Andrea Schmutz, USU Extension Assistant Professor

Parenting, personal finance, and children. Do you tremble when you hear all three of those topics in the same conversation? It’s okay if your answer is “yes”, in fact you might be part of a large club who feels the same way. Think about it for a second and it makes sense: a) Parenting often receives the description of “hardest job in the world”; b) Personal finance regularly holds a top spot on “the most challenging topic to discuss with others” list; and c) Children make up a complicated audience requiring engaging, creative tactics to keep their attention.  What happens when you combine all three? You end up with the hardest job in the world trying to teach the most challenging topic to a complicated audience.

Alicia Nelson Bell, Finance Intern
2021 USU Graduate

A 2020 report from Thriving Wallet states that around 90% of Americans reported experiencing money related stress in 2019 and 2020, which makes it the top contributor to stress in America. It may seem like a no brainer, but this money related stress that so many Americans are experiencing is having an impact on pretty much every aspect of our lives. This includes mental, emotional, and physical health as well as our relationships with our friends and family. It boils down to this: the more stressed we are about finances, the less likely we are to make smart money choices.

​It’s story time! Who doesn’t love a good story? Last month I was on a Dr. Seuss kick and had some fun drawing parallels between Dr. Seuss stories and personal finance best practices. Don’t worry, I’m not finished with Dr. Seuss yet so keep an eye on the blog to catch more ways to use the creative doctor’s writings in your journey to financial wellness. In the meantime, since I mentioned journeys, have you read about Ulysses’ journey in Homer’s Odyssey?

KristiLyn Wilkinson, M.S.
Empowering Financial Wellness Program Manager

Since 2007, America Saves Week has been an annual celebration. It is held the last week of February, and it focuses on helping people save more money. Who doesn’t want to have more money in savings? I certainly do, but it can be daunting to get started. If you would like to learn more about American Saves, you can check out their website at Americasaves.org. This is a great website where you can set savings goals and sign up to get email and text reminders to help keep you on track. Each day during America Saves Week they will be focusing on these different aspects of savings!