The Joy of Financial Education

Every time I set up a workshop, I’m always nervous no one will show. Here at Baltimore CASH, schools, housing organizations, and other nonprofits or partners will contact us to coordinate a financial education workshop for their community. I provide them with flyers for the workshop but the recruitment to have community members or residents attend is on them. As you could imagine, it’s a bit of let down when no one shows. But when you have a packed room with attentive listeners, it’s totally worth all the work and any frustrations!

We recently held a workshop with At Jacob’s Well, Inc., a transitional housing nonprofit. Since their clients are homeless and mentally ill, I was worried there may be a few challenges during the workshop. I had not dealt with an audience like this in previous financial workshops and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go… The coordinator was setting up food right around the time we were supposed to start the workshop. We were now going to start almost 30 minutes late! I am a person that likes being on time and I like sticking to a plan. I certainly didn’t want to rush through the workshop, which was on credit- definitely our most content-heavy workshop. More importantly I knew there would be a lot of questions… Maybe questions that the facilitator or I wouldn’t know how to answer? Maybe they were too specific?

All of my scrambling thoughts came to a halt a few minutes after we started. The workshop was a packed house! The attendees were so engaged! Several of them were taking extensive notes, which I had yet to experience at a workshop. They were so polite, waited for appropriate times to ask questions, and were willingly sharing their own experiences and knowledge to help others learn as well! They loved the Good Credit Game and other activities we did. The rest of the workshop went smoothly. Even with us starting and ending late, I couldn’t be happier! We had 12 participants; the most I have had at a workshop!!

I learn something new every time we have a workshop whether it’s from the facilitator or from the participants themselves. People are amazing. Financial education is amazing! Though I may have been a little flustered at the beginning, we got such positive feedback from the group that I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

This is what it’s all about right? Knowing that our work with Financial Opportunity Corps is making any impact it can on the way people think about their finances? I heard several participants mention different resources or techniques learned that they were going to take advantage of after the workshop, including financial coaching. I am hopeful that a few workshop participants will become coaching clients to further their financial education and dreams.

-Lauren Stadnick, Baltimore CASH Campaign AmeriCorps VISTA

Treat Yo Self: The Media Edition

I’ve been with AmeriCorps for three years now, so I know a little something about having fun and finding enjoyment in things that don’t cost a lot of money. It’s sometimes difficult to stay on budget with an AmeriCorps stipend, even without considering the costs for entertainment. Thankfully, I have found ways to Treat Yo’ Self without over-spending.

I’m a media junkie. A lot of my free time revolves around the consumption of music, movies, and tv shows, and I have figured out how to keep up with all the new releases while conserving funds. For music, I recommend signing up for a Spotify account. If you are not familiar with Spotify, it is a program that hosts A TON of songs that can be played on your computer or mobile device. It has a free option that has some restrictions, but for just 10 dollars a month, you can sign up for their premium settings. Spotify premium lets you listen to music at any time without the interruption of ads. If you want to save that ten dollars for something special, Spotify standard lets you listen to any artist of your choice, but only in shuffle mode (making playlists are the best way to listen to what you want). Also, there are ads. Sure, you can’t flip through all the songs until you find one that you like, but it’s a great resource if you want to listen to the new Sleater-Kinney album or discover new artists without investing in iTunes.

Atlanta is known for its ridiculous traffic, and trust me, this city does not fail to live up to its reputation. I spend around two hours in my car every day (on a good day…), and I have found that the best things to combat traffic exhaustion include podcasts, good music, and audiobooks. You can enjoy these mediums while you’re in traffic, exercising, or just relaxing, and there are many resources out there to help you find what you like. I have an iPhone, so I simply choose my “Podcasts” app and browse all the options. One of my favorites include “Things You Missed in History Class,” but you can check out other popular series such as “Serial” and “Night Vale” as well. Another app I would suggest is the NPR app. It features a lot of podcasts and is totally free. With this app, I recommend “Pop Culture Happy Hour.” It’s all about books, comic books, tv, and movies. For audiobooks, I simply look up novels on YouTube or check out Audible.com.

Liz Lemon gets it

For TV, there is nothing that I endorse more than good ol’ Netflix and Hulu Plus. Both services are under ten dollars a month, and have plenty of shows and movies to choose from. If you are lucky enough to have an Amazon Prime account, media of all kinds can be found there as well. Another tip is to ask your parents or friends if they would let you use their accounts. I use my parents for Netflix and HBOGo, and it costs me nothing while giving me hours of entertainment. This is a true trade secret among VISTAs, I assure you.  If you have a tv or monitor, you can access these all kinds of channels through devices such as Google Chromecast, Roku, or Amazon Fire TV Stick. We really are living in an age where cable tv is becoming irrelevant, and a lot of the new options are pretty cheap.

For movies, I highly recommend matinees or dollar movie theatres. Tickets for a Friday night can really set you back. Sometimes, it’s worth the savings to either wait till it’s a Redbox rental, or go when it’s four in the afternoon. If you do go to the movies, bring your own snacks. It’s silly to pay a lot for Sour Patch Kids.

So that’s how I stay entertained on the cheap. It’s important to Treat Yo’ Self, because being happy and enjoying life do wonders for morale. To quote the 2000 historical drama, Gladiator, I ask:

If not, I highly suggest that you try out these recommendations.

P.S., If you don’t understand the “Treat Yo’ Self,” reference, check out Parks and Recreation. It’s one of the best shows on television and I guarantee that it will make you laugh.

–Krystal