Tagged With "optimization score card"
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How to Help Your Client Balance Saving Money Versus Paying Off Debt
Finding the balance between paying off debt and saving more money can be overwhelming. While it may be tempting to focus on one or the other, it may be possible to both save money and pay off debt at the same time with the right plan. Paying Off Debt The first step to paying off debt is knowing what is owed. Clients should make a list of their debts including the lender’s name, the total amount owed, the monthly payment, and the interest rate. Before attempting to save any income, they...
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Let's Talk Money
University of Illinois Extension is providing a series of six free online workshops to help families learn about personal finances as well as strategies for talking about money. The workshops are held each Thursday evening beginning May 5. The one-hour sessions start at 6:30 p.m. Registration is required at go.illinois.edu/TalkMoney to receive Zoom connecting information. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate, contact Camaya Wallace Bechard , Extension consumer economics...
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Leadership from "Band of Brothers" Commander
Major Richard "Dick" Winters , a native of Ephrata in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, was the Commander of "Easy Company", 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division, in World War II. They have affectionately become known as the " Band of Brothers ". On D-Day (June 6, 1944) he parachuted behind enemy lines into Normandy, France. 156,000 other American, British and Canadian forces were involved in "Operation Overlord" that become the turning point in...
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Credit Scores Revealed
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Tips to Build a Diversified Investment Portfolio
A key theme in investing that never goes out of style is building a diversified portfolio to reduce investment risk. Below are eight key investing concepts for Extension educators to suggest to their clients: Quantify Your Goals - Encourage clients to write down their goals with the projected cost and a time deadline. Doing this will help them select appropriate investments and provide the motivation required today to set money aside for the future. Discuss Risk - Explain that investment...
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Shifting Your Mindset from a Deficit Ideology
In the second MFRA course, “Family Service Providers: Recognizing and Responding to Inequities”, Dr. Alison De Marco introduces the deficit ideology framework and provides ways to move beyond this mindset.
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Using Digital Technology in Extension Education
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Financial Health: What It Is and How to Achieve It
Extension educators are in a position to help consumers build financial health. This post describes what financial health is, how to assess it, and twelve steps to achieve it. What Is Financial Health? Financial health is the current state of someone’s finances. It includes both daily financial functioning (e.g., paying bills) and long-term resilience and opportunity. Like physical health, financial health can change over time and needs to be assessed regularly. According to the Financial...
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Teaching Children About Money
Financial education courses notwithstanding, children’s strongest financial influence is most likely their parents. Below are tips for Extension educators to share with parents interested in teaching their children about money:
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Six Tips for Building Wealth
Extension Educators can change their clients’ lives dramatically by sharing information and tools to build wealth. One of the most valuable financial resources is time for compound interest to work its magic on regular savings deposits such as Roth IRA contributions.
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Extension's Role in Addressing Social Isolation.
At a recent Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Community and Public Health Program Work Team (PWT) meeting, the topic of social isolation was discussed. Groups of Extension educators from across New York State spoke about how their existing work supports people navigating social isolation. There were also a number of ideas on how Extension could play a larger role in partnership with other health-focused community-based organizations to address this issue. What are folks doing in your LGU...
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Positive Changes
"Whatever you do out there in the world do an equal amount of work internally because if you don't your work in the world will not be as effective." - Dr. Gabor Mate' Recently attended a leadership development workshop where a Psychologist spoke and led us in some discovery exercises. He point-blank stated there are not enough Psychologists to encourage positive lifestyle changes. He asked us to implement them in some way and share the value with others! Here are the therapeutic lifestyle...
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Smart Holiday Spending and Debt Repayment
In December, many Extension educators field questions about holiday shopping and subsequent debt repayment. Check out these tips to share with clients.
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Using Digital Technology in Extension Education now available in flipping book format
Using Digital Technology in Extension Education has been reissued as a flipping book. First published in September 2020 as a website, the publication provides timely content that aims to help Cooperative Extension professionals consider the role of technology in their work, and perhaps increase the adoption of technology, particularly social media. The information in the publication provides both food for thought and practical information that will enable readers to apply what they’ve...
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FALCON 2023 Annual Conference registration is now Open. Please Register Now!
Register Now! Dear 1994 Land-grant Colleagues and FALCON members, The First Americans Land-Grant Consortium (FALCON) is pleased to announce that registration is now open for its 19 th Annual Conference, scheduled for October 13-15, 2023, at the Hilton Denver City Center, Denver, Colorado. Please register for the conference now. As always, the conference will include sessions in 1994 land-grant teaching, extension programs and research that benefit Native American students, communities,...
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Smart Uses for 2022 Tax Year Refunds
Below are five smart uses for tax refunds for Extension professionals: Debt Repayment- There is probably no better “investment” than repaying consumer debt (e.g., outstanding credit card bills). Paying off an 18% credit card is equivalent to earning a 20.5% return for taxpayers in the 12% tax bracket
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Ten Personal Finance Capstone Review Activities
Every extension educator has been there. You’ve just taught some personal finance content (e.g., investment basics or wise credit use) and you want to make sure that it “stuck.” You are looking for a fun, interactive activity to reinforce what you just covered. Below is a summary of ten interactive activities to review previously taught personal finance content: Educational Games - Tools that are popular with teachers in a K-12 setting can also work well as capstone reviews with adults. For...
EXCITE Asset
EXCITE Activity 2: Evaluation Tools
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What is ExtensionBot?
This work is supported by funding from a cooperative agreement with USDA-NIFA and in partnership with Oklahoma State University, New Technologies for Ag Extension, grant no 2020-41595-30123. ExtensionBot is a chatbot that is built and deployed by the Extension Foundation. We are working closely with Eduworks Corporation on the development and deployment of the technology. ExtensionBot is backed by an LLM (Large Language Model) that is trained exclusively on data provided by Cooperative...
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Holiday Shopping with a Financial Mind$et
As we approach the Christmas season, be mindful of excessive holiday spending. While Christmas is the season of giving, excessive spending can lead to much regret, depression, and even added financial struggles in the new year. According to Berden and Haws (2012), spending can quickly get out of hand when it is driven by emotions rather than a plan. Have you ever gone to the store to grab a few items, but as you stroll next to the; buy one get one free, the rollbacks, the manager's special,...
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Emotional Spending 101
Unlike impulsive buying, emotional spending is frequently heightened by stress, grief, or moments of happiness or sadness. Regardless of these triggers, they can impact your finances negatively. For example, you shop to make yourself feel better after a bad day at work. As a result, compulsive shopping and spending stems from an impulse disorder habit that can be addictive for many. The relationship between money and happiness is now seen as complete. Aknin, Wiwad, and Hannibal (2018)...
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Scam Prevention Information for Military Families
In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received over 93,000 reports of fraud by Military Consumers. Military families are frequent targets for scams. Explore the reasons for this, discover how you can help clients spot, avoid and report fraud.
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Understanding the Cost of Convenience
Our society moves at a fast pace. Most any purchase is available at the push of a button, making delayed gratification a concept of the past. Do you want groceries or merchandise now? No problem. Are you hungry, but don’t have time to get takeout? Don’t worry, it can be conveniently delivered. The question is… what does all this convenience really cost?
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Unearthing Financial Trauma
Transitioning into 2024 marked a new year. Many of us saw the new year as an opportunity to start fresh, but financial hardships and losses can have a lasting impact on our mental health. This type of impact leads to unforeseen trauma. Often, we make resolutions to hit the ground running in the new year, but old habits die hard, mainly when these habits are deeply rooted in our psyche. Let us be realistic: We all plan to go to the gym on January first; we even go shopping over the holiday...