Opportunity Knocks for Financial Education, Savings Program

WASHINGTON – A new, nationwide survey released by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and Visa USA finds that financial worry is having a negative impact on women’s sleep, job productivity and health. Nearly 71% of the women surveyed said they had worried about their personal finances in the past year and 66% cited unexpected expenses as a cause for those worries. Even more surprising, 88% of younger women, between the ages of 18-24, said unexpected expenses was also a contributor to their financial worries. One of the main causes for these concerns was the fact that they had little or no money set aside for emergency situations. Some 42% of all women surveyed said they had emergency savings of less than $500. In addition, 55% of women, between the ages of 25-34, said that they did not maintain an emergency savings account of at least $500. To encourage more women to open and maintain a savings account CFA and Visa have joined forces to launch a “Save $500 Challenge: Preparing Women for a Rainy Day” (http://www.save500challenge.org/). The findings are no surprise to Rochester, New Hampshire-based Holy Rosary Credit Union. Recently, the credit union teamed up with Northeast Planning Associates, Inc. for a “Smart Women Finish Rich” presentation based on the popular book by David Bach. The free seminar is designed specifically for women who want to learn more about managing their money and provides seven steps to help in pursuit of financial security.