Money matters workshop set for June 13
An upcoming budgeting workshop will be designed to help community members learn to save, budget and work financially toward buying a first home or to expand their current residence, one of the organizers of the event said.
The Money Matters workshop will be presented by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake’s Housing Unit and participants will get a crash course in Budgeting tips and tricks, saving for and buying your first home, establishing your home selection criteria and choosing your mortgage and insurance, Housing Unit Client Experience Manager Shyann White said.
“It’s going to be concerning how to budget correctly to afford a home, how to figure out a budget, how to understand how much is coming and how much is going out,” she explained.
The workshop will be held June 13 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Golden Age Club.
The first hour will consist of a catered dinner and the rest of the evening will focus on financial literacy, White said.
“It’s a little different from what we’ve offered up in the past,” she said. “We have heard from the community that they want more financial literacy, so that’s what we’re hoping to deliver them.”
This is the third such financial-literacy workshop the community has held, White said. She is planning on a lot more.
“We have already had two in the past, and we are hoping to be offer them up quarterly,” White said. “The community has indicated they want more of these.”
Those quarterly info sessions will be complemented by the Housing Unit’s quarterly financial-literacy newsletter, White said.
The Caisse Populaire rep will also discuss various ways to help save up for a new home, or to create the conditions within your current budget to help put some money together for a down payment on a house, White added.
“It’s all about setting the community up for success in whatever it is they’d like to do. It all starts with financial literacy. How does one make a budget? How does one put money aide for a house? What products are available to help? We hope to be able to help answer all these questions and more,” White said.
Financial literacy may seem simple to some, White said, but it’s not always second nature for many community members.
“If your parents didn’t teach you about this stuff, there’s a good chance you’re not going to feel comfortable with it as an adult,” she said. “They don’t really teach this stuff in schools and it takes a lot of work to learn it if you don’t already know.”
White is hoping the June 13 event proves as popular as other seminars on the same subject matter.
“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback about the other events we’ve offered and we are hoping for a good turnout,” White said. “We are hoping a lot of people come to this one and that the word gets out around the community.”
The Money Matters workshop will be held June 13 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Golden Age Club. To register, or for more information, call 450-638-2672.
Marc Lalonde, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase
