Extension > Family > Families in Tough Times > Avoiding Future Tough Times
Avoiding Future Tough Times
Are you and your family actively trying to avoid tough times?
If you have had a recent job change or expense increase you most likely will need to make some difficult decisions related to your family’s finances. Even if you and your family are currently “fine,” the current crisis presents great motivation for all of us to better manage finances and build funds should we need it in the future. These resources are here to help.
Featured Resource
New Online Course for Beginning Investors
Invest NOW: Money in Retirement is a quality, low-cost self-study course that can make your money work for you.
Online Resources
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Spending Plan (Dollar Works 2 Action Pages 3-4)
Budgeting can help a bad situation from getting worse. Use this form to track your income and expenses.
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Personal Finance
Easy-to-use resources (like "Financial Security: Managing Money in Tough Times") from the Cooperative Extension System.
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Ways to Save: Ideas from the Others Like You
Ideas to reduce expenses in six areas: clothing, food, house, children, personal, and energy. (41 K PDF)
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How Resilient are You?
Interactive assessment to assess your resilience. How positive, flexible, proactive, focused, and organized are you in times of change?
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Energy Actions to Save $ and Increase Comfort for Renters
Conserving energy to lower your utility bills and increase comfort in your own home. (403 K PDF)
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Eat Healthy for Less
Tips, worksheets, and more to help you stay healthy during challenging economic times by spending less.
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Teen Talk Fact Sheet: I Need to Get a Job
Fact sheet helps parents talk to their teen before he/she gets a job.
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The Cost of Raising Children
This easy-to-use tool helps you estimate the cost of raising one or more children in a one or two parent family.
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Facts About Credit Scoring
Facts about credit scoring so you can better manage credit and insure a good credit score.
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Financing Long Term Care
Resource center to improve what you know about long term care. Take action before crisis.
Open Doors with Higher Education
Checklists to help you pla for paying for college and support the academic process. English | Spanish
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Economic Adjustment Strategies Assessments:
Assess how you are doing with economic adjustment and get ideas from others like you.
Workshops and Classes
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Dealing with Stress: A Web-based Educational Series
Online workshop series to help understand your own stresses and tools to return them to a more manageable level. Aimed towards those in the agricultural field but applicable to anyone experiencing stress.
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Invest Now: Money for Retirement
Comprehensive, low cost online course to help you make sense of all the jargon about investment and retirement.
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Renter 101: Your Money - Your Housing - Your Time
Free online course to help you learn how to become and stay a responsible renter.
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Staying Resilient in Times of Change
Online presentation to help you become more successful in times of change, by building resilience.
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Educational Offerings for People who Receive Public Assistance
Our online and in-person classes can help MFIP participants get Core TANF Activities hours. You can gain valuable life/job skills through our offerings.
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Dollars Into Sense
Short in-person workshop on basic financial management.
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Take the Road to Financial Security in Later Life: Online Self-Study
Interactive self-study on planning for later life, designed to be completed at your own pace.
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Managing Your College Life: Your Money - Your Housing - Your Time
Online presentation and related materials to help you better manage and survive your first years of college.
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Seminar for Parents: College Finance
Free online seminar for parents helps make the transition to college.
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Simply Good Eating
Contact your local community nutrition educator to find out about health and nutrition classes being offered in your area.
More for Professionals
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Dollar Works 2: A Personal Financial Education Program
Comprehensive publication teaches basic economic concepts to strengthen people’s skills in managing their personal finances and making sound money decisions.
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Take and Teach Lessons Series for Times in Economic Crisis
Short, easy-to use lessons for professionals who teach families in groups or one-on-one. Help families work on strategies for these tough economic times.
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Planning Ahead for Retirement
Publication helps estimate income needed in retirement, understand retirement planning products, decide whether a financial planner is needed, and understand how insurance can protect you against risks.
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Teaching Children Money Habits for Life
Publication provides an overview as well as teaching suggestions for addressing earning, spending, borrowing, sharing, and saving.
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Youth Issues: Affluenza
Teach a lesson to youth on affluenza, the epidemic related to the dogged pursuit of the American dream.
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Youth & Money Programs
Contact a Youth & Money educator for more information on customizable trainings.
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Together We Can: Creating a Healthy Future for our Family
A free online curriculum that improves co-parenting relationships of single parents. It includes one module relating to managing resources.
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Parents Forever: Money Issues in Divorce Parent Handbook (Padres para siempre: Divorcio y dinero)
Booklet helps parents adjust to suddenly reduced income and figure out the cost of raising children so they can better plan for the future. English | Spanish
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Lesson Plans for Teaching About Purchasing Food
Sample lesson plans and worksheets (utilizing adapted components of Dollar Works 2) for teaching others about purchasing food on a budget. (1.2 MB PDF)
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Dollar Works 2: Train-the-Trainer Workshops
Customizable trainings on how to use Dollar Works 2 in your programs, classes, and one-on-one settings.
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Families Navigating Economic Crises
Online community of practice for the CYFERNet community on the current economic crises. Facilitiated by Extension Center for Family Development.
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Financial Security for Later Life Programs
Customizable trainings offered on planning ahead for retirement, long-term care, property transfer, and more.
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Allowances and Alternatives
Publication provides an overview for the four main ways children receive money and the advantages/disadvantages of each system.
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Teaching Financial Education Today
Resources from a training on the new Credit Card Act and teaching/learning styles.
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RentWise: Renter’s Workbook and Organizer (RentWise: Guia y organizador para inquilinos)
An easy to use workbook for new and experienced renter’s that helps you be an experienced renter. English | Spanish
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The Minnesota Food and Nutrition Network
Member-based organization fosters coalitions to build and strengthen alliances focused on nutrition and physical activity for low-income persons.
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Simply Good Eating
Contact a community nutrition educator to schedule a health and nutrition program for your low income clients.
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Simply Good Eating Curriculum
Comprehensive curriculum to teach basic nutrition principles on food choices, planning healthy meals, stretching their food dollar, and safe cooking.
