The Personal Finance team will host our third Virtual Learning Event June 14-16. This year, we’ll focus on Financial Fitness. Join us as we engage with learners in this 3-day interactive series of events.
Schedule of Events
Tuesday, June 14, 11 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. ET: What is Financial Fitness & How is it Measured? Dr. J. Michael Collins of the University of Wisconsin, Madison will present this session, using the findings from the research he has gathered on this subject. Dr. Collins studies consumer decision-making in the financial marketplace, including the role of public policy in influencing credit, savings and investment choices. His work includes the study of financial capability with a focus on low-income families. He is involved in studies of household finance and well-being supported by leading foundations and federal agencies. In 2015, Palgrave Macmillan released a book Collins edited called A Fragile Balance: Emergency Savings and Liquid Resources for Low-Income Consumers. His 90-minute webinar on June 14 will focus on financial fitness as a goal for many people, but achieving fitness in terms of money management may require a combination of financial education, coaching, and financial access. After reviewing the components of financial fitness, this session will provide an overview of measures of financial capability and well-being, as well as practical applications of program measures in the field. The session will include discussion, interactive polling and Q&A.
Wednesday, June 15, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET: Positive Personality Traits of Financially Fit People. Dr. Martie Gillen will deliver this 90-minute webinar using data and research from psychology that tells us what traits are most commonly found in individuals who make positive financial decisions. Dr. Gillen is the Project Investigator for OneOp Personal Finance team and an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist for the Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, in the Institute for Food and Agricultural at the University of Florida. Her research interests include personal and family finance, behavioral economics, older adults, Social Security retirement benefits, employment, retirement planning, financial social work, food security, and innovative post-secondary education models. The first section of the webinar on June 15 will include an overview of personality traits as well as a discussion of the research related to personality traits and personal finance. The webinar will conclude will suggestions for working with individuals while taking into account their personality and impact on their personal finance decisions. Participants will have an opportunity to take a personality trait quiz.
Thursday, June 16, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET: Wealth Building with Saving, Investing & Windfalls. Dr. Barbara O’Neill will lead this session. Dr. O’Neill is a financial resource management specialist for Rutgers Cooperative Extension, has been a professor, financial educator, and author for 35 years. She has written over 1,500 consumer newspaper articles and over 125 articles for academic journals, conference proceedings, and other professional publications. She is a certified financial planner (CFP®), chartered retirement planning counselor (CRPC®), accredited financial counselor (AFC), certified housing counselor (CHC), and certified financial educator (CFEd). Dr. O’Neill served as president of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education and is the author of two trade books, Saving on a Shoestring andInvesting on a Shoestring, and co-author of Investing For Your Future,Money Talk: A Financial Guide for Women, and Small Steps to Health and Wealth. She earned a Ph.D. in family financial management from Virginia Tech and received over three dozen awards for professional achievements and over $900,000 in funding for financial education programs and research. Her webinar on June 16 will focus on ways that ordinary people with average incomes can grow wealthy over time. The first section of the webinar will discuss time-tested investment and financial management strategies and the second section will describe dos and don’ts for handling a financial windfall. Resources for each topic will be shared including the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Financial Fitness Quiz.
Thursday, June 16, 1-1:30 p.m. ET: 2016 OneOp PF VLE Wrap Up This half-hour event is designed to allow participants to share their own experiences from the 3 previous webinars, and to share findings from the assignments given during those sessions. Drs. Collins, Gillen and O’Neill be be on hand to guide this interactive discussion. If you are interested in sharing your experiences during this session, please email me at mollyh2@extension.org.
We hope you’ll join us for 3 days of interactive and engaged learning.
