www.joinFITE.org is the first global platform that will connect you to women entrepreneurs in the U.S. and 57 countries to fund a microloan and help alleviate poverty. With a sustainable income, a woman can uplift herself, her family, her community, and her country. You can give her a hand up, instead of a hand out.

Join us and our FITE partners—including Geena Davis, Eileen Fisher, and Isobel Coleman for our worldwide kick-off and the FITE global video premiere.

Register online now. With every registered participant, we’ll direct $1.00USD to fund a microloan for a woman starting or growing her business. On January 6th we’ll choose one Premiere participant to select the first FITE microloan recipients —that attendee could be you. Join us. JoinFITE.

The first and most important step in developing and following a financial plan is to examine your attitudes about money.  Are you ready to accept responsibility for changing your financial situation?  Do you believe that you can and will change the way you make financial decisions?  Can you identify at least one benefit you hope to gain by changing your money management behavior?  If your answer to these questions is a resounding “yes!” you are ready and able to start your path to financial wellness.

Start your journey right now with a simple quiz.

“As America recovers from the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression, it’s critical that we strengthen every aspect of our financial system. That means not only strong reforms and consumer protections, but also improved financial literacy and access,” said Treasury Deputy Secretary Neal Wolin. “Financial education and access is a priority for this Administration, and we’re pleased to provide this critical resource to help Americans find free, reliable and unbiased information that can help inform their daily financial decisions and plan for the future.”

The new MyMoney.gov creates an online point of access to financial information from the 21 Federal agencies, departments and bureaus that comprise the FLEC. Users will be able to find information about how to plan for a host of life events that have financial implications, such as birth or adoption of a child, home ownership, or retirement. They can also find information targeted to their personal or professional situation. For instance, the site includes resources for teachers, service members, women, parents, youth, employers, and more. The site also provides money management tools including a financial savings calculator, worksheets for establishing a household budget and a college preparation checklist, among others. The site is also available in Spanish. The effort to make the website as helpful and useful to Americans will be ongoing, with improvements expected to continue.

The web site was made possible by the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, which was established under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. The Commission was tasked to develop a national financial education web site along with a hotline (1-888-My Money) and a national strategy on financial education. It is chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury and made up of the heads of 20 additional federal agencies: the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; the Office of Thrift Supervision; the Federal Reserve; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; the National Credit Union Administration; the Securities and Exchange Commission; the Departments of Education, Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Veterans Affairs; the Federal Trade Commission; the General Services Administration; the Small Business Administration; the Social Security Administration; the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; the Office of Personnel Management and its newest member, the White House Office of Public Engagement. The Commission is coordinated by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Financial Education.

For details, go to MyMoney.gov

Visit Practical Money Skills and gain access to a variety of financial calculators that can help you make smarter financial decisions.  Calculators include:  saving for retirement, budgeting for a baby, back to school budgeting, travel calculator, holiday budgeting, saving for college, and more!

5 Wednesdays, April 7 to May 5, 2010

6:30 to 8:30 pm

$99

Moderator:  Hollis Page Harman PFP CASL

YWCA Santa Monica / Westside

2019 14th Street, Santa Monica 90405

To reserve your spot right away, visit www.smywca.org or call (310) 452-3881

Check us out on YouTube!