Everyone has a burning question or two they’ve always wanted to ask a financial expert.
Maybe it’s: What should I do with my old 401(k) plan from a previous employer?
Or, would I benefit from refinancing my house?
Or, I just graduated from college and have student loan debt coming due. How do I not go broke every month?
Celebrate Money Smart Week this year by finally getting the answers — no strings attached.
“It’s so imperative that everybody take control of their finances in this day and age, especially when you’re more and more on your own,” said Rebecca Kennedy, a certified financial planner in Denver and co-chair of the pro-bono committee for the Financial Planning Association of Colorado.
On April 18, her fellow certified financial planners will share their expertise — for free — offering one-on-one counseling at Denver Financial Planning Day, hosted by FPA Colorado from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Mile Hi Church in Lakewood.
It’s one of more than 100 events, webinars and activities planned across the state for Money Smart Week, a public-awareness campaign that runs nationwide April 18-25.
Some 125 partner organizations — banks, nonprofit organizations, libraries, colleges and more — plan to participate locally, offering free, no-strings-attached programming for all ages, said Stacee Martin, director of public affairs for the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
“People talk about spring cleaning for their homes — this is spring cleaning for your pocketbook,” Martin said.
Topics for the workshops and events, hosted in communities across the state, touch on just about everything, from eating well on a budget and improving your credit score to understanding Social Security and protecting yourself against identity theft. A full list is available at moneysmartweek.org.
“If you’re an adult and you don’t know where to start with a budget, there are resources out there to help you. If you’re an adult who’s pretty savvy with money and trying to plan for retirement, there’s resources for you, too,” said Erin O’Donnell, public affairs specialist for the Denver branch. “It’s for everyone.”
At Denver Financial Planning Day, any money-related question is fair game, Kennedy said. In addition to certified financial planners, experts in estate planning, accounting and cash flow management will be available to field questions in the confidential counseling sessions.
“We want people to come with their situation-specific questions and whatever documentation they can bring with them,” Kennedy said. “If you have a question about your estate planning, bring the document. If you have a question about your insurance, bring the policy. If you have a question about your taxes, bring your return.”
The event also features workshops on a variety of financial topics — smart investing, creating great credit, saving for retirement, Social Security and more.
And when they say no strings attached, they mean it, Kennedy said — participating professionals are not even allowed to hand out their business cards.
“Most financial advisors work with a certain subset of clients and have maybe a minimum account size that a lot of people don’t qualify for, or a lot of folks don’t have the money to pay for a financial planner,” Kennedy said. “This is a great opportunity for everyone and anyone to come sit down, get some of their burning questions answered.”
Kids can get in on the action April 18-25, too.
The Young Americans Center for Financial Education, at 3550 E. First Ave., a longtime participant in Money Smart Week, is expanding its free Second Saturday workshops this month to every Saturday in April.
On April 18, middle-schoolers ages 12-14 can come play “Debit vs. Credit Jeopardy” and learn the differences between all the plastic we carry in our wallets.
On April 25, children ages 6-8 will wrack their brains to figure out what’s a need and what’s a want — and learn how to save for both goals.
Regular reminders about the importance of money and good money habits are important, no matter your age, said Rich Martinez, president and CEO of Young Americans.
“We don’t as a society discuss money enough,” Martinez said. “(Money Smart Week) puts it at the front of our minds as the public — we need to think about this stuff.
“Everybody would say, ‘I do these things,’ but do they really?”
Emilie Rusch: 303-954-2457, erusch@denverpost.com or twitter.com/emilierusch
DENVER FINANCIAL PLANNING DAY: 9 a.m.-12 p.m. April 18. Mile Hi Church, 9077 W. Alameda Ave., Lakewood. Free; sign up for workshops or one-on-one counseling at milehichurch.org/fpday. Walk-ins welcome.
To see a full list of Money Smart Week events, go to moneysmartweek.org.
