Many people face tough economic times periodically, and some of the challenges they experience are due to unforeseen or unanticipated circumstances. As an educator who teaches personal finance, it is easy to discuss the merits or advantages of saving for the unexpected. In other words, it gives me...

When I was in graduate school, I remember having conversations with my peers about the length of time it would take us to repay our student loans. For some of us, that meant closer to our proposed retirement years. For some older adults (60 and over), the realities of carrying student loan debt...

I worked as a member of a wait/service staff (i.e., a tipped worker) for five different types of food service establishments during my undergraduate years. The tips I received helped pay for my student loan, maintaining my car, housing, and some of my other personal care needs. Even though I wasn't...

How do we make money conversations less tabooed? I wrote several articles that outline the long-term benefits of teaching healthy money habits to youth and I will keep writing on this subject because it is one of my...

In celebration of America Saves Week, February 25-March 2, here are a few tips from americansaves.org to make the most of our tax refund: It is not extra: most of it is the hard-earned...

To find events in your area, please visit moneysmartweek.org/events and enter your zip code....

In November, Kathy Sweedler wrote a blog post titled"Money Avoider? Giver? What's your Money Personality?" Kathy and Sasha discuss money personalities, scripts and even habitudes, so much so we recorded a podcast about it. Listen to...

I covered planning for back-to-school in two short videos for Financial Wellness LIVE! Click Here &...

Which do you prefer, vacation or staycations? What activities do you plan for yourself or your family? Kathy, Sasha, and myself had a wonderful discussion about the benefits of taking time off on Facebook Live! To view, please ...

Are you or have you ever been a part of a multi-generational household? What are some of the benefits and challenges? To listen to our new podcast episode on Sound Cloud click here!

My Summit Experience I recently attended an employer summit that focused on how school districts, school counselors, and employers can collaborate in preparing students for life after high school. Some important highlights of that meeting was providing hands-on, accessible,...

Camaya, Kathy, and Sasha have a fun discussion on setting financial goals. Click Here to listen on SoundCloud.

We had a great conversation about credit scores on Financial Wellness LIVE! Click here to view and leave comments!

Join us each month at 12:00 p. m. CST on University of Illinois Extension Facebook page. We have live conversations about different personal finance topics. Bring your questions!  Stay tuned for dates and announcements.

Join Sasha and I as we discuss the joys, cost, and other considerations of owning a pet. Click here to listen!

I remember when I first started to learn about how to build and manage my credit in college. Many financial numbers were thrown around and were often confusing to a novice like me. People who do not work in finance or who have little motivation to pay attention to the importance of different...