Financial Literacy Series

Camden Public Library Financial Literacy Series Begins November 8

“Anxiety is the lack of understanding that gets in the way of moving forward,” says Jack Williams, the kick-off speaker in the Camden Public Library’s Financial Literacy series. “Here are some tools to get started understanding who you are and what you need to know about your own finances.” Williams is a senior vice president at Camden National Bank and will be leading the first workshop in the series at the Camden Public Library on Thursday, November 8, at 7:00 pm, on “Budgeting I: Financial Anxiety.” Williams has a pragmatic, matter-of-fact approach to financial anxiety that all starts with the information you already have. “Forty years I’ve been in this business. First thing is to start with knowing where you are; typically people have no idea what they are spending, and the emotional impact of decision-making is huge. We’ll take a look at the numbers and take the anxiety out of it.”

The monthly series will offer tools and resources for community members and families seeking to improve their financial standing by reducing their debt, budgeting for college and retirement, or by creating a more effective investment portfolio. The series continues with “Budgeting II: Goals” on December 8, led by Linda Buckmaster of Women, Work and Community, a non-profit dedicated to helping Mainers achieve economic security for themselves and their families. Defining and choosing from conflicting goals and acquiring good “money habitudes,” as Buckmaster puts it, will help an individual or family towards their financial goals, whether it is health care, retirement, education, vacation, an automobile, debt elimination, or simply paying the rent or mortgage.

The library is offering a free copy of Quicken, a family budgeting program, to all attendees to any event in the series. The workshops are free, and you need not attend the whole sequence to benefit from any of the workshops. The series continues with “Budgeting III: The Nuts & Bolts” on January 8; “Budgeting IV: Family Budgeting” on February 12; “Investing ABCs” on March 12; “Smart Money” on April 9; and “Advanced Investing” on May 14.

The Camden Public Library promotes financial literacy through ongoing speaker presentations and other onsite and online resources, such as financial planning subscriptions to Valueline and Morningstar, periodicals and magazines such as Kiplingers, Money Magazine,Wall Street Journal, and The Economist, and books and audiobooks. The Financial Literacy Series is presented with the support of the Camden National Bank. Both the Camden National Bank and the Camden Public Library support financial literacy in the belief that an informed public will make better personal and financial decisions. Everyone deserves a financial education. People who are financially informed are better able to take control of their circumstances, improve their quality of life, and ensure a more stable future for their families. You’re never too young or too old to learn the language of money!