The program took place in a hybrid physical/virtual environment at and in collaboration with Richland Library. Attendees were first asked to complete a brief survey measuring their confidence and knowledge in financial literacy, which was complemented at the end of the event with a post-event survey measuring any changes and inviting feedback for future events. Attendees were given a menu of financial topics and asked to mark the top three they would like covered in the one-hour session. I led discussions, invited anecdotes, and provided information and rules of thumb on the topics of credit cards, scams, banking, and investing.

Feedback following the event included: Unanimous agreement that the material benefited respondents and increased their confidence in handling financial matters, and that they would like more and longer financial literacy programs. Specific terms in written feedback included “Life-changing,” “Relevant,” and “Great use of knowledge.”

One of my accomplishments was having several participants taking a separate program focused on retirement accounts and rules of thumb for investing, reporting that they had opened workplace retirement accounts and began deferred compensation based on information I shared with them. – Thomas Maluck

An imminent opportunity in a local high school will present an opportunity to create educational value in the public education sphere. Also, I have been invited on the Circulating Ideas podcast for an episode about financial literacy programs in libraries and can provide a link to the interview after it goes live.

Thomas Maluck