What's missing from your wallet?

People concerned about how to handle salary cuts, dropped employer contributions to 401(k)s, job losses and limited access to credit — or just about any financial topic, really — can get free advice across Nebraska this week. This is Money Smart Week, and a statewide coalition has organized hundreds of sessions by bankers, financial planners, teachers and representatives of state agencies and nonprofit groups. Topics include teaching children the basics of good money management, budgeting, taxes and financial resources for business owners.

“Especially given the economy today, it is so critical that people know what financial products are out there, so they can make good choices,” said Jennifer Clark, a spokeswoman for the Omaha branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Mo.

People buying into programs they did not fully understand helped trigger the recession, Clark said. Such programs include adjustable-rate mortgages that can reset at higher rates, thus increasing monthly payments on homes.

“If we have individuals in Nebraska with better access to information, they will make the best choices for their families and ultimately make the state's economy better. That's what we want,” she said.

Clark called together several banks, nonprofit groups and other organizations in the fall of 2005 to determine what kind of financial education resources were available in Nebraska. That grew into the Nebraska Financial Education Coalition, which sponsored its first Money Smart Week last year, modeled after a similar program organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

More than 200 Money Smart Week events were held in 2008, and this year there will be more than 290, Clark said.

Many participating groups offer free financial events to the public throughout the year, but the coalition encourages them to target Money Smart Week.

Clark, who also is president of the coalition, said the recession increased interest in the group's efforts and also created a heightened sense of their importance. The coalition's program just happened to coincide with the nation's economic crisis, she said.

“We started to see the mortgage markets melt down and spill into other areas. We all feel there is a greater urgency, so we learn lessons from this crisis.”

This week's events vary widely in topic and geography. For example, Copperfield Books at Monument Mall in Scottsbluff is displaying books that promote financial education. The University of Nebraska at Omaha is holding hourlong sessions on topics that include insuring college students, improving a credit report and becoming debt free. All programs are open to the public.

The schedule of statewide events is available at www.moneysmartnebraska.org.

In Omaha, several financial institutions helped to organize and promote about a dozen financial education sessions in Spanish for the south Omaha area. Participating institutions include First National Bank's Centro Latino de Educacion Financiera, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and Centris Federal Credit Union.

“We found last year that there were a variety of individual organizations that kind of did their own thing,” said Dick Schenck, community development manager at Wells Fargo. “There were a few sessions but no coordination and not a consistent message.”

This year, the businesses paid for posters and other items to publicize all events being offered at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, the Juan Diego Center and other sites, Schenck said.

In Norfolk, Northeast Technical Community College organized more than 40 sessions for Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons on budgeting, new trends in real estate, investing and Social Security planning.

“It seemed a good event to bring to Norfolk and the surrounding area,” said Linda Miller, an accounting instructor at the college. “We are hoping for any and all who will come.”

Contact the writer:

444-1117, joe.ruff@owh.com

« Money

Share