny Abel, Financial Security Outreach Program Manager. Jenny Abel is the Financial Security Outreach Program Manager within the Human Development and Relationships Institute at the UW-Madison’s Division of Extension since October of 2019. Prior to this work, Jenny worked for more than 18 years in the Arlington office of Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) leading financial, nutrition, and energy conservation education programs.

June 9, 2022 Recording

Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?™ offers proven research-informed practical strategies to optimize inheritance planning and protect family relationships when passing on personal possessions.  Whether you’ve taught this for years, or are new to the program, this webinar offers updates on best practices and the range of available educational resources.  This timely program is celebrating 28 years of delivery with continued relevance and demand nationwide. Few families escape navigating the “passing on” of personal possessions in later life. 

Participants will gain awareness and understanding of:

• Why families and inheritance matter as an issue
• Brief history of WGGYPP and research base
• Overview of current educational tools and resources
• Best practices:  What works, target audiences, protecting program quality and integrity

Presented by Marlene Stum. Marlene Stum, PhD. is a Professor in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota.  Marlene’s career has focused on research-based outreach and engagement in family economics and social gerontology. She’s a leader in addressing normative decisions few families escape, but often avoid, including inheritance (transfer of property), end-of-life health care, financing long term care, and the potential for elder financial exploitation by a family member.  She is most well-known for Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?™ a program internationally recognized for supporting families in non-titled property decisions.  While Marlene is retiring June, 2022, the program will continue on!

October 20, 2021 Recording

“Heirs’ Property” occurs when property passes to family members without a legally designated owner. The heirs’ own the property without a clear title which restricts being able to use the asset to accumulate wealth and has resulted in significant land loss to underrepresented groups. Join this webinar to understand more about the topic of heirs’ property and how Extension can improve the wealth of families and communities through educational efforts.

Becky Smith works in the areas of economic education, agritourism and economic development. She delivers workshops, provides applied research, grant writing support and leadership in collaborative efforts across Mississippi to teachers, agritourism operators, Extension Agents, elected officials and economic development professionals. She leads the MS Agritourism Steering Committee to bring public agency service providers, private operators, and related associations together to leverage available resources. She directs the MSU Extension Center for Economic Education and Financial Literacy to increase economic intelligence throughout Mississippi. Workshops target economic and education topics including how we think, learn, and make decisions; consumer behavior; common core state standards; data-driven decision-making; energy, environmental and international economics; entrepreneurship; service-learning; and civic dialogue.

July 28, 2021 Recording

Imagine a 5-minute game activity where you drag cash onto each of your debts, deciding which one to pay off first.  Instead of some generic loan balances and APRs, you play using your own info.  At the end of the lesson, you won’t have to figure out how to apply a generic theory to your unique financial situation – you'll have already done that.

Learn how the MoneyNosh® game is designed to overcome many of the key obstacles to adult financial literacy – by combining personalization, behavioral economics, and fun.  Discuss ways we might partner with your current education programs.

Presented by Jeff Nagel, MoneyNosh Founder & CEO, spent over 30 years helping financial institutions market their products to consumers.

June 23, 2021 Recording.

In January and February of 2021, the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) partnered with the Council for Economic Education (CEE) to host five convenings focused on specific challenges in the K-12 financial education space and touched on the following policy topics:

• Financial education’s role in equitable access to post-secondary education
• Alternative approaches to financial education mandates
• What research says is effective in financial education and how to best support that with legislative dollars
• How to better support the unique needs of communities isolated from the mainstream; and
• How can we better align financial education to support the values and contexts of diverse communities?

This session will highlight major themes from those conversations and discuss possible next steps for different stakeholders in the financial ecosystem so that everyone has the knowledge, confidence and opportunity to live their best financial life.

Chris Shannon serves as the Vice President of External Affairs, overseeing the communications, marketing, and NEFE’s strategic partnership functions. Ms. Shannon’s work with NEFE started well before she was formally brought on as staff; she has been helping hundreds of educators, non-profit staff and private sector volunteers effectively leverage NEFE’s materials to benefit young adults in MA, NY, RI and VA. In addition, Shannon helped design financial education train-the-trainer models in CA, CO, MA and VT.  Ms. Shannon’s career started as an educator in urban, vocational, comprehensive, gifted and talented, community college and university settings. She has also spent a significant part of her career directing regional youth workforce development programming for two regional workforce development boards and one community college. Prior to joining NEFE, Ms. Shannon served as a deputy director for the Regional & Community Development department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston where she oversaw strategies that supported the department’s goals to advance policies and innovations that promote economic growth and improve employment opportunities in lower-income communities of New England.

May 26, 2021 Financial Security Recording

FDIC Money Smart Webinar Slides - coming soon!

Links shared in the webinar

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is introducing an enhanced version of its "Money Smart for Young People" (MSYP) curriculum. This version benefits from insights received from 26 educators who taught 83 MSYP sessions as part of a special project. Based on their experiences, it includes modern, east to read educator guides, redesigned student handouts and more resources. It also incorporates Building Block activities developed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that can help promote lifelong learning and financial skills development. And, the Parent/Caregiver Guides have been enhanced, including information that can introduce parents to a youth banking program.

This event will help the attendees use MSYP either virtually or in-person. We will also cover related resources from the FDIC. These include a new digital toolkit featuring fillable lessons tha can be completed online or printed.

April 28, 2021 Financial Security Recording

Lessons Learned from Logic Models Slides

Spock says, “logic is the beginning of wisdom not the end.” Since 2015 the national network of Extension family resource management professionals has worked to aggregate FRM program data. Celebrate our collective success, share lessons learned, and discuss next steps towards achieving conditional outcomes and sustainability.

February 24, 2021 Financial Security Recording

COVID-19 and Your Finances Slides

Americans can be grouped into three categories with respect to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their finances:

• Reduced income and struggling
• Stable income but anxious
• Increased income with opportunities

No matter what category you fall into, there are actions steps you can take to improve your personal finances.  Rutgers University distinguished professor emeritus and Owner/CEO of Money Talk: Financial Planning seminars and publications, Dr. Barbara O’Neill, CFP®, will provide financial tips for each category with an emphasis on the first two groups.

Dr. Barbara O’Neill, CFP®, AFC®, CRPC® is the owner/CEO of Money Talk: Financial Planning Seminars and Publications where she writes, speaks, and reviews content about personal finance. A Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University, after 41 years of service as a Rutgers Cooperative Extension educator and personal finance specialist, she has written over 160 articles for academic publications and received over 35 national awards and over $1.2 million in grants to support her financial education programs and research. Dr. O’Neill is a past President of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE), a recipient of the AFCPE Distinguished Fellow Award, and a Next Gen Personal Finance fellow. She tweets personal finance information @moneytalk1, writes weekly posts for her Money Talk blog, and is the author of Flipping a Switch, a book about 35 later life transitions, published in 2020.

January 27, 2021 Financial Security recording

Tax Topics Slides

Andrew Zumwalt has a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Economics, a BS in Consumer and Family Economics, and an MS in Consumer and Family Economics. Andrew has been instrumental in founding and growing the Missouri Taxpayer Education Initiative, a program that uses “Taxpayer Assistance as a Gateway to Financial Education”. Over the past six years, more than 20,000 returns have been prepared at MoTax sites and more than $20 million has been refunded; a large portion of these returns have been prepared by students in the class Andrew teaches–Personal Financial Planning 4188: Community Agencies and Volunteerism. Andrew serves as campus support for the state network of Family Financial Education Specialists. He also serves on the board of the local student-managed credit union, Tigers Credit Union.

January 20, 2021 Financial Security recording

Shake Financial Numbness Slides

Being “stuck” in financial stress is dangerous. This webinar presents methods that can help educators learn about the impact of stress and anxiety on overall wellness. Coping strategies are presented along with ways to help consumers move forward.  Change your perspective, let go of the unnecessary, practice gratitude and discover the 10 facets of resilience. Start the year off right.

Karen Richel is an associate professor and Extension educator in family and consumer sciences for Latah County and is the family finance educator in the 10 north Idaho counties. Providing the communities that she serves with research-based information, Karen specializes in providing basic financial education for every age and socioeconomic group including low-income families, soon-to-be-released prisoners and students. She offers classes, workshops and simulations on topics ranging from goal setting and tracking expenses to retirement and end-of-life planning. In addition, she is an accredited financial counselor and a certified money coach. These designations allow her to provide free, one-on-one counseling sessions to help community members build strong financial foundations and secure balanced financial lives.