Author Archives: Megan Kuhn

Volunteer Spotlight: Joan Smith

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Megan Kuhn

Each month Extension’s financial education program is profiling an outstanding volunteer. To nominate someone, please email Megan Kuhn at Megan.Kuhn@vt.edu.

Name: Joan Smith

Lives: Suitland, Maryland

Works: Arlington County Government

Joan Smith has served as a Master Financial Education Volunteer since April 2012. She recently taught a money management class at Alexandria Community Shelter, an emergency shelter near Old Town.

Master Financial Education Volunteer Joan Smith

Q. What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?

A. That I’m an Extension volunteer not just with financial literacy but 4-H in Arlington and Fairfax County.

Q. Were you in 4-H growing up?

A. No, I was a Campfire Girl.

Q. What’s your favorite thing to save for?

A. An emergency. I’ve had emergencies and wasn’t prepared. I had to use a credit card, or there was something I had to hold off on. I’ve made saving for an emergency a priority. We can’t control things, but it is good to try to be somewhat prepared.

Q. What’s your favorite splurge?

A. Chocolate ice cream and fabric.

Q. How did you become interested in financial literacy?

A. When I lived out of state, I used a credit counselor. Most of my financial trouble came through layoffs. I was drawing unemployment, but it cannot pay for everything.

My personal experience propelled me to volunteer. I saw a lot of misinformation. People not knowing they can dispute things. Not knowing they can get a free credit report. Not knowing their rights when debt collectors harass you.

Q. How do you help a client who is juggling multiple financial challenges at once?

A. My approach when they have a half dozen things going on is to listen first. Then I tell them they did the right thing to attend counseling.

We take one situation at a time. Try to tackle something that has a quick result. When the client sees something small happen, that will encourage them to keep going.

Q. We have a new crop of volunteers who underwent training in September. What advice do you have for them?

A. Whatever volunteer event they do, pair up with a seasoned volunteer. Ask questions. Exchange emails with other volunteers. I learn all the time from other volunteers.

Try different things. That’s how you’ll know what may be a good niche for you. Some prefer one-on-one counselling. Some prefer money management classes at the shelter. Some prefer Kids’ Marketplace. I know a volunteer who prefers one-on-one counseling with the elderly because that is her age group.

New Volunteers, Round 2

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Megan Kuhn

We trained 34 new volunteers to serve as financial coaches in early September. Our regular fall training followed our expedited training for financial professionals in August. Eight financial professionals joined our ranks last month.

This brings us to a record 42 new volunteers! Volunteers make our programs possible, so the turnout makes my heart sing.

E and J

A very big thank you to our friends and partners who spread the word about our recruitment drive. An especially big thanks goes to Community Tax Aid‘s Teresa Hinze who sent an email blast to her volunteers. Community Tax Aid was our top source of volunteers — 13. Our second biggest source of volunteers was the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, with 6 volunteers. Thanks to David Bass for including our recruitment drive in his group’s message board.

We also owe thanks to: DC-Hispanic Employee Network, the Hispanic Committee of Northern Virginia Family Service, Volunteer Arlington, The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors DC study group, Arlington Neighborhood College, Leadership Arlington, Care 4 Your Future and Georgetown University Center for Continuing & Professional Education Certificate in Financial Planning. Say that five times fast.

Our next training for Master Financial Education Volunteers is April 18 & 25, 2015. Both sessions are mandatory. To register, please contact me at Megan.Kuhn@vt.edu or call 703-228-6421.

New Volunteers, Round 1

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Megan Kuhn

jose

Eight people joined the ranks of our Master Financial Education Volunteers on August 16th. The newbies include an affordable housing developer who speaks both Arabic and Vietnamese, two Spanish speakers and a mix of young professionals and retirees.

While their motivation for volunteering varied, these individuals had one factor in common: prior professional or volunteer experience in financial counseling and or money management instruction. For the first time, we offered an expedited volunteer training for finance-minded professionals.

jay. dinan and jose

Please welcome: Tom Hoopengardner, Donna Di Felice, Eric Miller, José Olivas, Diana Yacob, Katrin Kark, Jay Dowling and Thu Nguyen.

Thu and Katrin

Of course we don’t require prior financial experience to volunteer with Extension. Our regular, 2-day volunteer training is slated for Sept. 6 and Sept. 13.

Donna, Tom and Eric

Upping Our Financial IQs

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Megan Kuhn

Do money smarts really pay? We think so, and plan to prove it through an exciting new program.

We are combining classroom instruction with one-on-one coaching to better help people establish positive financial habits through a program we’re calling Money Smarts Pay.

In 3 months, Money Smarts Pay participants will tackle:

Goal setting & budgeting in class 1
Credit & debt management in class 2
Strategies for saving & choosing financial services in class 3.

Robert and Femia

During the weeks between classes, participants meet with the same financial coach for in-person cheerleading and over the phone check-ins. We hope this extra encouragement will help people make the lasting changes they learned about in class.

We inaugurated Money Smarts Pay last week at Arlington Mill Residences, the first of six places where the program will be introduced. Arlington Mill Residences is a rental complex owned by our Money Smarts Pay partner, the nonprofit affordable housing developer Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH). APAH serves individuals and families earning between $20,000 and $60,000 per year.

Jay and Joan

Money Smarts Pay at Arlington Mill is being taught in English, and an English session will be offered at Buchanan Gardens starting in November 2014. Money Smarts Pay will be offered in Spanish at Columbia Grove starting in September 2014.

The materials we are using for Money Smarts Pay is a mix of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new Your Money, Your Goals toolkit and the FDIC’s Money Smart for Adults curriculum.

Our 2-year partnership with APAH is possible through a generous grant from the Arlington Community Development Fund, which awarded the program a total of $27,000.

A very big thank you to our Master Financial Education Volunteers who are making the Arlington Mill series possible: Femeia Adamson, Roger Brown, Shauna Dyson, Nichole Hyter, Desiree Kaul and Joan Smith. Another thank you goes to APAH’s Arlington Mill staffer Carla Marin for the heavy lifting on-site, including classroom setup.

If you would like to coach a participant or teach a class in an upcoming series, please send an email to Megan.Kuhn@vt.edu.

Volunteer Spotlight: Marie Baumann

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Megan Kuhn

Each month Extension’s financial education program is profiling an outstanding volunteer. To nominate someone, please email Megan Kuhn at Megan.Kuhn@vt.edu.

Name: Marie Baumann
Lives: Arlington
Works: Retired nonprofit administrator

Marie Baumann has served as a Master Financial Education Volunteer since 1992, making her our longest-serving volunteer. She recently provided one-on-one financial counseling for two individuals.

Q. What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
A. I’m an artist. Finance and art is an odd combination. A lot of people think the two skill sets are totally different, which they are. But I do both

Q: What kind of art?
A: Watercolor painting mostly.

Q: Who is your favorite painter?
A: Right now, Andrew Wyeth. I just saw an exhibit by him at the National Gallery, and I loved it. He used very little color. A lot of it was black, white and gray. He did a lot of landscapes, scenes, buildings, interiors. He used a very spare palette and spare details.

Marie Baumann is our longest-serving Master Financial Education Volunteer. She has volunteered with Extension since 1992.

Marie Baumann is our longest-serving Master Financial Education Volunteer. She has been volunteering with Extension since 1992.

Q. How did you become interested in financial literacy?
A: I became interested at first for my own financial planning and education to better manage my own finances. I was not taught financial literacy, and I don’t think people these days are adequately taught either. So, I wanted to try to help somebody who has not been taught.

Q. After 22 years of volunteering in financial education, what observations can you share?
A. People never cease to surprise me with the range of financial illiteracy and financial problems.

Financial problems seem to go hand in hand with other problems such as emotional, legal and personal relationships. Often when you address the financial side of it, you’re not treating the whole person. You can’t. I usually say, “I’ve done what I can for you. You need to seek legal help or therapy.”

The rare client I have that is motivated and makes real changes in his or her life, that’s what keeps me motivated.

Q: What client success are you most proud?
A: The most interesting client I had. I worked with her for at least four years off and on. Her husband died at an early age and left her a lot of money. We worked through how she would invest the money and provide for herself and her child.

Q: What challenges have you had with clients?
A: People don’t follow through. One person couldn’t keep appointments, and she would not always reschedule. I would show up and sometimes she wasn’t there. I had to drop her. That was disappointing because she really needed help.

Q. We have training sessions for new volunteers in September. What advice do you have for the newbies?
A. A lot of them are tentative and unsure of themselves. You undoubtedly know more than your client does, so don’t be afraid. If you don’t know, say “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”

Forgetfulness is Costly

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Megan Kuhn

I re-learned an expensive lesson last week.

Regularly reviewing credit card statements and other financial accounts is a good habit to develop. If I followed my own advice, I would not be out $70.

I sold my home in June, but forgot to cancel the home warranty until July. Had I been reviewing my statements, I would have thought about the automatic debit sooner and canceled the home warranty on time.

I first learned this lesson right out of college when a restaurant double charged me for dinner. It was a simple fix, but if I had not been reviewing my debit card transactions, I would have never noticed the error.

What financial lesson have you re-learned?

Volunteer Spotlight: Desiree Kaul

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Megan Kuhn

Each month Extension’s financial education program is profiling an outstanding volunteer. To nominate someone, please email Megan Kuhn at megan81@vt.edu.

Name: Desiree Kaul

Lives: Annandale

Works: part-time merchandizer, full-time mom

Master Financial Education Volunteer Desiree Kaul

Desiree Kaul has volunteered as a Master Financial Education Volunteer since April 2014. She and Donna Brazier recently provided training for social workers. The training provided case workers with information and materials to use with their clients as they help them to resolve their financial problems.

Q. What do you do to relax?

A. I like to read.

Q. What’s on your summer reading list?

A. Mysteries and children’s finance books.

Q. What’s your favorite thing to save for?

A. I’m saving for retirement. It would be nice to have the option to retire earlier.

Q. What’s your favorite splurge?

A. I don’t splurge for myself, but I’m willing to spend more on an item that will last a long time, like a nice pair of jeans. If I do splurge, it’s probably on my kid.

Q. How did you become interested in financial literacy?

A. I got into trouble when I was in college. I was one of those people who only made minimum payments, and I had 10 credit cards. I bought things for other people. Half the things I owed money on I didn’t own anymore. I was using credit cards to pay for other credit card bills.

When I got married, my husband and I looked at our credit reports. He said, “What’s going on?” and I went to a financial counselor. I enrolled in Power Pay to pay off my credit card debt.

[Editor’s note: Power Pay is a free, self-directed debt elimination plan from Utah State University Extension. It is an especially helpful tool for clients with multiple credit cards because the client can enter information about multiple debts in one place, and the system will generate a payment schedule in order of highest interest rate.]

I’m one of those people who like to set goals. Power Pay made it easier to see how fast I was paying things off because it was more of a visual tool.

Q. What advice would you give to a client who is in a similar situation to when you were a newlywed?

A. If you’re willing to put in the time to repair your credit, it will benefit you greatly. If you spend the year or two to get things in order, it is amazing what you can do later. I was debt-free in two years. I was lucky that my husband paid for housing so I could pay my debt.

VCE-Arlington Selected to Test New National Financial Toolkit

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Megan Kuhn

What does money mean to you? What is your first memory of money?

How we view and use money isn’t always logical. We don’t always do what we “should.” Our background and experiences impact our decision-making when it comes to money. For some, saving for retirement will take a backseat to helping family pay off an unexpected expense. For others, giving to their community of faith is a top priority.

Understanding cultural and emotional factors that influence financial habits is key, both for keeping our values in check while serving clients and for helping clients bridge cultural and emotional roadblocks. The aim is to improve our cultural sensitivity toward clients from different backgrounds.

More than 20 of our Master Financial Education Volunteers recently discussed the emotional and cultural factors that impact people’s decision making when it comes to money. Money meant freedom, vacations. First money memories included piggy banks and paper routes.

Volunteer Spotlight: Donna Brazier

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Megan Kuhn

Each month Extension’s financial education program is profiling an outstanding volunteer. To nominate someone, please email Megan Kuhn at megan81@vt.edu.

Name: Donna Brazier
Lives: Alexandria
Works: Financial Management Consultant and Trainer, Retired Foreign Service Officer for U.S. AID

Donna Brazier has volunteered as a Master Financial Education Volunteer since 2009. She and Desiree Kaul recently provided training for social workers. The training provided case workers with information and materials to use with their clients as they help them to resolve their financial problems.

Q. What would people be surprised to learn about you?
A. I love to cook. I love to bake.

Q. What is your go-to recipe?
A. Lasagna.

Q. What was your most interesting overseas posting?
A. Even though I’m retired, I still take contract assignments. I went to Madagascar between 2010 and 2011. It was one of the poorest countries I’ve been to, but one of the most beautiful. It was the first time I saw Jacaranda trees in full bloom. They have pink flowers.

Q. What is your favorite thing to save for?
A. Trips.

Q. What is your favorite splurge?
A. I’ll splurge on travel, and I love perfume.

Q. Why do you volunteer?
A. It bothers me how people are taken advantage of for not knowing about finances.

Q. What has your experience been as a volunteer?
A. One of the most positive experiences I had was teaching financial literacy at the Alexandria Community Shelter. I had a woman cry, “had I talked to you a year ago, I wouldn’t be in the shelter.” People appreciate what I’m trying to do.

Q. What’s been the biggest challenge as a volunteer?
A. Working with one-on-one clients because they don’t always show up, and working with people who don’t want the help.

Q. What keeps you motivated?
A. I know there is a need. I know I’m helping. I also do different things. There are many ways to help: teaching classes, training social workers, counseling clients one-on-one and taking continuing education.

Volunteer Spotlight: Roger Brown

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Megan Kuhn

Each month Extension’s financial education program is profiling an outstanding volunteer. To nominate someone, please email Megan Kuhn at megan81@vt.edu.

Name: Roger Brown
Lives: Arlington, since 1975
Works: Retired U.S. Census Bureau civil servant

Roger Brown has volunteered as a Master Financial Education Volunteer since October 2011. He recently taught financial management classes at Arlington Correctional Facility.

Master Financial Education Volunteer Roger Brown

Q. What would people be surprised to learn about you?
A. I do tai chi. I can say hello and goodbye in 20 languages.

Q. Why do you volunteer?
A. I believe you should give back. It’s very rewarding to help others, especially people having a hard time.

Q. Why is financial education important?
A. People need to know how to manage their spending so they can live within their income. They need to control their expenses to minimize the amount of credit they need.

Q. What is your favorite part about volunteering as a financial educator?
A. Kids’ Marketplace. [Editor’s note: Kids’ Marketplace is a financial simulation adapted for elementary and middle school-aged children.] When kids understand how their parents manage their money, they appreciate their parents more.

Q. What’s been the biggest challenge as a volunteer?
A. Volunteering at the Arlington Correctional Facility. You’re teaching in a cell block. There are guards. It’s a challenging place to teach a class even though the need is great. I wasn’t sure I was going to do it. I recommend it. You’re helping people who really need it.