Our financial education programs strive to help families and individuals across the county achieve financial well being – keeping pace with day-to-day expenses, reaching financial goals, planning for life’s unexpected events and securing their financial future.

University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension offers a number of resources to help families and individuals stretch their dollars and meet their financial goals.

• Money Matters – This series of online modules can help you learn new money management skills and build on your financial strengths. Contact Ashland County UW-Extension to learn how you can receive a certificate of completion to meet local financial education requirements.
• Financial Education Group Workshops for agencies and organizations on a variety of topics including building credit, budgeting, saving and more.
• Rent Smart  – Renting affordable housing is a big step. This program helps individuals build knowledge and skills for a successful rental experience.
• Money Management Coaching and Individual Counseling providing support and encouragement to help people gain financial stability and pursue their goals. Meet in person or via Web to help extend dollars, organize finances, meet monthly expenses and learn about area resources that can help.

Resources and Links

Check Your Credit Report Lots of people can read your credit report: landlords, employers, insurance agencies, banks and more. You should know what they see. Learn why credit reports matter and how to check yours.

Pay Down Debt with Power Pay    Making “Power Payments” is a widely recommended way to pay down debt  faster so you can start saving. This website from Utah State University Extension offers tools that make it easy to implement this strategy.  Also features other useful resources like a Spending Plan tool that creates your budget online instead of with a pencil and paper.

Spend Smart Eat Smart  This fun, interactive resource from Iowa State University Extension offers a number of useful tools for cutting back on food costs.  Meal planning, smart shopping, low-cost recipes and more.

Paying Down Credit Card Debt  This site from the Federal Trade Commission offers information on paying down credit card debt including a calculator to show how much you can save by paying more than the minimum payment required.

Ballpark Estimate  An easy-to-use worksheet that helps consumers identify approximately how much to save in order to fund a comfortable retirement. Can be completed on paper or online to let the computer do the math. Designed for consumers with more than 10 years left before retirement.

Saving for Post-Secondary Education Saving for Post-Secondary Education is a campaign led by UW-Madison Division of Extension county educators to promote the benefits of saving for college, answer common questions about saving for higher education, and provide information about how you can get started.