Continually rising costs of goods and increasing inflation are likely forcing everyone to review their finances and financial position to see where they can cut costs and save.
National Financial Literacy Month is celebrated in April. This provides a great and timely opportunity for us to review our financial situation and see how we can make improvements toward a better financial outlook. Economic Growth Corporation (GROWTH) can help you control your finances rather than letting them control you, free of charge.
As a mission-driven nonprofit, GROWTH has been deeply committed to working with individuals financially impacted by COVID-19 as well as by other factors for almost 20 years: working one-on-one to help build (or rebuild) a foundation to financial security.
To deepen our reach into the community, GROWTH launched a series of eight financial videos promoting various areas to increase basic knowledge of financial literacy. These videos are available in English and in Spanish and dive into the details of the housing counseling and financial literacy services GROWTH provides.
They can assist a wide range of audiences from youth to retirees on various subjects including the importance of credit, budgeting, homeownership, foreclosure prevention, and basic information on what HUD-approved housing counseling agencies can provide to individuals. GROWTH’s services are free for Illinois residents and in most cases, all other HUD-approved housing counseling agencies provide services — again, free of charge.
GROWTH encourages any individual or business to take advantage of these videos by using them as a resource tool to share valuable information on how to increase your financial literacy knowledge and awareness. Find the video series at EconomicGrowthCorporation.com under the Housing Counseling Videos dropdown.
GROWTH has maintained its certification as a HUD-approved housing counseling agency for almost 20 years, with its housing counseling and financial literacy efforts regularly audited to ensure that its programs and services align and are consistent with national housing policies.
With three HUD-certified housing counselors on staff, GROWTH is available to assist individuals in improving their financial literacy. GROWTH’s services are available to Illinois residents within multiple counties — and other HUD-approved housing counseling agencies, that GROWTH can refer you to, are available to residents who live in Iowa.
Empowering yourself to be in control of your own financial situation is attainable and can reduce stress, improve your standard of living, and help you achieve your long-term goals — no matter what your income is.
GROWTH encourages you to seize control of your finances instead of letting them control you. GROWTH will be hosting a series of Personal Growth Workshops including other programs during the month of April in recognition of National Financial Literacy month. To learn more on these and other upcoming events, visit EconomicGrowthCorporation.com. •
Beth Payne is vice president of Economic Growth Corporation, Rock Island. She can be reached at bpayne@growthcorp.org.
