Financial growth

With tax season right around the corner and New Year’s resolutions fresh on the mind, many citizens are thinking about their finances.

To that end, two events are being held this month in Limestone County with the goal of making sure Limestone Countians are better educated financially.

The first, hosted by the Central North Alabama chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., is a free seminar on repairing one’s credit. The seminar will take place 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Athens-Limestone Public Library.

James Ella Troupe, chairperson of the sorority’s economic development committee, said the seminar is one of many ways Delta Sigma Theta aims to help its tri-county community. Seminar guests will learn how to access a credit report, what the information on the report means and how to improve their credit.

“Some people have no idea what counts against them or what the points system means,” Troupe said.

She said not knowing these things can lead to people getting stuck with high interest rates or large long-term debts unnecessarily. The seminar will also touch on the debt students accumulate through loans for college.

“A lot of kids go to college and get astronomical amounts of money, but then they get out of college and they can’t get a loan or even a job because their debt ratio is so great,” Troupe said.

The seminar is open to everyone, and no registration is required. Troupe said everyone is encouraged to attend and to be ready with any financial questions they may have for seminar speaker Ameshia Collins.

Ramsey at Emmanuel

Mark Rogers, music minister at Emmanuel Baptist Church, is such a fan of the upcoming nine-week series hosted by the church that he’s used it in his own life and taught a version of it to area teenagers.

The series is called Financial Peace University, a nine-lesson money-management course taught by Dave Ramsey and presented annually by Emmanuel Baptist Church. According to Rogers, Ramsey “makes no bones about what his philosophy is” in teaching the course — debt is bad and everything is God’s first.

“Debt is always a restrictor of your freedom,” Rogers said. “Ramsey teaches how to get out of debt, why you should get out of debt and the freedom of that.”

As for the religion aspect, Rogers said Ramsey will start with the Biblical perspective that everything people have is God’s first and that people “have a responsibility to use it wisely.”

The course is video-driven with some interactive components and an emphasis on “simple” tactics such as budgeting, refusing to live beyond one’s means and planning for the future, Rogers said.

“Things your grandmother would have taught you that are still true today,” he said. “We always do it right after the first of the year because that’s when people are really thinking about this stuff.”

Registration for the course can be completed online at https://fpu.com/1079173. While the church charges no fee for attending, there is a cost for course materials.

The course begins 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 13, and will continue weekly until March 10.