Monday Morning Quarter-Buck
Amy’s Blog
“#1-Make Money. #2-Use that money to make more money. #3-Repeat.” ― Anonymous
I always look forward to the end of April, not for the reasons most people look forward to it, but I love this week because it's Money Smart Week. The week where education about money takes a front row seat in the news. Even better, towards the end of the week, on April 28th, it's “Teach Your Child to Save” Day. Money is the leading cause of stress for Americans with nearly three out of four adults reporting that they feel stressed about money at least some of the time. There is so much interest in this week that the Money Week Facebook page has over 38,000 followers!
We deal with money every day of our lives, yet it still seems to be a taboo topic to discuss. However, if we would talk about it, perhaps we could save each other from making the same mistakes we’ve all made. So many people have made the comment to me when they first sit down that they are embarrassed by the financial situation they are in - what they don’t realize is that the two people I met with before them said the same thing. The number of people that actually get financial education in high school or college is disgustingly low. Only 17 States require high school students to take a course in personal finance; that means two-thirds do not. So I ask, how can we expect our citizens to handle money well when we don’t take the time to educate them?
There inlays the reason I love this week! The actual mission of Money Smart Week is to “help consumers manage their personal finances better.” My goal to support this mission this week is to send you a worksheet or video on a different topic each day to increase your education. Additionally, it’s likely that you know I am a big fan of Jean Chatzky, so I don’t think you will be surprised by my recommendation to treat yourself to her book called “Money Rules.” In fact, in honor of Money Smart Week, I’m going to be giving away this book to a few lucky readers who provide me with their best “money hack” ideas that they’ve discovered or that has been recommended to them.
I know you’ve heard this from me before, but I’m going to take this opportunity once again to tell you to get organized. I’ve attached a Personal Document Locator for you to fill out (you can also find it on my website at: https://www.irvineadvise.com/articles-and-forms/) - it’s really only 4 pages and shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes (at the most) to fill out.
I’ll also be teaching a class with Nancy Reigelsperger of Cornell Cooperative Extension - Steuben County on Wednesday called “Budgeting for Busy People” - if you can’t make it live, let me know and I’ll send you an invite to attend in webinar form.
For more information on this topic and classes available in your area go to:
You can also now follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/amyirvineadvise (@amyirvineadvise)