BELFAST — Money Matters, a free financial literacy course, is being offered again to help community members better understand how to successfully manage their daily finances. It will once more be co-facilitated by extremely knowledgeable, experienced financial experts from Bangor Savings Bank and Bank of America who are giving back to our community by offering their services at no cost.

Have you recently experienced a life transition that has you taking a long, hard look at your financial picture? Are you concerned about being a victim of the financial scams that seem to be in the news on a daily basis? Would you like to build your savings, improve your credit rating or understand your credit score? Are you looking for ways to get out of debt?  Do you want to learn how to effectively use credit and debit cards?  Would you like advice on how to set a daily budget that really works? Are you just entering the work force and wondering how to budget for savings and living expenses? 

The Money Matters curriculum is designed to teach individuals the nuts and bolts of money management to help them meet their financial goals and needs. It was created by Belfast Adult Education in partnership with Bank of America and Bangor Savings Bank.

The instructors will lead each session in an informal, conversational style.

Money Matters is scheduled to meet on Thursdays, from March 21 - April 11, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. It will be held at the BAE Learning Center, 6B Lions Way in Belfast.

Participants are welcome to attend any one or all of the sessions at no cost. 

March 21: Managing Money Day to Day

Ø  Budgeting 

Ø  Checking accounts

Ø  Debit cards

Ø  Credit cards

Ø  Online Banking & Budgeting Tools

March 28: Saving for the Future

Ø  Savings accounts

Ø  The habit of saving

Ø  Investing 

April 4: How to Borrow Money Wisely

Ø  Debt structure

Ø  Credit reports/scores

Ø  Mortgages

Ø  Car loans

April 11: Protecting Against Fraud

Ø  Identity theft

Ø  Scams

Ø  Credit monitoring

FMI or to register, contact BAE’s Money Matters coordinator, Denise Pendleton, at 338-3197; dpendleton@rsu71.org.