On Wednesday, September 9, through the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium, PFCU’s Accredited Financial Educator Erin Ellis spoke with the new group of AmeriCorps VISTAs about a variety of topics, including living on their limited AmeriCorp stipend, budgeting, applying for benefits, and saving money.
On Thursday, September 10, Erin led a webinar for 60 PFCU members where she discussed credit at-large. In response to attendees’ expressed interest in the topic, Erin will host a second credit webinar in November where she’ll do a deeper dive into how one can build credit, people who already have credit and what they can do to maximize their credit score, and answer other credit-specific questions.
On Monday, September 21, Erin hosted a Belmont Charter School FAN Club with students in the STRIPES program. During the FAN Club session, they talked about money values and how they influence our financial choices. The students in the STRIPES program meet weekly with local entrepreneurs to learn about running a business and community leaders who are currently successful; the students are learning about entrepreneurship so that they can create their own business throughout the course.
That same Monday, through PFCU’s relationship with the Urban Affairs Coalition (UAC), Erin joined a webinar to discuss fraud during covid, specifically the types of scams that arise during times of crises, the details of each, and the importance of taking preventative steps to avoid falling victim to a scam. The webinar was the second part of the free, five-part online financial empowerment workshop series called “Money Mondays,” which is hosted by the Free Library of Philadelphia. Erin also joined the third webinar of the series on Monday, September 28, where she discussed saving for your future, what an emergency fund is, how much money to keep in one, and how it can be a vital resource when unplanned costs arise. During the webinar, Erin also helped participants to create their own long- and short-term financial plans by setting reasonable goals to save and invest using working budgets.
On Tuesday, September 22, Erin met with individuals who are part of the MindSet program at Episcopal Community Services to allow the group to share resources with each other, all while focusing on financial decision making and priorities. MindSet pairs one-on-one coaching with group training to help individuals set goals, develop skills, and achieve self-sufficiency. And unlike many other programs, MindSet uses a long-term approach that supports the whole person by enabling participants to develop all of the skills needed to become self-sufficient through training, individualized coaching, and mentorship in four core areas: Health and Wellness, Employment, Education, and Financial Management.
On Friday, September 25, Erin hosted a webinar for PFCU members where she discussed financial goal setting strategies. During the webinar, Erin explored the different types of financial planning strategies, while also helping attendees learn how to identify their financial goals and begin to create action plans.
If you are interested in hosting a seminar in your community or at your place of employment, PFCU’s seminars are always free and offered on a variety of topics. We will work with you to schedule the most convenient time for a virtual seminar. If you would like to schedule a one- or two-hour financial education seminar, please contact Erin Ellis at financialeducation@pfcu.com.