Women have unique financial circumstances. They earn less, on average, than men. They live longer, on average, than men, so their money has to last longer. Of the elderly poor in the United States, over 70% are women. (Rutgers University Extension Money Talk for Women program data.) Americans age 50 and older may have not saved enough for their retirement years and according to a survey by the Associated Press, about one-third will outlive their savings. (https://phys.org/news/2016-05-survey-one-third-older-americans-financially.html)

 The Boone County Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Advisory Committee identified a need for money management and financial awareness education for area residents and suggested a series of “Money Talk” be offered.

 The Boone County Cooperative Extension Service led Money Talk, a 4-week program. Professionals in the financial management, insurance and legal fields and extension personnel were educators. The research-based curriculum, “Money Talk” from Rutgers University Extension was used with the 21 middle to older age males, females and couples enrolled in the program.  The “Money Habitudes” curriculum approved by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension was used during the program to help individuals understand how their habits and attitudes affected their spending and saving. Credit reports, basic investing and estate planning and insurance were all discussed during the program.

 A survey was administered during the last session of the series to determine knowledge gained and intentions for change and implementation. A questionnaire was mailed to all participants six weeks after the program to determine behavior change as a result of participating in the program. Of the 12 individuals who returned the mailed survey, results indicated:

81 percent improved their knowledge of identity theft issues and 62 percent took steps to improve the safety of their personal information to prevent identity theft

50 percent requested a copy of their free credit report as a result of the program

25 percent had read through the entire book and completed some of the exercises

67 percent have reviewed their insurance policies and needs 

62 percent now have written goals related to their money and finances
 50 percent have organized their important papers, discussed financial issues with friends and loved ones and told them where to find important papers

50 percent are saving and 25 percent are investing more money