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By TRACEY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
UDGETS ARE ONLY FORpeople who have lots of money.
I'll be making more money by the time I have to buy a new car.
My child can get a lot more financial aid if I can't help him out with college tuition.
Sound familiar?
These are a few of the common money misconceptions that will be discussed during this year's Women and Money seminar at YSU's Kilcawley Center on Friday.
First presented in 2000, Women & amp; Money is the Ohio treasury's series of free financial-planning workshops for women. It is the brainchild of Joseph T. Deters, treasurer for the state of Ohio.
The event will be held in nine cities this year: Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, Youngstown, Portsmouth and Athens.
"Dispelling Your Money Myths: Insights into Realistic Money Management" is the title of this year's event, said Tom Kelly, director of community education programs in Ohio.
"The objective is to get people to think about making sound decisions about their financial situation," said Kelly.
"We want to get them thinking about creating a realistic budget if they don't have one and thinking about retirement planning or estate planning or credit and debt or any of the various other categories [offered at the workshop]."
What's behind this
Kelly said the treasury decided to provide the series because women generally make less money then men, many women don't have retirement plans and in many cases have not been responsible for things such as retirement planning, budgeting or estate planning.
"It's almost always men, traditionally and chauvinistically," said Kelly. "That's changing because more women are in the work force and becoming better-paid employees and are supporting themselves."
The workshop consists of an opening session with Ohio treasurer Joseph Deters, four workshop sessions with a luncheon presentation after the first two sessions, and a closing panel discussion.
Attendees choose the sessions they'd like to attend from topics such as kids and money, home ownership, investments and credit and debt management.
Kelly said the series is designed to give women confidence in making financial decisions. He said the attendees are asked to evaluate the program each year after the day is over.
"The overwhelming opinion is positive. They're very happy that we're doing it and they learn from it," he said.
Luncheon speaker
For the luncheon presentation, Kelly said, they choose a successful businesswoman from the area to discuss her experience in business. He explained that a woman's experience starting a business is often very different from a man's.
"Banks and others who you need cooperation from aren't always convinced that a woman can do it for some absurd reason or another, but that is changing," he said.
The keynote speaker for this year's event will be Linda Deckant, owner of Possessions, a women's clothing store in Boardman.
Kelly said anyone who is interested may register online at www.ohiowomenandmoney.org or call (800) 228-1102.
He said the event is always booked to capacity, and he anticipates the same this year.
Kelly also noted counselors, social workers, nurses and chemical dependency professionals can earn education credits by attending the series.