Financial Coaching update - August 29, 2011

Good afternoon Financial Coaches,

First, I would like give a big WELCOME to all our newest Financial Coaches who completed training this month!  We appreciate you joining our team!

As you can see in the Events section, we have a busy month ahead - that is, after taking a break for Labor Day!

EVENTS FOR CLIENTS
Please share the following information with clients who you think might be interested.  Those clients who provided an email address got this information by email.  See details by following the links in the Events section.

• Money Management.  These classes are open to all Financial Coaching clients who would like to learn about credit, debt and saving in a classroom setting. 
• Scholarship Workshops. The workshops will focus on finding and writing essays for scholarship applications.  

EVENTS FOR COACHES

See details by following the links in the Events section.

• Community Tax Center Volunteer Kick off Lunch - Join us for lunch if you or someone you know would like to learn more about becoming a volunteer for the Community Tax Center.
• Continuing Education Workshops for Coaches - In September, we will have a presentation about finding resources on 2-1-1.

OTHER INFORMATION

• Debt in Focus - Try out this great tool for creating debt repayment plan.  It's completely anonymous and all you do is plug in your numbers and it does the math.  The functionality is similar to PowerPay, but with nicer presentation of the results (think colors and graphs!).  Check it out and share with clients!
• The Austin City Council is creating an ordinance to place restrictions on Payday Lenders.  Read about the restrictions in the KXAN report.

Thanks everyone, have a great week!

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching Coordinator

Financial Coaching update - August 15, 2011

CONTINUING EDUCATION SERIES FOR AUGUST
See the Events Section to sign up.

The most any of us know about the child support system is that the client we’re working with is either receiving child support or isn’t.  Please consider joining us to learn more about the child support system from Chris Giangreco of the Attorney General’s office.  Chris will present two sessions – Wednesday, August 17^th at noon, repeated again at 6:30pm.  Both sessions will be held at the Community Financial Center.

In Chris’ hour-long presentation, he will provide an overview of the child support system and talk about how we can make it work best for our clients.  Some of the things he’ll cover are:

·         What you can do to help your client receive child support

·         Where to refer clients when they have issues with their child support case   

·         What clients should do if they have trouble making their child support payments

He’ll allow time for your questions to be answered.  Some of us have heard Chris’ presentation recently – and it’s interesting stuff!  


WEBINARS AVAILABLE FROM MONEY MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL
See Links Section to sign up.


Money Management International has several free webinars coming up that you may be interested in participating in.  The topics are "When income decreases, but the bills don't," "Put your debt on a diet" and "Your credit report and score."


Have a great Monday!


Erika Leos
Financial Coaching Coordinator

Continuing Education - Cash for College recap and future topics

CASH FOR COLLEGE RECAP

The Cash for College program staff and volunteers will help clients fill out the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which will determine whether they’re eligible for the Federal Pell Grant.  The FAFSA will also calculate the client’s Estimated Family Contribution, which is used to determine how much a student qualifies for in other grants, scholarships, student loans and Work Study.  The Cash for College program also serves as a general resource for anyone currently attending or thinking about attending college.  Some of the topics that are often faced by our clients are:

• The temptation to attend for-profit schools.  Many for-profit schools (often vocational or technical schools) are very good at convincing students that the school is perfect for them, often without being clear about the cost.  The reality is that most programs offered by those schools can also be found at Austin Community College for a fraction of the cost.  The Financial Coaching and Cash for College programs do not advise students against attending a for-profit school, but will help students compare all aspects, including cost, time commitment, quality of education, and type of certification/degree attained.
• The difficulty of the registration and financial aid process at Austin Community College.  While ACC can offer a huge cost advantage, for-profit schools have made the process of enrolling and financing very easy.  A for-profit school recruiting agent is always there guiding the client through every step of the way.  That is not the case at ACC.  Some clients get stuck in the process of enrolling at ACC and have a hard time finding someone who can help them keep moving forward.  Clients facing difficulty enrolling at ACC can always call or visit the Cash for College program to get assistance with the enrollment process.
•  Student loan debt.  Some of our clients have huge amounts of student loan debt.  Currently, there is no relief for student loan debt.  It is not dismissible through bankruptcy, and lenders can garnish wages and tax refunds if payment is not made voluntarily.  A new law (HR 2028 Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2011) is being proposed "to amend title 11 of the United States Code to modify the dischargeability of debts for certain educational payments and loans."

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

•  The report from the United States Government Accountability Office about for-profit school performance can be found here.
• A New York Times article about for-profit schools can be found here.
• A Washington Post article about legislation that took private lenders out of the federal student loan equation can be found here.

FUTURE CONTINUING EDUCATION TOPICS

August 17, 12-1 pm OR 6:30-7:30 pm:  Child Support

August 31, 9 am-12 pm OR 5-8 pm:  Credit Counselor Training

September:  2-1-1 Community Resources

All of the sessions above will be held at the Community Financial Center.  Sign up today on MyVolunteerPage. 

Thank you everyone for making the Continuing Education series a success!

Regards,

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching Coordinator