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REAL Solu/ons Financial Counselor Training Program Informa/on Webinar Mark Lynch CUDE, DUDE, CCUFC REAL Solu/ons Field Coach
Why Provide Financial Counseling? According to a survey released at the end of 2010, 55 percent of all Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
Americans Underwater “20% of individuals reported that over the last year, their household spent more than their income.” FINRA
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No Rainy Day Fund “60% of individuals lack a rainy day fund to cover expenses for three months, in case of emergencies such as sickness, job loss or economic downturn.” FINRA
Using Predatory Lenders “20% of individuals reported using one or more predatory borrowing methods in the last 5 years.” FINRA
No Credit Card Research “62% of individuals said that when obtaining their most recent credit card, they did not collect and compare informa/on from more than one company.” FINRA
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Basic Financial Literacy “When asked 5 basic financial literacy ques/ons the average individual can only answer 3 correctly.” FINRA
How does the REAL Solu/ons Financial Counselor Training Program help credit unions address these issues?
Background Un/l recently, there were 2 ways to become a “Cer/fied Credit Union Financial Counselor”
• CUNA’s Two week residen/al course • Use the CUNA FiCEP self study program and arrange own proctored exams
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What is FiCEP • Training Program developed by CUNA • 8 Modules of guided self study • Proctored exams • Successful students become “Cer/fied Credit Union Financial Counselors”
FiCEP Part I • Introduc/on to Financial Counseling • Financial Counseling Essen/als • Special Issues in Financial Counseling • Using Communica/on Skills During Financial Counseling
FiCEP Part II • Taxes, Insurance, and Investments • Controlling Living Expenses and Understanding Consumer Credit • Matching Values to Money • Re/rement and Special Issues
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FiCEP Focus on • Remedial Counseling • Preventa/ve Counseling and Educa/on
The REAL Solu/ons Program • Works in coopera/on with Leagues & CUNA • A Webinar for each of the 8 Modules • Two days of face to face training • Organiza/on of proctored exams • Adds a program development component • Program completed in five months
The Schedule Part 1 • Four webinars conducted every two weeks • A day’s face to face training followed by proctored exams for the first four modules
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The Schedule Part 2 • Four webinars conducted every two weeks • A day’s face to face training followed by proctored exams for the second four modules • Students receive their cer/fica/on
The Schedule • Webinars are recorded and made available shortly aeer the webinar ends • Alterna/ve proctoring arrangements can be made for those students who can’t make it to the training and test days
Online Resource Site hfp://training.cuna.org/playpage/fined.html • Supplemental ac/vi/es for each module • Students are encouraged to use these as they study each module • Students are also encourage to revisit to review for tes/ng before group sessions
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The REAL Solu/ons Focus • How to put these new skills to the best use • How to prepare a detailed plan for the credit union • How to track measure and report ac/vi/es and outcomes • How to use Financial Counseling to help exis/ng members, grow the credit union and improve the bofom line
Student Responsibili/es • Create a plan with scheduled reading and reviewing /me – approximately 2 hours per module depending on the students familiarity with the subject • Build in /me for supplemental online learning • Scheduling is very important if sharing the books with another student • Par/cipate in webinars and group training sessions • Review prior to tes/ng • Prepare a plan to best use their new skills at their credit union
Recer/fica/on • Students are required to recer/fy every three years • Can be done by afending a residen/al school • Or by studying a recer/fica/on module and passing a test
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Who Should Par/cipate • Anyone! • Lending Staff • Collec/ons Staff • Branch Managers • Educators & Trainers
Advantages of this Op/on • Gives support, guidance and structure to the self study program • Exam proctoring arranged • Sets deadlines for comple/on • Emphasis placed on development of plan to use counseling skills • Development of a tracking, measuring and repor/ng process
Drae Training Schedule Orienta.on Webinar Thursday, May 30th at 3.00 pm Eastern
Part 1 Webinars:
Tuesday, June 11th at 3.00 pm Eastern Tuesday, June 25th at 3.00 pm Eastern Tuesday, July 9th at 3.00 pm Eastern Tuesday, July 23rd at 3.00 pm Eastern
Part 1 Group Training Session:
Tuesday, August 6th
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Drae Training Schedule
Part 2 Webinars:
Tuesday, August 13th at 3.00 pm Eastern Tuesday, August 27th at 3.00 pm Eastern Tuesday, September 10th at 3.00 pm Eastern Tuesday, September 24th at 3.00 pm Eastern
Part 1 Group Training Session:
Tuesday, October 1st
Program Cost Program Cost will depend on the number of students enrolled in the program • Will not exceed $950 per person where student does not share books • Will not exceed $750 per person where two students share a set of books
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