Financial Coaching update January 4, 2012

Happy 2012 everyone!  It’s going to be a great year!

We need your help on Saturdays 9am to 1 pm

During tax season, we ask for some additional support from Financial Coaching volunteers.  We need volunteers to be at the reception desk at the Community Financial Center to greet and direct clients and volunteers, give Financial Coaches their clients’ files, collect the files at the end of the sessions, and answer basic questions where possible.  If you are available one or two Saturdays a month between January 14 and April 14, we would greatly appreciate your help.  You will get all the information you need to do this work and will have the support of the Community Financial Center staff and volunteers.  Please email me if you would be interested in helping out on Saturdays.

Savings Bonds and incentives for clients

Clients of the Community Tax Centers who allocate a portion of their refund to purchasing a savings bond are eligible to receive a $25 HEB gift card thanks to grants from Opportunity Texas and the City of Austin. For more information on savings bonds and how clients can claim their $25 gift card, please click here.

Don't forget, the nine Community Tax Centers open between January 13 and January 30.  See the full schedule on the Community Tax Center web page.

Employer sites no longer available

Over the last year and a half, in partnership with United Way, we have offered financial coaching to the employees at select employer sites (such as Dresser Wayne, LifeWorks and SafePlace). That project has come to an end, and we will only have Financial Coaching sessions at the Community Financial Center.  Thank you to those of you who participated (and those who offered to participate) in helping interested employees. Through this project, we were able to help 90 employees. Any employees who want to continue meeting will be directed to the Community Financial Center.

Thank you for all you do!

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching Coordinator

Financial Coaching Update December 16

Hello Financial Coaches,

I have some updates before we wrap up the year.

FINANCIAL STABILITY PROGRAMS RECEIVE AWARD

The Housing Authority of the City of Austin held an awards ceremony where they recognized outstanding clients of the Family Self Sufficiency Program as well as an outstanding partner organization.  The partner organization was chosen by FSS members (clients), which many of you have worked with. 

Foundation Communities was honored with the outstanding partner organization award.  The most striking part of the ceremony was when Becky Summerset, one of the FSS Program Coordinators, announce the award.  She said that not only had Foundation Communities Financial Stability Programs fulfilled the needs of their members, but changed their lives.  

I can not thank all of you enough for being such wonderful coaches, this honor is for you.  Please know that you are changing lives.

2012 IS UPON US

As the end of the year approaches, I invite you to sign up for a few things on MyVolunteerPage for 2012.

• Sign up to see new clients.  As the Community Tax Centers start to open on January 13, thousands of people will see information about all of our Financial Programs, and many of them will request appointments with Financial Coaches.
• Sign up for training opportunities.  The Continuing Education Gathering will be January 18, 12-1 pm.  We will be discussing all of the Financial Stability programs available during tax season, including new saving incentives!  A refresher course will be offered on January 24, 10 am-12 pm and January 26, 5-7 pm (you will only need to attend one).  Join us if you would like to brush up on your coaching skills and resources before meeting with a client in the New Year.

With that, I leave you for the Holidays.  I hope that 2012 comes to a close with joy and fulfillment for all of you.

Best Regards,

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching Coordinator

Program Update December 7, 2011

Hello Financial Coaches,

I hope you're enjoying the holiday season and the chilly weather so far!  Please read below to find information about our featured resource and updates to MyVolunteerPage for 2012.

And don't forget that we need volunteers to serve as FAFSA preparers in 2012. For more information, please contact Courtney Salcedo at Courtney.Salcedo@foundcom.org or by phone at 512-610-7385.

FEATURED RESOURCE – THE CITY OF AUSTIN CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE DISCOUNT PROGRAM

Periodically, we would like to feature a resource that many clients may not be taking advantage of.  It will be highlighted at the top of our Volunteer Resource Web Page.  Right now, our featured resource is the City of Austin Customer Assistance Discount Program.  Clients may qualify for about $49 in monthly discounts off their City of Austin utility bill through the Customer Assistance Program.  A household will qualify if someone in the household currently participates in any of the following assistance programs:

• Medicaid program type 3, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24 or 51
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Travis County Hospital District Medical Assistance Program (MAP)
• Travis County Energy Assistance Programs:  CEAP or FEMA
• State paid Medicare Parts A and B (QMB, SLMB, or QI)

To apply, clients must fill out the Enrollment Card available in the Financial Coaching office and mail it in along with copies of documentation that shows someone in the household is participating in one of the programs listed above.  Copies can be made in the Financial Coaching office.

MYVOLUNTEERPAGE IN 2012

The “I am available” and “I have an appointment” schedules for the spring of 2012 are now posted on MyVolunteerPage.  You will notice a difference - the activities are not split up by hour any more.  To sign up for available days and times:

• Log in to MyVolunteerPage
• Go to the Sign-Up tab
• Choose “Financial Coaching – I am available – COMMUNITY FINANCIAL CENTER”
• You will see ALL the days and times that you can sign up 
• Filter by day of the week or by time simply by un-checking any days or times you do not want to sign up for at the top of the page
• Click on the Filter Shifts button
• You will now see a filtered list of days and times
• Check any specific days and times that you would be available to meet with a new client, and you will be added to our list of available coaches that we will look at when we get an appointment request from a client.

Thanks everyone for making 2011 a great year for Financial Coaching, we're in the home stretch!

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching update - November 3, 2011

Hello Financial Coaches,

I hope you're enjoying the cool weather!  We have some program updates to share with you as well as some great new resources that you can share with clients.  

PROGRAM CHANGES

Income limit simplified!  The income limit for both the Community Tax Center and Financial Coaching is now $50,000 a year, regardless of the number of people in the household.

New credit authorization form.  Please note the new credit authorization form on our Volunteer Resource Page (in the credit section).  Our contract with our credit report provider has changed and now we have to be a HUD Certified Credit Counseling Agency in order to pull credit reports without impacting the client's score.  The new authorization form informs clients of the impact on their score and the alternative for getting their credit report, annualcreditreport.com.  It is impossible to tell any one client how many points they will lose because of this inquiry, but for most people, it will be less than 5 points.  You can read more about how inquiries affect credit scores on the MyFico web site.

NEW RESOURCES

Volunteer Resource Page updated!  We added new resources and organized the Volunteer Resource Page.  One new resource you will find is Assurance Wireless, the free cell phone service for people receiving public benefits.  

Great budgeting tips.One of our volunteers shared this post on One Cobble at a Time.  It's a simple, yet thorough way to think about budgeting, from creating to tracking.  Maybe you will find some helpful tidbits to share with your clients.  I will be emailing the link to all our clients as well. 

I hope you find this information helpful.  Thank you so much for all you do for our clients, our program and our community.  

Sincerely,

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching Coordinator

Continuing Education - Credit recap and October 19 session

We had a great discussion last month on the different things we had heard about credit, but didn't have any concrete sources.  I was able to find further information on some of the points we talked about, but if anyone has further experience or resources that we can reference, please share by commenting on this post!  Below is a recap of what we discussed:

I heard that different types of bankruptcy stay on your credit report for different lengths of time – either seven or ten years. 

During our discussion, multiple people had heard this information.  Short of scouring through the text of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, I found a bankruptcy blog by a Texas law firm.  In short, the FCRA does not distinguish between the types of bankruptcy and it states that bankruptcy information cannot be reported after 10 years from date of filing.  However, credit reporting agencies will often choose to report Chapter 13 bankruptcy for only 7 years.  See the Texas Bankruptcy Blog for more information. 

I heard that medical collections are not considered when purchasing a home.

All collections negatively affect credit scores, including medical collections.  However, I have also heard that medical collections are not seen as negatively as other collections, but I do not have any documentation to back that up.  There is an article in the Union Plus about medical debt.

We have a few volunteers who are realtors or work for lenders.  I invite you to share your experience in working with people who have medical collections and are trying to buy a home.

We also discussed student loans and how they affect credit.  

Again, all collections negatively affect credit scores, including student loans.  The important thing here is that borrowers continue to work with their lender or guarantor (if the loan is in default).  A great resource for information about student loans is the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation. 

October Continuing Education gathering 

The next gathering will be on Wednesday, October 19, 12-1 pm at the Community Financial Center.  Bring your lunch and learn about 2-1-1 Texas, the program of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission that is committed to helping Texans connect with the services they need. Bridgette Kern, a representative from 2-1-1 will be giving an overview of 2-1-1 and the services they provide. She will also demonstrate how to use 2-1-1’s online database. Sign up on MyVolunteerPage.

Thanks everyone for participating and I hope to see you on the 19th!

Erika Leos

Financial Coaching Coordinator

Continuing Education - September topic: Credit "I heard that..."

Hello Coaches,

On September 21st, we will be talking about common myths and misconceptions that are out there about credit.  We hear many clients say "I heard that ___ will affect your credit. Is that true?" I would love for all of you as coaches to be ready to talk about those "I heard" moments that either a client (or you yourself) has wondered about.

Please feel free to bring your lunch.  We will discuss these common myths as we enjoy our lunches.

I hope to see you there!

Erika Leos

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