New Insights on Making Ends Meet

Posted on by tschumann

Making ends meet on modest income was the subject of a focus group conducted recently by the United Way of Yellowstone County. Results are available here, including compelling personal narratives from each participant.

The focus group – which brought together eight Billings residents from households which have achieved financial stability despite earning below median income – found that a majority of the participants did not own credit cards, and only one carried a balance. Almost all maintained a checking or savings account.

The results also reveal techniques and beliefs behind the ability to control spending. (more…)

MFEC’s 2010 Annual Report Is Now Available

Posted on by tschumann

Curious about what we've been up to recently? Well, we've certainly been busy! But in between planning our statewide conference September 21 in Billings, building our online database of financial education providers throughout Montana, and promoting financial literacy in the press, we've finally found time to compile a report on what the coalition was able to accomplish in 2010 with the help of our partners.

Please take a moment to read the report, and learn about all the great work of Montana's financial educators which took place in Montana last year!

Trainings to Offer Intensive Instruction in Financial Literacy and Economics

Posted on by tschumann

The National Institute of Financial and Economic Literacy invites teachers to register for its 2011 slate of trainings in personal finance and economics. Separate trainings will cover three topics:

  • Paychecks, financial contracts, and entrepreneurship (June 20th to 24th)
  • Investor education, economics, and insurance (July 11th to 15th)
  • Credit and money (August 1st to 5th)

Each training will consist of five full-day sessions, and will be led by a professor specializing in the respective topic. The Institute is a program of the Wisconsin Jump$tart Coalition, and lessons plans conform to Jump$tart's national standards in personal finance. All trainings will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, but travel expense should be at least partially offset by the cost to attend – $225 total for registration, meals, and lodging for all five days. For more information and to register, please visit the Institute's website.

State School Board May Consider Financial Education Standards

Posted on by tschumann
Advocacy for school-based financial education is moving in a new direction, according to a recent Great Falls Tribune article on the subject. The Board of Public Education will soon be revising social studies standards – the rules for what is taught in each subject – and more topics in personal finance may be added as a result. (Aspects of personal finance are included in current social studies standards, but the subject is not addressed extensively).
 
The article quoted Board Chair Patty Myers as saying about the possibility, "It's important to look at everything." Myers acknowledged, "All too often, we see young folks getting wrapped up in financial difficulties, and they don't know how they got there."