Money Smart: Free Financial Education

Preparing your family's financial plan is as important as preparing a financial plan for a business. You can think of your income as the family profits, and think of your expenses as the investments in your "family business." With that notion in mind, any information you can bring to your family regarding financial wellness is an asset that can build the financial health of your business or family.

You should not assume that financial plans are only for those who make a certain income. If you have a very small income, even if it is from a fixed income source, you have some sort of money being generated in your family. Even if you are at the federal poverty guidelines, you can benefit from changing the way you think about your income and financial wellness. One great source that can benefit you on your path toward retraining the way you think about your financial situation is a class called Money Smart.

Money Smart is a class that you can take on line, through a CD, or through some social service agency in your neighborhood. If there is a Community Action Agency, Workforce Center, or State run Employment Center in your area that offers community assistance or community education, you might find a Money Smart class.

The class has ten modules: Bank on It, Borrowing Basics, Check it Out, Money Matters, Pay Yourself First, Keep it Safe, To Your Credit, Charge it Right, Loan to Own, and Own Your Home. Some of the information may be a little basic for most people who have had bank accounts; however, if you are lucky enough to find yourself in a classroom situation, you'll find the dynamics of being surrounded by live, thinking, curious people will open your awareness about finances to possibilities you've never considered.

The class is designed to open you to the possibilities of saving your money, making wise money choices with credit and eventually owning your own home. The class will talk about some possibilities of which you may not be aware. For example, you will learn about Individual Development Accounts. These types of accounts are sponsored by agencies in such a way as to help you achieve a specific goal. For example, some Community Action Agencies offer Individual Development Accounts to clients who wish to own a home, educate themselves, or start a business.

The clients deposit a minimum amount of money each month, up to a maximum amount, and the agency will then match the money until the goal is reached. In some cases, someone might save $2000 over the course of two years, and the agency will deposit $4000 on top of it. If that person's goal was to start his or her own business, he or she can then have a total of $6000 to start it. That six grand is a great amount of money to start a small business such as a home daycare, house cleaning business, small thrift store, or a small home salon.

The Money Smart class will not only offer information to community members about such programs as IDA's, but will go into the differences between banks and credit unions, and how to start a checking account with bad credit. The class is very beneficial for those who have low to moderate incomes who wish to learn as much as possible about getting their family budgets healthy.

For more information about taking a Money Smart Class, contact your local Community Action Agency, or your Local County Human Services Department. You can also find the class on line through the FDIC website.