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College News

America Saves Week promotes financial education

America Saves Week promotes financial education

America Saves Week promotes financial education

LEXINGTON, Ky.—

The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service is partnering with America Saves and the Consumer Federation of America to help educate Kentuckians on ways to increase their savings during America Saves Week Feb. 24 through March 2.“The purpose of America Saves Week is to increase people’s awareness of the need to save and to try to get them to set some financial goals,” said Suzanne Badenhop, UK extension specialist for financial management.Saving money can be a challenge for many Americans. Badenhop said in the last several years, Americans have had a negative savings rate. Savings are important for people to have in case of unexpected emergencies or expenditures. She recommended that adults have enough money put back to cover three to six months of their net pay.Not only do savings help with unexpected emergencies, but it can go a long way toward helping people enjoy a higher quality of life after retirement. Every member of the workforce, regardless of age, should save and plan for retirement, even though it may seem like it will never happen, she said. “For people under 40, retirement seems like something that never will come, but it does,” she said. “And then when they get there, they wish they’d saved more money to have income for it.”Savings can be accumulated through a variety of ways ranging from automatic withdrawal from paychecks to a savings account or through monitored spending habits. Badenhop said reducing debt can even be a form of savings because it decreases or eliminates the amount of interest people have to pay some other person or entity.To find out more information about America Saves Week or for tips on saving, visit http://www.americasaves.org or contact your county’s family and consumer sciences Cooperative Extension agent.

Contact Information

Scovell Hall Lexington, KY 40546-0064

cafenews@uky.edu