More financial literacy classes taught in Ontario schools is getting praise from Thunder Bay Counselling.
Sheri Fata is a financial manager, and tells us many people never learned how to manage money as part of formal education and there remains a big gap. “If you can increase your financial knowledge, it affords people the confidence to make informed decisions about their finances, and it allows them to look for opportunities to enhance their financial well-being. And financial well-being is an important component of overall well-being.”
Thunder Bay Counselling has seen a rise in the number of people taking advantage of financial services at the clinic. The local group and a lot of community not for profits are joining the province in working with clients. “Who, again, for whom finances are a challenge around a number of other social determinants of health. And so, those organizations are also aligning with work we’re doing and saying how do we get this out to others in our community.”
The financial manager tells us one of the things they are teaching people is how to get organized. “That’s actually one of the biggest areas we work in. When people come in, if they have a number of areas they need, we help them to prioritize. We help to understand what information they need to start with.”
