Talking Financial Wellness at R.D. Parker Collegiate

Thompson-Mb-Balance-Wellness-Feb-10-2016

Wednesday, February 10, 2016, marked another great day of professional development, this time with the staff from R.D. Parker Collegiate in Thompson, Manitoba. Our Balance Wellness Team is having a lot of fun meeting some great teachers across the province.

We were welcomed with open arms by Principal Rod Fisher and his staff. Keith Macpherson, Carla D’Andreamatteo, and Creditaid’s President Brian Denysuik, are really enjoying the opportunity to deliver some great programs. Creditaid’s Financial Wellness piece generated lots of interesting conversation.

Thank you Manitoba Teachers’ Society for having Creditaid as part of the Balance Wellness Program.

Creditaid is Going Back to School!

Balance Wellness program logoCreditaid is delighted to be part of a new wellness program offered to the members of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society. The program, coined Balance, is in its’ first year and Creditaid is very excited to be covering the Financial Literacy piece.

Financial wellbeing impacts one’s overall health, and can affect relationships with family, friends and co-workers. More employers are beginning to realize that being under financial stress can significantly impact the quality of an employee’s daily work. We were happy to be selected by the Manitoba Teachers’ Society as responsible for the Financial Literacy portion of their wellness program.

The Financial Literacy workshops and resources provide information to help individuals deal with financial stress and limit the effects it may have on their life. Topics include but are not limited to:

• Identity Theft
• Dealing with Financial Stress
• Budgeting Made Easy
• Talking Money with Your Kids

We have been helping Manitobans be debt free since 1992 and with programs like these, we can help even more. These valued individuals are teaching our children, and we trust that the more knowledge they have, the more they will pass along.

1 in 5 Manitobans Feel Little Control Over Their Financial Situation: Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum Survey

Creditaid is a proud participating member of the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum, currently comprised of more than 40 active members. The following news release and Executive Summary of the survey can also be found on their website.

Winnipeg, Manitoba (November 19, 2015) – One in five Manitobans say that there is little they can do to control their financial situation, according to a new survey from the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum.

The survey, conducted by Prairie Research Associates, also revealed:

• 15 per cent of Manitobans believe that they would put off dealing with their money problems
• 11 per cent say they do not know who or where to turn to solve a financial problem
• 8 per cent feel that they do not know how to make good financial decisions

The results indicated that half of Manitobans do not consider themselves to be fully confident in their financial behavior, with many people desiring access to information and tools that can help them understand their finances, track their spending, create household budgets and improve their ability to work with a financial professional.

These findings are being used by the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum to create a benchmark for the current state of financial literacy in the province. This is the first survey of its kind to focus exclusively on Manitoba, and its results will inform the Forum’s future programming and projects.

“Learning how Manitobans understand their own financial situation and behavior is an important first step for the Forum,” says Cynthia Duncan, co-chair of the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum. “We’re finding that many people want to improve their financial skills, and we’re committed to connecting them to the resources that can set them up for lifelong success.”

Manitobans can learn more about money management by visiting ManitobaFinancialLiteracy.com. The website, operated by the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum, maintains a large collection of free tools and information to help guide people toward making responsible financial decisions at every stage of their lives.

The Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum is one of the province’s largest not-for-profit coalitions of organizations and individuals working to promote financial education and skills to Manitobans, represented by stakeholders from the public, private, financial services, credit counselling, and voluntary sectors, as well as individuals, and families and labour organizations.

The survey results cited are compiled from a random sample of 600 Manitobans 18 years of age and over between April 9 to 29, 2015. The results were weighted to better reflect the population. A probability sample of this size would yield results accurate to ± 4.1%, 19 times out of 20.

Media Contact Information:
Cynthia Duncan
Co-chair, Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum
204-925-7420, ext 7405
info@manitobafinancialliteracy.com