On Wednesday, February 15, at 5:30pm, the Curtis’s Money Works for Women program will hold a Psychology of Money Workshop, featuring internationally published author Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, finance psychology expert and behavioral change specialist from Massachusetts.

The workshop will focus on the behavioral aspects of spending and investing, and will explore ways to recognize and change our financial behavior. Ms. Kingsbury holds a Master’s in Psychology and is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach and member of the Financial Therapy Association. She has dedicated her career to empowering women financially, believing that “…often women feel good about so many areas of their lives but find money is still an uncomfortable or taboo topic. In my workshops and books, I show women that managing your money can actually be fun!”

Voted one of the top ten executive coaches in 2009 by Women’s Business magazine, Kathleen has been a frequent keynote speaker at national finance conferences and forums, as well as on numerous national financial television and radio programs. Her book, Creating Wealth from the Inside Out Workbook, which will be available at no charge to all workshop participants, ranks 25 in the Financial Planning Workbooks category on Amazon.com. She is a columnist for the Women Advisors Forum and has contributed articles to several print and online publications. Her latest book, Women and Wealth, will be published by McGraw Hill in 2012.

This program is free and open to all, refreshments served.  For more information contact the grant program educator Ellen Hawkins at ehawkins@curtislibrary.com

On Wednesday, February 8 at 5:30pm, Money Works for Women will conduct a Psychology of Money book discussion.

• What happens inside our brains when we think about money?
• What kind of relationship does your brain have with your money?
• Would you like to learn to make more rational money choices?

Join us for a casual and informal discussion of Jason Zweig’s Your Money & Your Brain, which hopefully will help us answer these questions and more!

This program is free and open to all, refreshments served. For more information, contact Ellen Hawkins at ehawkins@curtislibrary.com, 725-5242 x.216

Click here for income tax resources, forms and links!

Curtis Memorial Library’s Money Works for Women program presented “Getting Ready for Income Taxes” this past Wednesday, January 11.  Sharon Ross, Program Director of the Midcoast CA$H Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at Volunteers of America, talked about basic tax concepts and tips to help prepare taxes .

For more information contact the grant program developer Ellen Hawkins at 725-5242 ext 216 or ehawkins@curtislibrary.com

On Wednesday, December 14, the Money Works for Women  Book Group had a lively and casual discussion of Chris Farrell’s The New Frugality.

This popular book provides practical guidance about how to manage personal finances and change the way we live to make the most of what we have.

The program was free and open to all.  For those who couldn’t participate, the Curtis Memorial Library has copies in book, audio-book and eReader formats.

On Wednesday, November 16,  the Money Works for Women program conducted the second workshop on planning for and living in retirement. We were once again joined by Marcy McGuire, personal finance educator for Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) and Portland attorney and elder law expert Kate Geoffroy.

For more information, contact ehawkins@curtislibrary.com 207-725-5242 x.216 or mblasco@curtislibrary.com x 217.

• How can I find the best loan and bank rates?
• How do I find out about retirement savings account options?
• Where can I get information on financing my child’s college education?
• How can I find out more about investment opportunities?

This past Wednesday, November 9,  Martin Blasco, Curtis’s Financial Literacy Librarian presented ways in which you can do your own research to answer these financial questions and save time and money.

Chris Farrell’s book “The New Frugality” was given out to the audience for the  December book discussion. If you weren’t able to participate in this presentation and get a copy, you can get one by contacting:  Ellen Hawkins, ehawkins@curtislibrary.com or Martin Blasco, mblasco@curtislibrary.com

On Wednesday, October 19, the Money Works for Women program presented “ Getting Ready For Retirement” , the first of two workshops on planning for retirement:

• Planning and saving for retirement was presented by Shelley Taylor, Midcoast Regional Manager for Maine Centers for Women, Work & Community and Marcy McGuire, personal finance educator for Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER).
• Legal aspects of retirement was presented by Portland attorney and elder law expert Kate Geoffroy.

Don’t miss the Retirement Workshop Part 2; it will be Wed., Nov. 16 at 5:30 pm.

For more information, contact ehawkins@curtislibrary.com 207-725-5242 x.216 or mblasco@curtislibrary.com x 217.

On Wednesday, October 12, Money Works for Women presented “ Finance Professionals – All You Need to Know” .

Daniel Ford, former investment professional, discussed issues pertaining financial advisers: when do we need one, how to find them and best ways to “manage” a financial adviser effectively.

The talk was followed by a meeting of the educational investment club. Ellen Hawkins showed participants how to read the Value Line reports on stocks.   For more information on the materials presented go to www.curtislibrary.com/programs-events/money/program-materials-2/

Our Money Works for Women program hosted a workshop on consumer fraud this past Wednesday, September 14.

Protecting yourself from local scams and investment fraud were the topics presented in this workshop by both Detective Bill Moir from the Brunswick Police Department and Alyson Cummings, Investor Education Manager at the Maine Office of Securities.  Both presentations generated lots of questions and discussion.

If you missed this workshop, please feel free to drop by the Money Room and we will be happy to give you the evening’s materials and bring you up to speed with this important topic.

For more information, you can contact Ellen Hawkins (ehawkins@curtislibrary.com) or Martin Blasco (mblasco@curtislibrary.com).