Guest Contributor: KristiLyn Wilkinson, M.S.
USU Extension Empowering Financial Wellness Program Manager

Welcome to Part 3 of 3 in this series on financial health for women and “working out” your retirement!  Did you miss Part 1 or Part 2? Don't miss them!
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Now that you have decided which IRA type is right for you, how do you go about opening one? There are multiple different kinds of accounts that can be designated an IRA; mutual funds, stocks, bonds, CDs, saving accounts, etc. Think about your IRA as being a cookie jar. You can put a variety of different cookies into the jar. The type of “cookies” or “investments” you put in the jar depends on what your long-term goals are. Then think about writing on the cookie jar either “traditional” or “Roth” and this will let you know what kind of tax benefit you are going to get on the cookies in your jar! Are you thinking about downing a package of Oreo’s yet? Because I am! 

Guest Contributor: KristiLyn Wilkinson, M.S.
USU Extension Empowering Financial Wellness Program Manager

Welcome back to Part 2 of 3 in this series of financial health for women and “working out” your retirement! If you read Part 1, I know you are anxiously waiting in your stretchy pants to jump right in, so here we go! 
What is an IRA? IRA stands for individual retirement account. There are two kinds of IRA’s, the traditional and Roth. I will break each of these down so you can decide which one is best for you. 
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Guest Contributor: KristiLyn Wilkinson, M.S.
​USU Extension Empowering Financial Wellness Program Manager

In honor of celebrating women and our financial health, I want to talk about one area of our budget that might be a little weaker than the rest, saving for retirement. It is so important but is something we often put aside thinking “I will deal with this later”. It doesn’t impact our immediate financial situation, so it can be easy to not give it the proper attention and strengthening that it needs. But what happens to our muscles if we don’t consistently use them? They aren’t in the healthy condition we need them to be in when we need to use them. You know what I am talking about…that time you suddenly decided to go on a five mile hike with friends, even though you regularly circle the parking lot waiting until the closest spot to the store becomes available so you don’t have to walk very far, and then lie in the fetal position for two days with legs on fire after said hike...

Guest Contributor: Andrea Schmutz, USU Extension Assistant Professor

Amid the current COVID craziness, there are a few things that remain certain: summer is winding down, our kids continue to grow up, and they’re probably going to need some new clothes for school. As the start of school rapidly approaches, are you asking yourself, “Do I really have to spend a lot of money on clothes when they are just going to outgrow them before they wear them out?” Guess what? You don’t! Here are five simple ways to clothe your kids without breaking the budget: