Personal finance made easy: A look at CVOEO’s free tools, classes, coaching

Read the full article at www.essexreporter.com. Below is an excerpt.

Money can sometimes be a taboo conversation topic, but a local organization wants to advance Vermonters’ financial education.

Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity’s head financial coach, Ilir Hasa, manages the organization’s “Growing Money” program, which offers personal finance classes free of charge.

Hasa has an MBA from the University of Vermont and has been working with CVOEO for nearly three years. Based in Chittenden County, he oversees two new financial coaches in Addison and Franklin counties.

The Growing Money program offers four classes on a regular basis: a two-session “SMART Spending” course; a one-session “Keys to Credit” course; a one-session course on “Avoiding Scams and Financial Fraud,” and a one-session course on “Creating a Financial Future.”

These courses are free and open to everyone, Hasa said. In addition, residents of Addison, Chittenden, Franklin or Grand Isle counties making 80% or less of the Family Median Income are eligible for free, personalised, one-on-one coaching sessions with Hasa or his staff. Personal financial coaching is where the bulk of the team’s focus lies.

Detailed personal finance education isn’t necessarily a standard for Vermonters to receive via traditional educational avenues, and there are lots of misconceptions and bad actors around, so the accessibility of vetted information is critical.

“We provide clients with information, knowledge and tools, and then we assist them with following up and creating and also reaching their financial goals,” Hasa said. “We can provide them with specific resources, and I meet with regular clients on a monthly basis to check in and to follow up with their financial goals.”

CVOEO’s teachings are structured in line with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s.

Some of the tools include worksheets like a spending tracker so folks can know exactly where their money is going, and a line-item budget guide to predict where their money will be headed now and in the future.

“I think it's very important information and knowledge,” Hasa said. “So we provide them with all the knowledge and tools they need to be successful in their life… And they are the one making decisions. We are just assisting them in facilitating this process.”

The classes are offered virtually, where attendees can ask instructors questions as each class unfolds, or through a self-paced, asynchronous “on-demand” modality, which Hasa said are even more in-depth than the highlights covered in a live Zoom class.