This year’s question is “Your family faces a medical emergency – due to this situation, your parent/guardian cannot work temporarily. Your family does not have much savings and will need to find ways to adjust spending.
- Given these circumstances, how can your family adjust spending?
- What action might you take to assist your family in this situation?
- How can your family better prepare for something like this moving forward?”
“This is a great way for parents to introduce topics of difficult financial situations with their children, hopefully before they happen,” said Todd Anderson, Money Smart Kid Chairperson. Brainstorming possible solutions helps children learn to think critically about financial challenges that might arise in their own lives as well as help them feel a sense of control if their family finds themselves in this situation.
Five finalists will be chosen from entries received and will attend the Money Smart Week Kick-off event in April. The winner will receive a $2,000 scholarship and runner’s up will receive recognition and prizes.
Money Smart week is an annual event coordinated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and its Money Smart Week Partners as a way to educate people about money management and create awareness of financial education. Topics such as budgeting, saving money, managing your money for future events and retirement are addressed in classes held in locations around the community. Money Smart Week Bloomington-Normal will be held April 23-30, 2016 and last year featured over 100 free classes. Local community groups, businesses, schools and non-profit organizations all come together to present non-biased information to the community at large.
For more information about Money Smart Week classes as well as other program news, visit www.moneysmartweek.org or the Money Smart Week Bloomington-Normal, IL Facebook page.
