I’ll be honest. In the commercial hurricane of the Christmas season, I bounced a couple of measly checks. Paltry though they may have been, they sent me full-tilt into a panic attack.
Fortunately, my mother was in state, and she helped me straighten out my financial woes before they became too unmanageable. Still, it was a good week or so before I could pass through the bank threshold without a faint blush coloring my normally pale cheeks.
However, I know I am not alone in my folly, and for those of you reading this whose own money monsters snap at your heels, worry not – I’ve got a solution.
From Jan. 24 through March 28, there will be 10 free Lunch Break Seminars on the subject of personal finances. Titled “Women and Money,” the program was brainstormed by SAFECO Insurance Company, as a part of Strengthening America’s Neighborhoods. The company has partnered with Eastern Eight Community Development Corporation and the ETSU Center for Community Outreach and Family Services (formerly known as Families First). The program is being co-sponsored by ETSU’s Women’s Resource Center, which has helped spread the word around campus about the program.
The seminar is hands-on, and the material will cover a wide variety of subjects, such as goal-setting, investing, budgeting, managing credit and retirement planning.
Lunch will be included, contributed by SAFECO. A 10-chapter guidebook is also provided.
The environment will be warm, open and interactive, so all questions may be answered and all parties respected.
Although the seminars were originally created to help women with low-to-moderate income take charge of their finances, women of all ages and backgrounds are welcome. After all, students must often face credit card debt and juggle car payments, rent and school supplies.
“The program serves to enlarge and enrich what you may already know … I know that budgeting is a big concern with college students, especially once they graduate,” Harriet Masters, of the Women’s Resource Center said.
Unfortunately, reservations must be made in advance, and they are already entirely booked up.
However, Masters hopes that there will be another program made available in the fall, if possible.
If you are interested in learning more, call the WRC at 423-439-7847, or speak to Ani Quinby, of the CCOFS, at 423-232-5070.

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