Cynthia Crawford, M.S., Ed.S., Ph.D.
Extension Professional and Family Financial Education Specialist
University of Missouri

• Wall Street Journal - Banks Face $17 Billion in Suits Over Foreclosures
• Bloomberg - JPMorgan Settles Military Mortgage Suits for $56 Million
• Military Times - Banks must take second look at foreclosures
• Military Times - Feds investigate banks after SCRA complaints
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) - Supervisory Insights Special Foreclosure Edition: Regulatory Actions Related to Foreclosure Activities by Large Servicers and Practical Implications for Community Banks

Jerry Buchko

We’d love to hear them and then have the opportunity to use them as testimonials to garner further support and volunteerism for our great organization.

2. Is new law that says you have to be 21 years old with the exception of income or “co-cosigner, good or bad? Is it holding young people back from starting credit or protecting them from getting into financial difficulty?

Sharon Cabeen, AFCPE President

When used along with a consultation with a qualified attorney and/or a HUD-approved foreclosure prevention counselor, I’ve found the book to be a valuable resource that can help clients better understand the topic and what their potential options might be to cope. Allowing the content to be reviewed for free has certainly made it much more readily accessible to those who might benefit from the information.

~ Jerry Buchko

Gerald Buchko–

I think such info is very pertinent for the young investor, who may not be taking advantage of an employer’s savings plan because they know they’re only going to be at a job for a couple years (or less) and think its not worth the hassle of investing, or don’t understand what the benefits are, even in the short term, of employer matches, etc. (Many of my friends are doing exactly this.)

Ancillary to this is that some young investors do take advantage of an employer savings program, but then don’t understand that it can roll into the new employer’s program, and thus the old employer “cashes out” and the investor gets a check for the remaining amount after those insane taxes. (This recently happened to my fiance with his 401K; his employer cashed it out before he could roll it. I check the mail, I never saw literature from the employer about rolling/transferring, so I am not even sure they gave him a heads up.)

In the changing job market, where permanency in a position is a thing of the past, understanding the level of fluidity in employer savings programs could be beneficial.

Alissa Genovese
Program Operations Specialist
Office of Research and Evaluation

As financial educators and counselors, we often find our practice revolves around providing answers and information to those we serve. After all, bad advice or inaccurate information could mean financial ruin for someone. We spend hours on research, professional and continuing education, or learning the intricacies of products we might offer and their uses.

But when was the last time you reflected on exactly how you provided that information to its recipient? Who really are those recipients and how can you reach them best (in a knowledge building sense, not marketing)? When was the last time you reflected on your own skills as an educator of adults?

Often it is our expertise and the knowledge of its application to our subject that we measure to determine our proficiency as an educator. Yes, we must deeply know our material, but our knowledge alone it is not sufficient to ensure its successful transference to others. I propose that personal financial education is adult education and we should all dedicate a portion of our efforts to being effective educators of adults and not just subject matter experts.

So as you re-reflect on your new year’s resolutions, please also reflect on your educating. In the ongoing pursuit of excellence I suggest we all consider focusing part of our next continuing education, self-study, or formal training on the how of educating adults vs. the what.

-Ryan Ritter, MBA, AFC
Fort Leavenworth, KS

What are people doing that results in their making progress toward a resolution or goal?
How is that different than what those not making progress are doing?
What seems to motivate your clients to take action?

-Joyce Cavanagh
AFCPE President