Personal Finance
Resources for Financial Educators
2021 Financial Security Webinars
February 24. 11:30-12:30 Central, 12:30 Eastern. COVID-19 and Your Finances with Dr. Barbara O’Neill, CFP®
Register for COVID-19 and Your Finances
COVID-19 and Your Finances
Americans can be grouped into three categories with respect to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their finances:
- Reduced income and struggling
- Stable income but anxious
- Increased income with opportunities
No matter what category you fall into, there are actions steps you can take to improve your personal finances. Rutgers University distinguished professor emeritus and Owner/CEO of Money Talk: Financial Planning seminars and publications, Dr. Barbara O’Neill, CFP®, will provide financial tips for each category with an emphasis on the first two groups.
January 27, A Tenacious Trek Through Tantalizing and Timely Tax Topics: A presentation on the current and relevant past tax law affecting tax filers in 2021. Andrew Zumwalt, M.S., CFP, Associate Professor, Associate State Specialist & Co-Director of the Center for Economic Education University of Missouri.
Andrew Zumwalt has a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Economics, a BS in Consumer and Family Economics, and an MS in Consumer and Family Economics. Andrew has been instrumental in founding and growing the Missouri Taxpayer Education Initiative, a program that uses “Taxpayer Assistance as a Gateway to Financial Education”. Over the past six years, more than 20,000 returns have been prepared at MoTax sites and more than $20 million has been refunded; a large portion of these returns have been prepared by students in the class Andrew teaches–Personal Financial Planning 4188: Community Agencies and Volunteerism. Andrew serves as campus support for the state network of Family Financial Education Specialists. He also serves on the board of the local student-managed credit union, Tigers Credit Union.
January 20, How to Shake Financial Numbness with Karen Richel, M.S., AFC, Certified Money Coach (CMC), University of Idaho Extension
Shake Financial Numbness Slides
Being “stuck” in financial stress is dangerous. This webinar presents methods that can help educators learn about the impact of stress and anxiety on overall wellness. Coping strategies are presented along with ways to help consumers move forward. Change your perspective, let go of the unnecessary, practice gratitude and discover the 10 facets of resilience. Start the year off right.
Karen Richel is an associate professor and Extension educator in family and consumer
sciences for Latah County and is the family finance educator in the 10 north Idaho
counties. Providing the communities that she serves with research-based information,
Karen specializes in providing basic financial education for every age and socioeconomic
group including low-income families, soon-to-be-released prisoners and students. She
offers classes, workshops and simulations on topics ranging from goal setting and
tracking expenses to retirement and end-of-life planning. In addition, she is an accredited
financial counselor and a certified money coach. These designations allow her to provide
free, one-on-one counseling sessions to help community members build strong financial
foundations and secure balanced financial lives.
2020 Financial Security Webinars
October 28, Escape the Ordinary: Education through Escape Rooms with Andrew Bingham.
Financial education is a hard sell. It is arguably the most important topic an individual or family could learn, yet consistently drawing large attendances remains a struggle. As a result, innovation has become a necessity in our field. In this presentation we’ll discuss one recent attempt to innovate through a potentially new teaching medium: escape rooms. Does it draw an audience? How does it incorporate financial concepts? And what are participants learning? Join us to find out!
Andrew Bingham is an Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Sciences and Financial
Management with the University of Idaho Extension. Andrew has a M.S. degree from
the University of Utah and a B.S. degree from Brigham Young University-Idaho. Andrew
is an Extension educator with a focus on financial management. Based in Ada County,
Andrew works with community partners to provide financial literacy programs to individuals
in need. He serves as chair for UI Extension, Ada County. Andrew is the only Extension
educator with a focus on financial management in southern Idaho, as such he serves
a wide variety of communities, organizations and individuals with financial education
programming. He is fascinated with finance, and enjoys researching and sharing all
topics pertaining to it. As an Idaho native, Andrew is happy to make a career of helping
the communities that he grew up in and around. He is equally happy to be home so that
he and his wife can raise their two children in the same Idaho environments they enjoyed. You
can reach Andrew at abingham@uidaho.edu
September 23, 11:30 Central Time, 12:30 Eastern Time. Financial Intelligence: How to Help Consumers Make Smart, Responsible, Values-based Decisions with Ryan Law.
Consumers are dealing with emotions around money. Bad choices and behavior can cause people to ignore sound advice about planned spending, checking credit reports, and saving for the future. In this webinar, we look at the connections between habits, neuroscience, psychology and financial counseling, and how educators can use the latest research in these areas to help consumers make better decisions.
Ryan Law is the director of the Utah Valley University (UVU) Money Management Resource Center. He is an award-winning educator who teaches the Financial Counseling courses as part of the Personal Financial Planning program at UVU. Ryan is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®) and an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®). Ryan is happily married to his wife Traci and they have five children—Elizabeth, Abigail, Samuel, Emma, and Joshua.
August 26, 11:30 Central/12:30 Eastern. Connecting Culture and Financial Resources
This webinar prepares educators and service providers to teach financial education through a Latino including Mexican American, and American Indian cultural lens. The teaching goals of this presentation intend to help the facilitator, understand other people’s life situations, communication styles, and develop skills to work with people from different cultures. The learning objectives are intended to help facilitators to broaden views of culture and resources, especially financial resources; recognize how to expand learner’s financial resources in a culturally appropriate manner; use strategies to understand how diverse families use financial resources and finally, recognize learning preferences and communication styles.
Connecting Culture and Financial Resources slides
Antonio Alba-Meraz is an Extension Educator and Extension Professor from the University
of Minnesota Center for Family Development. Antonio is passionate about helping individuals
and families to improve their wellbeing by providing financial capability, housing,
and school success education in English and Spanish. His experience as an immigrant
to this Country includes work with diverse populations in Mexico. He is Co-Chair and
co-founder of the U of M Extension Latino Community of Practice. He earned a MS from
Minnesota State University, Mankato and a Mini-MBA in Non-profit Management from St.
Thomas University, Saint Paul, MN.
Jennifer Garbow is an Extension Educator and Associate Extension Professor in the
UM Extension Center for Family Development. For the past 12 years, she has been providing
leadership to Extension on how to effectively work with Tribal communities around
financial capability. She is engaged in community education, program development,
research and publication on cultural meanings of family resource management in Tribal
and other cultural communities. She provides leadership to the MN Extension American
Indian Community of Practice, and leads a Cultural Study Group to expand financial
education and services to Tribal communities. Garbow is an enrolled member of the
Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Indians.
Becky Hagen Jokela is an Extension Educator and Extension Professor, Family Resiliency,
Center for Family Development, University of Minnesota Extension. Her degrees include
a B.S. and M.S. Degree in Family and Consumer Science Education from the University
of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, Wisconsin. In addition, Becky completed an accreditation
with the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, and is an Accredited
Financial Counselor; holds an American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
Family Life Certification, teaching license in Family and Consumer Science, plus a
Reading Certification. Co-leads a Cultural Study Group to expand financial education.
July 22, 11:30 Central/12:30 Eastern - Learn about financial education that sticks with Jen Hemphill, author of Her Money Matters
The traditional approach to financial education has been in essence to spend less, save more, and get out of debt. Although the premise of this advice is good, why doesn’t it stick? During her own journey, Jen Hemphill has discovered that financial education was missing one critical component: our money stories.
In this webinar you will learn:
- The 3 different types of money stories and the power they have in transforming how we think and manage our money.
- How to integrate money conversations, self-care, money wins, confidence and more into your classroom.
- What factors to consider when doing financial literacy outreach to the Latina population
Financial Education that Sticks slides
Jen Hemphill, a military spouse & proud bilingual Latina, helps the busy career-oriented woman
become the reina (queen) of her money and love her dinero more. She is a Money Confidence
Mentor, an AFC® (Accredited Financial Counselor), author, speaker and hosts the Her
Dinero Matters podcast. The Her Dinero Matters podcast is focused on the advancement
of U.S. Latinas to minimize the gender wage gap while creating a healthy, confident
conversation around money. She has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Clark
Howard, USAA, Oprah Magazine and Grow (Acorns + CNBC).
July 15 - Using American Indian Legends to Teach Financial Education with Jennifer Garbow and Becky Hagen Jokela.
Booshke Giin (It’s up to you, it’s your decision!) is a creative approach to involve American Indian youth in active learning experiences that make financial education concepts relevant to their everyday decision making. The Booshke Giin lessons attempt to push aside mainstream ways in favor of storytelling to teach core financial concepts. Mainstream education has failed American Indian youth for decades. The incorporation of the legend stories grabs the attention of youth immediately. The approach and the lessons are adaptable for other youth audiences. The approach combines personal finance concepts and American Indian legend stories. The lessons are based on Ojibwe and other tribal legend stories, to reinforce financial concepts and incorporate Ojibwe vocabulary and cultural information. The legends are shared orally or read individually, followed by questions asked about the story. Youth are able to reflect on the story to make a meaningful personal connection between the financial concept and their own culture.
Jennifer Garbow is an Extension Educator and Associate Extension Professor in the UM Extension Center for Family Development. For the past 12 years, she has been providing leadership to Extension on how to effectively work with Tribal communities around financial capability. She is engaged in community education, program development, research and publication on cultural meanings of family resource management in Tribal and other cultural communities. She provides leadership to the MN Extension American Indian Community of Practice, and leads a Cultural Study Group to expand financial education and services to Tribal communities. Garbow is an enrolled member of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Indians.
Becky Hagen Jokela is an Extension Educator and Extension Professor, Family Resiliency, Center for
Family Development, University of Minnesota Extension. Her degrees include a B.S. and
M.S. Degree in Family and Consumer Science Education from the University of Wisconsin-Stout,
Menomonie, Wisconsin. In addition, Becky completed an accreditation with the Association
for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, and is an Accredited Financial Counselor;
holds an American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Family Life Certification,
teaching license in Family and Consumer Science, plus a Reading Certification. Co-leads a Cultural Study Group to expand financial education.
June 24 - Be an Online Personal Finance Content Curator featuring Amanda Christensen, financial education blogger, Utah Money Mom.
Extension professionals have the opportunity to be online personal finance content curators for the audiences they serve. This prospect has never been more relevant in light of the financial implications with current COVID-19 circumstances. Through blog posts, videos, social media posts, television and radio segments, Utah Money Moms has become a trusted outreach arm of USU Extension personal finance programming.
Be an Online Personal Finance Content Curator slides
Amanda H. Christensen, AFC is a USU Extension Associate Professor specializing in
personal and family finance. She has authored publications, grants, T.V./radio segments,
and national award-winning curriculum related to personal finance throughout her career.
She was the recipient of the 2020 Innovator Award from USU Extension. Amanda is editor
of the Utah Money Moms website (www.utahmoneymoms.com) and social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram) where she and a team of contributors share real-life money smarts for women. Her
favorite things include Yellowstone National Park, the Utah Jazz, and attending the
Hale Center Theatre. Connect with her in Twitter, FB, and IG @utahmoneymoms.
May 27 - Familial Identity Theft: What Extension Professionals Need to Know to Help Victims and Their Families.
View the webinar recording of Familial Identity Theft
May 27, 11:30-12:30 Central Time, 12:30-1:30 Eastern Time
Familial identity theft occurs when an individual obtains and uses the personal identifying information of a relative without his/her knowledge or consent. This is an increasing problem affecting individuals at all ages and stages of life, but often remains hidden from view due to underreporting. In this webinar, attendees will learn about the various consequences of identity theft victimization and resources to assist victims. Information about familial identity theft offenders will be shared as well.
Familial Identity Theft slides
Axton Betz-Hamilton, PhD, AFC® is an Assistant Professor of Consumer Affairs at South Dakota State University.
Her research focuses on financial abuse within families, specifically familial identity
theft and elder financial abuse perpetrated by family members. A victim of familial
identity theft herself, her personal story is chronicled in the book, The Less People
Know About Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity.
Book: The Less People Know About Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity
April -Flipping a Switch: 25 Action Steps for Happiness and Financial Security in Later Life
View the webinar recording of Flipping a Switch
Light switches are a useful metaphor for transitions in later life. Some changes are sudden “on/off” switches while others are like “dimmer switches” that happen in gradual stages. At perhaps no other time in life do more “switches get flipped” than when people leave a long-time career after working for decades. This is especially true for Baby Boomers who may have never experienced adult life without a full-time job. Many need to stop or reverse activities they have been performing for decades since their 20s. Happiness and financial security in later life often require a 180 degree turn from the way that people managed their time and money previously. Some switches are voluntary (e.g., spending accumulated savings) and some are mandatory (e.g., taking required minimum distributions). This webinar will share 25 action steps described in a forthcoming book about later life financial and lifestyle transitions.
Barbara O’Neill, Ph.D., CFP®, AFC®, CRPC® Dr. Barbara O’Neill, CFP®, AFC is the owner/CEO of Money Talk: Financial Planning
Seminars and Publications where she writes, speaks, and reviews content about personal
finance. A Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University, after 41 years
of service as a Rutgers Cooperative Extension educator and personal finance specialist,
she has written over 160 articles for academic publications and received over 35 national
awards and over $1.2 million in grants to support her financial education programs
and research. Dr. O’Neill is a past President of the Association for Financial Counseling
and Planning Education (AFCPE), a recipient of the AFCPE Distinguished Fellow Award,
and a Next Gen Personal Finance fellow. She tweets personal finance information using
the handle @moneytalk1 and writes weekly posts for her Money Talk blog.
March - Basics of Investing: Understanding How to Invest Wisely
View the webinar recording Basics of Investing.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Webinar Description: Whether you are a new investor or older American, learning how to invest safely can mean a big difference for retirement. Topics will include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, investment risk and return, the red flags and common scams of investment fraud and questions to ask before investing. Discussion will also provide an overview of the free resources on Investor.gov, the SEC’s online portal for individual investors, including investor bulletins and alerts, tools to check financial professionals, sources for researching companies and savings and retirement calculators.
Guest Speaker: Alan E. Sorcher is an Assistant Director in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA). Alan assists OIEA in its mission to inform and educate investors on frauds and other information relevant to investing in securities. Alan joined the SEC from Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP where he was a Director advising financial institutions on anti-money laundering and financial crime compliance. Earlier in his career, Alan was a Branch Chief in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, a Senior Advisor at Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and Senior Counsel at the Federal Reserve Board. Alan also spent almost ten years as a Managing Director and Associate General Counsel at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. Alan holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the Boston University School of Law.
Alan E. Sorcher, Assistant Director, sorchera@sec.gov
February - Healthcare During the Senior Years
Click here to view the webinar recording Healthcare During the Senior Years
View the webinar recording: Understanding Your Medicare Choices
Understand what you need to know about health care and health care costs during the senior years. Know where to go for information about Medicare and supplemental health insurance options. Review strategies and tools to help seniors estimate health care costs and practice using a case study. Learn about options that cover long term health care costs.
- Healthcare During the Senior Years Case Study
- Healthcare During the Senior Years slides
- How to Compare Medigap Policies
- Medicare Costs at a Glance
This webinar is part of suite of modules developed by the Health Insurance Literacy Initiative (HILI). If you are interested in becoming a certified educator for this module, please contact Jesse Ketterman at jketterm@umd.edu. A certified educator will have access to the PowerPoint and materials needed to facilitate the module. For more information about the initiative click here to visit the HILI website.
Jesse M. Ketterman, Jr., PhD, AFC®; Extension Educator (Family and Consumer Sciences, Financial 
Capability), University of Maryland Extension, Western Maryland Cluster
Maria Pippidis AFC; County Director and Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences; UD Cooperative Extension
January - Issues in Family Resource Management for Educators
Carrie Johnson, Ph.D., AFC®; Extension Specialist and Associate Professor / Human Development and Family Science; North Dakota State University