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Manage Your
Money E-mail Challenge
Diane Barga
OSU Extension, Darke County
Overspending is never more evident than during the holidays, when
holiday spirit can trip-up even the most careful budgeters. But
what happens at the beginning of the New Year? According to the
University of Scranton, Journal of Clinical Psychology, spending less
and saving more is one of the top five New Year’s resolutions
annually. But without a plan for keeping New Year's resolutions,
experts say you're likely doomed to fail.
Having trouble making ends meet? Does your paycheck run out
before the month does? Wondering what happened to all your money
last year? Need help in making your dollars go further? If
you answered “Yes” to any or all of these questions, you will
definitely want to participate in the Money Management e-mail challenge.
Many households in the United States are living on the financial “edge”
with little or no savings and high debt loads. The Consumer
Federation of America estimates that there are more than 55 million
American households with revolving credit-card balances. On average,
each household with a credit card carries more than $15,000 in credit
card debt. According to the 2012 National Financial Capability Study,
17% of Ohioans reported spending more than their household income, not
including major purchases.
Low savings rates (savings as a percentage of disposable income) are
also cause for concern. Less than half of Ohioans (38%) and
Americans (40%) have sufficient emergency savings (FINRA Investor
Education Foundation, 2012). In 1984, Americans saved 8.8% of
their after-tax income. In 1996, the U.S. savings rate was only
4.9%. Today’s rate is 4.6%.
Please consider joining Ohio State University Extension’s six-week
financial well-being challenge – “Manage You Money”. It runs from
January 12 – February 28, 2015. Interested participants can sign
up by going to http://go.osu.edu/mymdar before January 8.
This challenge is designed to assist consumers in improving their
financial well-being through free, weekly e-communications, containing
several topics including saving, credit, debt, budgeting, organizing
financial records and calculating net worth. Worksheets related to each
of the financial management topics will be available for download to
help participants track their progress and apply the knowledge
presented. Pre-and post- challenge surveys will be used to
collect data to determine program impact and ways to improve future
programming efforts.
If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Diane Barga at
barga.8@osu.edu or call the office at 937-548-5215.
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