The Cost of Being Healthy

I’m sure some of you out there, like me, have a chronic condition. Mine is Fibromyalgia, which I like to just call Fibro for short. When I was 16 years old, my body was wracked with pain and no one could figure out why. They did test after test and came up with Lupus. House episode joke aside, I was scared to death. I visited with a Lupus specialist at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, but she diagnosed me with Fibro.

I've told you this story to explain that chronic conditions can be and are very expensive. I’ve tried all kinds of medications. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on doctor’s visits and blood tests and medications that didn’t work. Instead of trying more medications when I discovered that the 10^th medication I had been on actually made me depressed and pseudo-suicidal, I decided that I needed to do some research.

What I found was a great deal about treating my illness by changing the way I eat. When I was in Uganda in 2007/2008, I discovered myself feeling better and better. Maybe because there’s no pesticides there or pollution? I started eating better when I got home: organic milk, organic fruits and veggies, not too much red meat. Now I’ve started taking vitamins. You know what, I feel better. I function better. 

The point of this story is organic foods and vitamins are expensive, but they’re less expensive than medication and endless doctor visits. I’m not saying that you should stop taking the medications that work for you or stop going to the doctor, but think of alternatives that might work for you. My doctor stated that he’s glad I’ve done the research and that I function very well as a Fibro patient because of that. Be informed. Do your research. Check in with your doctor to ensure it is a good course. In the end, you may end up saving yourself a bunch of money.

Money Saving 101: 5 Ways to Save in a Hurry

Today's Author: Lindsey

It seems we are always in a hurry. Rushing to work, school, kids activities, through dinner, laundry shopping; the list of things we have to do in a day seems endless sometimes. Perhaps we can use the rush in our lives to our advantage when it comes to saving money. Here are five practical ways:

1.       Shop when you have somewhere else to be afterwards. The less time you have to spend in a grocery or department store the less chance you have to spend extra money! Make a list and go through the store on a mission.

2.       Set up automatic bill pay. When you do this you not only don’t have wonder “Did I mail that bill yesterday?” you avoid any late fees or any charges you might receive for using a ‘paper form’ as now most things are electronic.

3.       Avoid vending machines at work by have a healthier stash of snacks at your desk. It saves you time during a break standing in front of the machine plus it saves you money and calories!

4.       When you are not home, conserve energy by turning the heat or air conditioning down. Make sure all the light are off or on timers! This is a little change that can add up to a big difference.

5.       Taking the ‘easy’ way to watching a movie by ordering it On Demand or using Redbox may be the cheaper way! If you are like my husband and I, you only watch a movie maybe two times. If this is the case, then simply renting it for a few days is much more cost effective then spending $20 on a DVD you only watch once!

Think about some creative ways you are able to save money using your busy life to your advantage!

Why Our Newest Program, Moneythink, is so important...

Think back to when you were in high school...

Did you take home economics? Did you take economics? Did you take a business course?

Now...

Did ANY of those classes teach financial literacy? Or entrepreneurship?

According to the national Moneythink chapter, only EIGHT of the FIFTY United States require financial literacy training in order to graduate from high school. That's ridiculous. No one everywhere we look houses are in foreclosure and folks are in debt up to their eyeballs. If you aren't taught how to use something, chances are you won't use it correctly.

That's where Moneythink comes in. Moneythink uses college mentors to teach financial literacy and basic entrepreneurship IN high school classrooms. It is absolutely FREE to the schools and provides the students with the skills they will need to succeed in a monetary driven culture.

Family Services of Western PA is just getting started with Moneythink. If you've been reading this blog, you know that we attended the first ever Summer Conference in Chicago. We are now in the process of starting Moneythink chapters at Carnegie Mellon University with faculty adviser Dr. Carol Goldburg and at University of Pittsburgh with the Trading Pitt student group.

If you are interested in becoming a Moneythink mentor, please contact Brittany at linvilleb@fswp.org. We would love to talk with you about being a mentor or about starting your own chapter in the Western PA area.

In addition, if you are a teacher, school counselor or principal interested in hosting a Moneythink class at your school, please contact Brittany at linvilleb@fswp.org. We'd love to bring this amazing program to your school!

Maintaining to Save!

Cars, appliances, house repairs. There are all kinds of expenses that you just can’t get around, but how can you still save on those things you need to buy? Here are five practical ways you can save a little money while still doing all those things you need too. 

1. Maintain! The key to saving money on things like cars or appliances is to pay to have them maintained regularly. Even though a $50 oil change can seem expensive, it will cost much more to repair an engine!
2. Control your laundry expenses. If you do not have access to a washer and dryer at home, I’m sure you know the laundromat can be expensive! Keep in mind sometimes the one around the corner is not necessarily the cheapest. A great way to avoid the laundromat all together is to see if you can use your parents’ or friends’ facilities! Tell them you’ll bring pizza or give them a few bucks for using them! If you do have a washer and dryer, remember that putting one shirt in the wash is not a good way to cut down on costs, wait to do laundry till you have a full load!
3. When gas is cheaper, load up! You need more than just gas for your car. If you have a lawn, you most likely need it for the lawn mower or weed whacker. If you use generators or things like that, you need it for those too! Buy more than one fuel container and when the prices drop, fill them up and hang on to them for when you need it! (Please make sure that you are buying appropriate containers and storing them appropriately.)
4. Make sure things are empty before throwing them away. A lot of us feel the shampoo bottle getting empty, go buy a new one, then start using the new one without finishing up the old one completely (usually the almost empty one sits in the corner of the shower for awhile too!). Instead, do put any new bottles where you will use them and wait until the old one is completely empty!
5. When it comes to major repairs (new roof, repairing plumbing or a driveway, etc.) remember that the cheapest quote may not be the best way to go. Get bids and then do your research online. See what others are saying about the contractor and how the job was done. Also research the type of materials that will be used to see how the wear and tear could affect you.

An Economic Empowerment Department Update

WIBO Update

On September 8^th, our first Workshop in Business Opportunities class will graduate! We are thrilled! Our first seven participants have worked very hard these past 16 weeks to put together their business plans for ideas ranging from photography to virtual assistants to personal shoppers to fantasy artwork and more. During graduation, our seven participants will display their businesses and compete for a mini-grant of $1,500 to give them a jumpstart on their business. We’d like to thank our first set of participants and discussion leaders for their hard work and dedication to WIBO. We’d also like to thank the Hillman Foundation for their generous support. We couldn’t do it without you!

If you are interested in taking our Workshop in Business Opportunities class, please contact Brittany Linville (412)820-2050 ext. 419 or linvilleb@fswp.org.

Moneythink Update

Lindsey Blocki and Brittany Linville recently attended the Moneythink Summer Institute in Chicago, Illinois with Carol Goldburg, faculty advisor for our first Moneythink chapter at Carnegie Mellon. While there, Lindsey, Brittany and Carol met with Moneythink leaders from around the country to learn the curriculum, mission and purpose of Moneythink. Moneythink uses college students as mentors to teach financial literacy and entrepreneurship in high school classrooms. We are excited to jump start Moneythink in September with Carnegie Mellon and local high schools. 

If you are a college student interested in being a Moneythink mentor or someone interested in bringing Moneythink to your local high school, please contact Brittany Linville (412)820-2050 ext. 419 or linvilleb@fswp.org.

Financial Wellness Classes Update

Lindsey Blocki and Derron Moose, our financial wellness trainers, have been hard at work teaching our Financial Wellness classes all over Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties! To date, we’ve seen over 250 people in our classrooms. This class is based on the Money Smart curriculum from the FDIC. Money Smart is an 11 week class that covers a variety of topics ranging from banking to credit repair to budgeting. 

If you’re interested in taking a financial wellness class, please call us at (412) 820-2050 ext. 419.

Excited about Moneythink!

Over the past week some of us at Family Services of Western PA attended an institute for our program, Moneythink. We have returned extremely excited for this program to come to our hometown of Pittsburgh! 

Moneythink is a financial literacy and entrepreneurial endeavor started on the campus of the University of Chicago by students. Their goal was to start ‘chapters’ of college students who worked together and taught the important life skills of finances and business in a fun and hands on way to high school juniors and seniors.  By doing this, these colleges students become not only a teacher, but a mentor. 

There are currently seventeen chapters across the country at various colleges and universities coast to coast. We here at FSWP are looking to start chapters not only in the local universities but also aid in reaching out the Pittsburgh school districts with this wonderful program.

If you would like more information about how Moneythink can come to your local high school, or if you are a current college student who would love to get involved, please contact us! 

Happy learning!

412-420-2050 ext. 419 

Moneythink website: www.moneythink.org

Back to School Shopping

Today's Author: Derron

There are many different ways to save money when it comes to sending kids back to school.  Anything from discount clothes shopping to utilizing supplies the school provides the child to packing a lunch once a week, families are finding a lot of ways to cut their spending with this pricey sacrifice.  Here is a list I’ve compiled of how I or others have mentioned they save some pennies before back to school time.

Re-Using last year’s supplies: Go through last year’s back pack to fine supplies that were not used.  In my home, desk cleanout day is the last day of school.  Normally there are pencils, pens, erasers, scissors and other supplies that make their way home the last day that can be re-used.  Don’t hesitate to go through last years backpack to see if there are any “gems” left over from the previous year.

Dollar Stores Vs. Bigger Chain Stores: For the most part, many of the supplies I buy prior to each school year can be purchased at any number of stores.  My daughter likes mechanical lead pencils and thankfully they can be found anywhere.  If you comparison shop for supplies (pencils in my case), you will find that dollar stores have the same type of supplies at a cheaper price.  I have purchased glue, staplers, pencils, pens and other supplies at dollar stores and have saved a noticeable amount of money.  To me, pencils and pens are just that, things to write with and if I can save a few bucks, I’m all for it.

Go early in the school supply season: If you shop early enough in the buying season, prices generally are cheaper.  If you wait until the last minute, stores do run out of supplies and you are stuck going to the more expensive stores.  That’s not my idea of saving money.  I try to get things as early as possible so that I’m not stuck going to a computer store or someplace like that which may charge double for certain things.  The earlier the better.

 Buy More Than One (or buy in Bulk): As I previously stated, a big back to school purchase in my home are mechanical pencils.  One of the things I found early on is that they do not last as long as they once did.  One way to decrease the number of trips to stores, use of gas and increased number of purchases is to make one large purchase.  Think of the mechanical pencil I have to buy, I can but a 10 pack for $1.99 or more.  That’s 20 cents per pencil.  If I purchase a 50 0r 100 pack, the price decreases to 15 cents a pack, depending on where I make my buy.  That’s the difference when you buy in bulk compared to a 10 pack.  Think of this with all your supplies and how you can use this philosophy.  Pens, pencils, erasers, book covers and markers can be purchased with larger numbers in the package can decrease cost.  Even if you buy 10 packs of pencils, you still are saving money by not making multiple trips to the store to re-stock. 

Fall Class Update!

As if the ‘back to school’ commercials on TV were not a big enough sign, fall is on its way! After a very eventful summer for us here in the FSWP Economic Empowerment department we are excited to start some new fall classes and endeavors! Here are some upcoming classes in the Allegheny County area. Check back soon for additional class updates for Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.

In addition to some new classes, we are also excited to host a lunch and discussion on Financial Wellness this September! If you want to see what ‘this Financial Wellness thing’ is all about, join us on September 24, 1:00PM at the Day Reporting Center at 5750 Baum Blvd., Pittsburgh for some lunch, discussion and information on Financial Wellness.

Financial Wellness Class update:

Starting September 6^th: Friday, 1:30PM – Squirrel Hill Food Bank in Squirrel Hill

Starting September 25^th: Tuesday, 2:00PM – Catholic Charities in downtown Pittsburgh

Starting November 7^th: Wednesdays, 12:30PM – Northside Common Ministries in the North Shore

WIBO Classes (Entrepreneurship):

Starting September 11th: Tuesdays for 16 weeks at Family Services of Western PA's East Liberty Office

Starting September 13th: Thursdays for 16 weeks at Family Services of Western PA's New Kensington Office

For more information about any of our classes, please email linvilleb@fswp.org or (412) 820-2050 ext. 419.

A Budget Counseling Success Story

Today's Author: Derron

     “Betty” is a client that I have known for a few years and recently have been involved with her through the Economic Empowerment Program here at FSWP.  As long as I’ve known “Betty” she has struggled to pay bills, make ends meet and have enough money at the end of each month so that she could ever possibly get ahead of the next.  I hadn’t seen her for a while until she showed up at one of my Financial Wellness classes where we started talking.  This was a person who had not had a checking account for many years and was fearful of even walking into a bank.  She was paying bills with money orders and admits she was wasting money with how it was managed.  “Betty” saw a class flyer and attended the financial classes when she could.  “Betty” realized that she may need some other support related to her finances and asked if I could meet with her to focus on her budget.  We looked at her credit, created a spending plan and I asked her if she would open a checking account.  She hesitated at first but this is where things started to change for her.  With some nagging on my part and some confidence from her, “Betty” recently opened her own checking account at First Commonwealth Bank.  The best thing about her new account she told me is that she is paying bills with a debit card and checks.  “Betty” was so excited when I met with her after she opened her new checking account.  She doesn’t have to go to the mini mart to get money orders because all she does now is put her bill in the mail with a check inside.  She has said more than once, how “thrilled” she is to be able to go into the bank, not be scared and know that she has the means to improve how she manages herself financially.  She wants to open a savings account at some point and has said on numerous occasions that she thought she would “never be back to this point”.  “Betty” also told me that she had $3.00 in her checking account at the end of the month and that was something “I can’t remember happening for a long time”.   Of course, we celebrated that.  “Betty” realizes that she has a long road ahead for financial stability but also is able to identify that this is a first step to improve her life.  And as we seek to improve the lives of our clients and push for recovery and empowerment, Through support of the Economic Empowerment program, Financial Wellness classes and individual Budget Counseling, this client is “finally going in the right direction” as she stated it.       

If you are interested in Budget Counseling or Financial Wellness classes in Allegheny or Westmoreland Counties, please call (412) 820-2050 ext 419!