Family finance in Latah County

• 40 financial tips for college students
• Balanced living — learn ways to balance your time, manage your stress and feed, move and rest your body. Each class is offered individually or as a five-hour workshop.
• Basic banking 101 — learn the ins and outs of banking and how to use its perks to benefit you financially.  
• Budgeting for life after graduation — although home is a nice place, UI Extension is here to help you make your mark on the world. In just one hour, you will get advice on what life will be like after graduating from high school, how to make the most of your money and your education, and how to prepare for college while not breaking the bank or requiring you to live in your parents’ basement.  
• Buying a car — what you need to know to make the best decision when purchasing a vehicle.
• Credit: Friend or foe — learn the basics of credit and how to make it work for you, not against you.
• Declutter your life and reduce your stress — with busy schedules, emotional attachments and too much stuff, we can start feeling out of control and stressed. This fun-filled, laugh-out-loud class challenges you to cut the clutter and restore your balance and peace of mind by simplifying the noise it makes.
• Financial scavenger hunt — this highly interactive game  allows you to gather interesting financial facts about your buddies, learn about important basic financial topics that might help you live a more successful fiscal life (like goal setting, tracking expenses, budgeting, debt management, insurance, credit, bankruptcy and more), and get the answers to all of your burning questions about money.
• Finding and funding your why — in this two-part workshop, we help you discover your "why.”
  • In the finding your why workshop, we revisit your dreams. You will leave feeling inspired and equipped with new tools to reach important goals.
  • In the funding your why workshop, we talk about our money archetypes — personalities that frame how we manage (or don’t) our money and resources.
• Hidden rules of economic class — every socioeconomic group has unspoken cues and habits we simply know to follow as a group. These hidden rules help us navigate the worlds we live in, but they can also create a barrier for us when communicating with those outside our group. This one-hour workshop introduces you to the hidden rules of each class, provides some key differences and examples of each class, and leaves you with tools and resources.  
• How to be a credit score millionaire — using credit unwisely can mean more dollars out of your pocket for the same thing that your credit-conscious neighbor got for cheap. This class covers all the credit basics including what it is, how to find out what creditors are saying about you, who’s watching your credit, how to fix damage, and how to build your score. We will learn about positive financial behaviors and low-cost strategies for establishing and building a credit score that can save you thousands.
• How to find and job and keep it — find answers to locating job openings, selling yourself as the best candidate, and keeping your job once you’ve been hired.  
• How to keep your assets out of the nursing home — one of the largest threats to a successful and comfortable retirement is the financial burden of long-term care. This two-hour workshop will help you with planning decisions.
• How to shake financial numbness — in this workshop, we talk about how to get back on track, how to regain focus through stress management and positive practices, and how to find joy.  
• Making friends with your money — this workshop provides up-to-date resources that help you realize goals, budget resources, find money leaks and manage what you have in a fun way.
• Managing money and debt — achieve more of your financial goals by learning to manage your money and debt better. This workshop focuses on creating a spending and savings plan that works for you through strategies to make your debt dwindle.
• Mapping your future with a powerful money management plan — we cover basic concepts that will help you succeed with a powerful money management plan.
• Medicare 101 — UI Extension and the Idaho Department of Insurance SHIBA offer three workshops every year to explain Medicare and all its parts, answer questions and de-mystify this healthcare program. In two hours, you will receive helpful resources, program updates and peace-of-mind that you are on the right track.  
• Organizing your financial paperwork — in this workshop, we focus on how long to keep financial paperwork, where to keep it, what to keep, and what happens if you can’t find it.
• Predatory lending and scams — this workshop provides participants with the knowledge needed to avoid or control predatory lending situations and to protect future assets.  
• Protect your personal identity — in this class, you will learn what identity theft is, how to minimize your risk of being a victim, and what to do if you suspect or are already a victim.  
• Renting your first home — learn what questions to ask your landlord before you sign a lease. You’ll also learn what all that jargon in your lease means and how to protect yourself.
• Responsible couponing — coupons can help offset what you are paying to retailers for everyday items like groceries, toiletries and other household products. In this workshop, you will learn the basics of couponing and steps to effective couponing, find new places to get coupons you can use, discover tips, ideas and etiquette for couponing with finesse, and finish off with healthy eating ideas and resources.
• Simplify your life — this workshop consists of three one-hour classes (Declutter Your Life and Reduce Your Stress, Organizing Your Financial Paperwork and Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?) that focus on the first steps needed before meeting with financial planners, attorneys, estate planners and loved ones. With an emphasis on organizing paperwork, property and other vital decisions before these meetings, participants acquire information and tools for better preplanning. By coming in prepared, meetings with financial professionals and attorneys will be streamlined, less costly and time-consuming and conversations with family about end-of-life issues will be a time of celebration with memories shared instead of being emotionally charged and stressful.
• Smart choice health insurance — this workshop empowers consumers to tackle the often-intimidating task of selecting health insurance coverage by explaining the process in plain language, outlining differences in plans and highlighting the factors that may influence decisions.  
• Stress and finances — in this workshop, we will talk about the symptoms and sources of stress, the importance of controlling your stress, some effective coping strategies for those stress events you can’t control now, and ways to lower your financial stress — one of the biggest stressors out there.
• When your income drops — this workshop will help you with the steps you need to take to help prioritize your current expenses, stabilize your financial situation and find the resources that can help you through this time. In addition, we will talk about how to protect your future financial self to make sure that an income drop is not financially debilitating.
• Who gets grandma’s yellow pie plate? In this workshop, we open the lines of communication and talk about factors you should consider when passing on your things, goals you want to accomplish, distribution options and consequences, and conflict resolution. Although a tough subject, this class offers a priceless peace of mind for you, your family and friends in a very upbeat way. 

The following classes are geared towards young children. Each class takes between 45 minutes to one hour depending on class size. These classes are offered for free — all supplies and the class itself.

• Making piggy pretty (pre-kindergarten) — In this class, we make/paint a piggy bank and learn about saving our money. We talk about money and what we can do with money saved. We provide all of the greenware piggy banks, jewels, stickers, paint, brushes, etc. for this activity. The children leave with a finished piggy bank at the end of the day.
• Spend, save and share piggy banks (kindergarten) — In this class, we make three small piggy banks and learn about spending, saving and sharing. Again, all of the materials are provided. This group will leave with three piggy banks and a University of Idaho backpack to take them home. There is also a story that starts them out on this activity. This has been a favorite class, and the kids love making their banks perfect.
• Creative chore charts (first grade) — In this class, we read a story about where money comes from and then we make chore charts. It is a very fun activity that allows kids to see how they can help to make money to buy a favorite toy or maybe even for their piggy banks that they made in the other classes.
• Money bags game (second grade) — Based off a board game, students become their game pieces for this fast-paced game of collecting, counting and consolidating coins to bigger denominations. They love getting to spin the wheel to see which coins need to be avoided in order to collect their cash prize from the banker. For larger classes, students work as a team to reach their goal of the most money for the final prize.

Simulations are events that require volunteers and larger spaces and are highly interactive. Learning is discovered through participation. The following simulations are available.

• Dream trip travel — Do you ever dream about traveling or taking an extravagant vacation? This simulation gives you a sneak peek at what your dream trip will cost and will provide you with tools to plan accordingly.
• Kids kredit card — This program is great for kids age eight to 13. They go on a spending spree and see how much stuff they want is really going to cost. It’s a great lesson on how credit works.
• Ossie's awesome adventure to financial success — This interactive scavenger hunt helps college students explore campus services while learning to be financially successful before and after graduation.
• Poverty — Experience poverty through a live-action simulation. Participants role-play the lives of low-income families. Learn what you can do to help end poverty.
• StarPower — In this fast-paced, fun simulation, you will learn the art of negotiation and key principles of effective leadership. The game combines chance and skill at trading and bargaining to secure your position in the game. Don’t let these last sentences fool you though. It is a ton of fun and the winners walk away with a goody bag full of chocolate. Everyone leaves with a better understanding of leadership and how our decisions have a ripple effect on others.
  • This reality game focuses on how different financial and social classes interact. It is a great learning experience and gives a real-world example of how we treat each other socially even when money isn’t involved.
• That’s life — This program gives participants of all ages a glimpse of the future, in a fun and interactive way. Learn basic financial planning, decision making and goal setting skills, explore a possible career choice, and find out why school is so important.
• Welcome to the real world — Explore career opportunities and make lifestyle and spending choices. Adaptable for use in a three-hour activity or in multiple classroom sessions.