News Home

Office of Marketing and Communications

IU Northwest to host Money Smart financial literacy program on Saturday, Oct. 23

Workshops and presentations to focus on sound financial planning

On Saturday, Oct. 23, Indiana University Northwest will host Money Smart, a free financial fair aimed at teaching people strategies for better money management. In these uncertain and financially trying times, sound money management and advance financial planning are crucial. Money Smart offers people of all ages and income levels sound strategies and advice for stretching their dollars further, avoiding scams and pitfalls, and investing in a more secure financial future.

The IU Northwest event is one of more than 200 free classes, seminars and activities promoting financial education that will take place during Money Smart Week^® scheduled Oct. 16 – 23, 2010.

The free fair at IU Northwest will be held from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. and will include breakout sessions, breakfast on-the-go and a box lunch. A door prize will be awarded at each workshop, and seminars will cover valuable and timely information. A foreclosure workshop and counseling sessions will also take place on campus in the Library Conference Center between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Informative breakout sessions geared to every financial age at IU Northwest’s Money Smart Fair, include:

• Money Matters: Explore techniques to identify ways to decrease expenses or increase income.

• Your Credit Card Can Work For You: Learn how to choose a card that meets your needs.

• Free Financial Counseling for a Day: Focus on building credit, the importance of a good credit score, and how to repair credit in order to purchase a home or car.

• It’s my Money; I’ve Earned It! Teens and Taxes (ages 14 -18): Explore the concept of memorizing a Social Security number and completing a W-4 Form.

• Financial Wizardy (Children welcome): Award-wining magician and educator to highlight basic financial concepts through magic. Children in attendance will receive a ticket for a free face painting.

To kickoff Money Smart Week, a press conference will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. in the lobby of Dunes Medical Professional building, located on the IU Northwest campus at the corner of Jefferson St. and 35^th Ave. in Gary.

Representatives tentatively scheduled to appear at the press conference include: Ken Williams, IRS Indianapolis Territory Manager; Alejo Torres, Senior Outreach Program Manager of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank; Greg Zoeller, Indiana Attorney General; a City of Gary representative; IU Northwest Chancellor William Lowe; Anna Rominger, Dean of the IU Northwest School of Business and Economics, among others.

This is the fifth year IU Northwest has hosted the Money Smart financial expo. Participation has averaged 300 people per year.

Coordinated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and its Money Smart partners, Money Smart Week - Indiana is designed to educate consumers about money management and create awareness of financial education programs on a wide range of topics, such as budgeting, saving and using credit wisely. Other educational activities will be presented throughout Northwest Indiana by local community groups, government agencies, businesses, schools, and non-profit organizations.

To register for the Money Smart Fair at IU Northwest, or for more information, call (219) 980-2093. To view the full schedule of events for the Money Smart Fair, go to http://www.chicagofed.org/digital_assets/others/education/msw/in/money_fair.pdf.

Information on all Money Smart presentations throughout Indiana can be found at http://www.moneysmartweek.org/indiana.