
Meeting Day-to-Day Financial Needs
Meeting day-to-day needs is a challenge for many. Over the past few months, money (how we earn it, spend it, and plan to accumulate it for future use) has been in the news and on our minds more than ever before. See Managing Your Money in Tough Times.
Regardless of your income, managing money takes skills that are learned. Knowing where your money goes, being able to distinguish between needs and wants, and developing a spending-savings plan are skills that can help you confidently meet day-to-day money management challenges.
Activities
- Money Smart Week
This series of free classes and activities is designed to help consumers better manage their personal finances. Money Smart Week Indiana is held in October each year.
Programs
CFS Extension educators in your community might offer one or more of these programs — contact your county Extension office for details.
- Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program
Targeted to limited-resource households with pregnant women and pre-teen children. Through hands-on learning, participants learn the skills and motivation needed to choose and prepare healthy and safe meals for their families. It is delivered in 14 Indiana counties. - Family Nutrition Program
Available to food stamp recipients in 53 Indiana counties. Through programs in homes and community settings, participants develop the knowledge and skills in nutrition, meal planning, food purchasing, and food preparation and safety. - Making Your Money Work
Program increases the financial stability of low-literacy, low-income participants. A facilitator presents the seven-week program in a classroom-type setting. A Making Your Money Work video kit is available that offers a home-study alternative. - Small Steps to Health and Wealth
Explore the similarities between health and personal finances by learning about small steps that everyone can take to improve both aspects of their lives. - Where Does Your Money Go?
This curriculum on a CD is a presentation for facilitators who want to help their clients improve their money management practices and achieve financial stability. The CD contains a 27-slide PowerPoint show (for a one-time presentation) and a 49-slide PowerPoint show (for a two-session presentation). The CD also contains PDF files of eight worksheets or handouts for participants, detailed instructions about how to present the program and how to use the handouts, plus evaluations and marketing suggestions. Download order form.
Publications
Managing Your Credit
- Choosing the Best Credit Card
- Choosing the Best Interest Rate
- Deciding How Many Credit Cards You Need
- Deciding How Much Credit Is Too Much
- Getting Rid of Credit Card Debt
- Protecting Your Credit Information
- Checking Your Credit Report
- Controlling Your Holiday Credit Use
- Fixing a Poor Credit Rating
- Understanding the Updated Fair Credit Reporting Act
When Your Income Drops
- Grocery Shopping on a Budget
- Money Traps: Don't Get Caught
- Predatory Payday Lending
- Don’t Panic — Take Control
- Control Stress
- Take Stock of Family Resources
- Take Stock of Community Resources
- Set Priorities for Spending
- Plan to Pay Creditors and Protect Family Welfare
- Keep a Roof Overhead
- Meeting Insurance Needs
- Sharpen Your Survival Skills
Talking to Your Family
- Talking with Children When the Talking Gets Tough
- Families should keep communication open during tough times
- Supporting Distressed Young People
- Helping Children Cope with Stress
- Helping Friends in Trouble: Stress, Depression, and Suicide
- Implementing Change Successfully
Other
Multimedia
-
Making Your Money Work (self-study video kit)
-
Saving Dollars When You Don't Have a Dime to Spare (narrated slide show)
-
What's Up in Finance? (reality TV show)
Web Sites
- Financial Security: Children and Money
- Financial Security: Consumer Credit
- Financial Security: Financial Planning Process
- Financial Security: Insurance
- Financial Security: Managing Money in Tough Times
- Financial Security: Talking About Money
- Money Talks: Web Site for Teens
- PowerPay
- Project for Financial Independence
- Purdue CashCourse
- Thrive by Five
Partnerships



