The three area Financial Opportunity Centers celebrated National Financial Goal Day during the week of October 10, with games, prizes and incentives for families to save toward their goals.

National Financial Goal Day was established by The Financial Clinic (www.thefinancialclinic.org) which says that people who make and achieve a short-term financial goal are 4.5 times more likely to achieve a longer-term financial security outcome, such as getting out of debt or purchasing a home.

At Mon Valley Initiative, staffers in Steelers jerseys encouraged participants to “tackle their financial goals” and gave black and gold blankets as prizes. Financial coach Bobby James Smith provided financial education, and guest speaker Barry Courson, financial adviser from Waddell & Reed Inc., gave tips about how to climb psychological barriers to change financial behaviors.

At Northside Common Ministries, participants enjoyed lunch as Danny McGlory, branch manager at WesBanco, spoke about the importance of establishing a relationship with a bank. Participants made commitments to open a bank account with the information they received.

At Oakland Planning & Development Corporation, Carol Neyland, senior vice president for community development at Dollar Bank, provided money saving and budgetary advice to a standing room only crowd. JobLinks’ financial coach Shay Port led the group in games and budgeting exercises, and participants identified personal financial goals, such as paying down debt or building emergency savings.

Attendees voiced their commitment to becoming better savers:

“I was reminded that I have to stick to focusing on my needs first, then my wants. I need to rebuild my credit and start saving money.”

“I’m a horrible spender and an even worse saver; I needed this workshop!”

“I learned more about myself and my spending habits. I really need to make changes.”

In the past year, FOC team members have helped 379 clients increase their earnings. 21 people have built their credit and 42 have increased their net worth by decreasing their debt and/or increasing assets. 

Over 80 people attended one of the three events, which will become regular occurrences at each site.

All those who made new financial goals have the chance to return to one of the centers and meet with a financial coach for continued one-on-one help reaching their financial goals. This service is free and open to the public. Visit our website for more information on our local network of FOCs.