Financial Literacy Workshops

Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Albany County offers the following financial literacy workshops. Each program runs one-hour in length and can be requested by community partners as a standalone program/training or combined for a series. Workshops can be delivered virtually, in-person, or hybrid. To receive more information or schedule a workshop, contact CCE Resource Educator Maria DeLucia-Evans at 518.765.3559 or mkd59@cornell.edu.

1. Budgeting on a Limited Income
Managing finances on a fixed or limited income can be challenging. Join CCE Albany County to learn
tips and strategies to improve your basic budgeting skills. Refresh your personal financial plan
with new ideas on setting financial goals, tracking monthly expenses, and creating a monthly budget
that works for you. We will also discuss how to assess your financial well-being and the importance
of setting financial boundaries with friends and family. Get your budget organized and on track!

2. Setting Financial Goals and Creating a Savings Plan
Setting personal financial goals and creating a manageable savings plan will help make your dreams
a reality. Join us to learn how to effectively set SMART goals within a format that easily allows
you to plan and track your progress. Discussion will include how to create a savings plan, which
includes weekly savings targets that help you break down your goals into realistic parts. We will
help you reach your goals and deal with any unexpected expenses along the way!

3. Managing Personal Finances During Times of Stress
Managing finances during difficult times can cause stress for many of us. Whether we worry about
paying our bills, paying off debt, income fluctuations or job security it is important to create a
plan, take action and move forward. This program will provide strategies that empower you to
assess your financial situation, set goals, create a working budget, and manage potential income
loss. We will also discuss best communication practices in making financial decisions with a
partner or within your family. Join us to learn how to take control of your current financial
situation, and plan for the future.

4. Paying Down (Off!) Debt
Carrying debt can cause financial stress and affect our health and well-being. It can also delay us
from reaching our personal financial goals. This workshop will help participants create a realistic
plan to pay down debt, prioritize accounts, and maintain motivation. We will also discuss your
rights when debt collectors call and how to dispute debt that is not yours. Join us to create
strategies to pay down (off!) debt and get you moving toward your financial goals.

5. Understanding Your Credit Report & Score
Whether you are just starting out or have an established credit history there are still things we
can do to improve or maintain a good credit score. In this workshop, participants will learn how to
request and review a free credit report. We will also discuss how to dispute credit report errors and strategies for getting or maintaining a positive credit history. Join us to ensure your
credit report and score is heading in the right direction.

6. Financial Fitness for Older Adults
This workshop will discuss personal finances as they relate to aging. Participants will learn
strategies to assess financial situations, understand the importance of goal setting, and share
ways to manage personal spending plans. Discussion will also include how to protect yourself from
consumer scams.

7. What’s Your Money Personality?
This workshop will allow you to reflect on your personal money values, and how these values impact
financial decision-making styles. Using a tool adapted by North Carolina State University, learn
your “Money Color” by identifying spending and saving personality traits and tendencies, and how
these influence your money habits and attitudes. We will discuss how to connect these
understandings to strategies that help you meet your personal financial goals.

8. Money & Communication—Strategies to Avoid Financial Conflict
Money issues frequently create conflict within relationships. Join CCE Albany to discuss strategies
that help avoid conflict over money matters and financial decisions. Adapted from curriculum
developed by Purdue University, this program will help participants better understand the
relationship between money and emotion and learn to effectively communicate with a partner when
making money choices, reflecting compromise, negotiation, and shared goals.

9. Raising a Money Smart Kid (for parents/caregivers)
Research shows that parents are the main source of financial education for their children. Adapted
from curriculum developed by the Florida State Extension Program, this workshop guides parents and caregivers in using age-appropriate activities, conversations and messages about healthy money
choices and management. We will discuss strategies on how to use an allowance as a teaching-tool,
giving kids the chance to manage money within a learning structure. Join us to learn how to help
your child develop responsible money habits and attitudes.

10. Financial Fitness for Teens
Through interactive games, activities and discussion, this workshop teaches teens how to create and
use a spending plan/budget and understand the importance of saving. Teens will discuss and identify the difference between wants, needs and obligations as related to prioritizing spending. Teens will work to identify short-term, intermediate, and long-term financial goals, and discuss creating a savings plan and strategy to reach those goals. This workshop inspires teens to think about their future and how to establish healthy money habits early.

11. Healthy Money Habits for Kids, & Their Parents, Too!
This workshop is designed to provide elementary-aged kids a fun introduction to money management topics. Through activities and stories, we explore attitudes about money, how to set goals, the importance of saving, and making good spending choices. This workshop will emphasize how kids can create healthy money habits, and how parents can reinforce these messages.

Last updated May 20, 2022