Money Smart Week

  • Money Smart Week: Get Started Investing for Retirement Now – It’s Really Not Hard

    Money Smart Week: Get Started Investing for Retirement Now – It’s Really Not Hard

    Judy Hucka, editor of the BetterInvesting Puget Sound Chapter Newsletter is our guest blogger today. BetterInvesting is a national, nonprofit association whose mission is to provide sound investment information, education, and support to help create successful investors. Instructors are volunteers and receive no monetary or financial payment or gain from your participation. BetterInvesting and the… Continue reading

  • How to Prevent & Survive Identity Theft

    By Ann G. Identity theft is increasingly common, and we all should be aware of how to protect ourselves—it really could happen to any one of us! It takes some work to theft-proof your life, but it is far less work than it takes to fix the problem after there has been a breach. Here… Continue reading

  • Delicious Cooking Within Your Budget

    By Ann G. If you walk the aisles of the Library’s cookbook section (and, at the Central Library, that is several aisles!), you will see a wide range of books with delectable-looking recipes. Truffles, chocolate, caviar, fine wine—it all looks so good, and so out of reach for those of us with normal budgets. But… Continue reading

  • Going Green to Save Some Green

    By Tina M. Don’t worry, it’s all about the small things! Earth Day is April 22nd and so is our Money Smart Week. Every year, I promise to be more “environmentally friendly” and “save more money.” It’s not as easy as it looks, but by adding one thing at a time – say one thing… Continue reading

  • Let’s Talk Money, Honey

    By Meadow P. Money may well be the most challenging aspect of our so-called adult lives, and yet we are so reluctant to discuss it with others for fear of looking the financial fool. It’s time we embrace financial education and make it part of our regular conversations. A fantastic way to do this is… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Director J.C. Chandor and Money

    ~posted by Frank Director J.C. Chandor has only made three films, but he has emerged as one of America’s most accomplished young directors. Two of his films are smart, thrilling, engaging dramas about money, and are ideal viewing during Money Smart Week. Continue reading

  • Knowledge is Power: Educating Yourself about Foreclosure, Scams, and Your Rights

    Angeline Thomas is our guest blogger today. She is the Staff Attorney who oversees the Foreclosure Mediation and Outreach Project—a WA-based foreclosure prevention program based at Seattle University School of Law designed to connect homeowners to reputable resources through outreach and education. No doubt, the thought of foreclosure is scary, confusing, and often overwhelming. In… Continue reading

  • Money Smart Week at the Library, April 18-28

    Interested in learning how to live within a monthly budget, manage debt and maintain good credit, and more? Come check out our Money Smart Week programs! As part of the national Money Smart Week movement, which you can check out at moneysmartweek.org, The Seattle Public Library has offerings including: Free Financial Family Fun Fest (it will… Continue reading

  • Frugal Friday Fun

    Most of us don’t mind having fun that costs a little less….as long as it is just as fun as the costlier kind! Here are a few frugal AND fun ideas to get you ready for the weekend. First, take advantage of the library’s museum passes program. With your SPL card, you can reserve and print… Continue reading

  • Hey, Big Spender

    One of the toughest things we face when dealing with money is spending a LOT of it all at once. It feels like the minute you buy something really big it will go on sale or you’ll see something better. Face your fears by following these steps: Continue reading

  • Raising a Money Smart Kid

    Does trying to raise a money smart kid mean that you want to come home to a little Gordon Gecko calculating the P/E ratio for their next stock purchase? Probably not. Although my preschooler would look great in a power suit, I think I would rather focus on giving her the tools she needs to… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Love and Money

    ~posted by Marlene H. As the saying goes, “the love of money is root of all evil.” But to paraphrase another saying, “everybody needs roots.” Or, to put it the way that a lot of mothers do, “it’s just as easy to fall in love with a rich person as a poor one.” We always… Continue reading

  • Savvy shopper secrets

    My dad taught me early, a penny saved is more than a penny earned because you don’t have to pay taxes on it. I didn’t really understand taxes then, but the rest of it made perfect sense to me. We had very little money and talked often about how to get more for less. A… Continue reading

  • To shred or not to shred?

    That is the question! Why do we ask?  Because it’s Money Smart Week! The library is hosting a variety of programs, from fun to educational to inspirational.  One of the things we are most excited about is that, for the first time, this includes shred days. You can come to the library, with up to five (copy… Continue reading

  • Your relationship with credit, and how you can improve it

    Audrey Hue is our guest blogger today. She teaches personal finance and other financial topics at Bellevue College, and has a passion for making sure people make their financial choices with information backing them up. She will be teaching four sessions for Seattle Public Library patrons, during Money Smart Week, April 5-12. Check the event… Continue reading

  • Money Smart Week: Household Budgeting

    Like many good things, sound financial planning starts at home. It’s your money and you work hard for it – do you know where it all goes? All the places money can go in our daily lives – why it goes there, where it should go (and should not go), where it could go to in… Continue reading

  • Money Smart Week: Making sense out of saving money

    Remember when your parents first got you that cute little piggy bank? It was a big deal because it symbolized a financial rite of passage and instilled a growing sense of independence. And after completing a series of mundane tasks or chores you could triumphantly deposit your hard earned money into it at the end… Continue reading

  • Money Smart Week: Eliminating credit card debt

    Credit card debt can feel like a heavy burden. It can be frustrating and anxiety provoking to pay high interest rates month after month. Paying only the minimum payment each month keeps many cardholders in “perma–debt,” a state many families have come to accept as normal. But never fear – there is hope. You can… Continue reading