Where Does Your Money Go?

The website companion to the Where Does Your Money Go? program is live!  Participants can now log in, save and edit their personal budgeting information and receive customized reports to help set goals, budget for unexpected expenses and avoid spending too much on small, but frequent expenses such as coffee and sweetened beverages.  Best of all, since participants have a login and password, they can re-enter the site and make changes to their budgets as life events present themselves.  Purdue Extension is thrilled to be a research-based provider of sound, financial budgeting techniques on the web and look forward to the personal stories and community impact that we’ll be able to capture through this electronic companion to our already successful, face to face program!

 

www.wheredoesyourmoneygo.org

Small Steps to Health and Wealth

                            

 

For Immediate Release

Barbara O'Neill, Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management, Rutgers Cooperative Extension

oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu 848-932-9126

 

Small Steps to Health and Wealth™ Online Challenge Begins January 14

 

Just in time to rescue failed New Year's resolutions to improve health and personal finances, the Cooperative Extension system is launching an online Small Steps to Health and Wealth™ (SSHW) Challenge called "Winter 2013 SSHW Challenge." This free six-week program, open to anyone who enrolls online, will be held from Sunday, January 14, through Saturday, February 23, 2013. Prizes will be awarded for participants who report the highest point totals.

To sign up for the SSHW Challenge, follow the "Challenges" link on the Small Steps to Health and Wealth™ Web site at http://njaes.rutgers.edu/sshw/. Set up a user name and password and download a simple one-page user's guide with instructions about how to proceed. Enroll in the Challenge titled "Winter 2013 SSHW Challenge."

The SSHW Challenge is part of Small Steps to Health and Wealth™, a national Cooperative Extension program developed to motivate Americans to take action to simultaneously improve their health and personal finances. SSHW was built around a framework of 25 research-based behavior change strategies. The Challenge was originally developed in a "paper and pencil" format with printed worksheets to track daily points and is now available online for participation nationwide.

It has been well documented that, when people monitor their behavior and measure their how they're doing, they are often inspired to do better and achieve positive results. Participants in a SSHW Challenge are "on their honor" to report their activities accurately. If they "cheat" on reporting their points, they are only cheating themselves by not following the recommended daily health and financial practices.

The SSHW Challenge is based on the performance of ten recommended practices on a daily basis: five that involve health and nutrition and five that involve financial management. Ten points are given for performing each one for a maximum of 700 points per week and 4,200 points for the entire challenge (700 x 6 weeks). "The Challenge is a great way to convert ambitious New Year's resolutions, like losing weight and saving money, into daily action steps," notes Dr. Barbara O'Neill, Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management for Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

The five daily health and nutrition practices are: eat at least 4 cups of fruits and vegetables; get at least 30 minutes of physical activity; drink water or unsweetened beverages instead of sugar-sweetened beverages; eat at least two servings of whole grain foods; and learn something new about health and nutrition.

The five daily financial management practices included in the SSHW Challenge are: save a $1 bill (or more) and/or pocket change; invest $5 or more per day (including automated retirement savings plan deposits); track money spent throughout the day; eat lunch prepared at home; and learn something new about personal finance. The latter activity, for both health and personal finances, can be accomplished by visiting Web sites, attending seminars, or by reading, listening to, or viewing media reports.

Winter 2013 SSHW Challenge participants will have an opportunity to replace one daily health activity and one daily personal finance activity with unique daily personal challenges of their own. "Providing some adaptation of the traditional SSHW Challenge format will make the Challenge more "personal" for participants and give them an opportunity to practice new behaviors if they are already doing all of the 10 pre-selected activities," explained Dr. O'Neill.

As participants enter their personal data, they will see their point totals for each day of the week and for each of the ten activities described above. They'll also see a bar graph that compares their personal progress to the average scores of everyone else participating in the Challenge. Daily motivational messages will also be provided to participants. Paper tracking forms can be downloaded to keep track of daily activities until they are entered online.

Doing even one of the ten recommended daily practices is a great way to get started on the path to better health and improved financial security. The more SSHW Challenge activities that are performed by participants, the better. To sign up for "Winter 2013 SSHW Challenge" visit the Rutgers SSHW Web site at http://njaes.rutgers.edu/sshw/.

 

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Friend of Extension

 

November 8, 2012

Warrick County 4-H leader chosen as Friend of Extension

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - 4-H leader Jim Williams of Warrick County has been honored as the 2012 Friend of Extension for his work spanning more than three decades in helping to shape the lives of young people.

The award by the Indiana Extension Educators Association was given Thursday (Nov. 8) during a luncheon at Extension's annual conference.

Williams of Newburgh, Ind., is a Warrick County 4-H alumnus and has served as president of the Warrick County 4-H Council, 4-H Center board and the Extension Board. He also has been the Wagner 4-H club leader and a 4-H camp volunteer for 35 years.

"Jimmy truly is the face of 4-H in Warrick County," a group of Extension educators stated in a nominating letter.

Williams has served several terms as president of the county 4-H Council, which plans and implements programming for 4-H members and raises funds to maintain and expand opportunities for young people. He has provided leadership to the county's 4-H pork chop supper, which generates $10,000 each year and sends 25 4-H members on state and national trips annually.

Williams started a farm toy scene and Americana 4-H projects and serves as the superintendent for these projects.

As a member of the 4-H Center board, Williams assisted in the management of the Warrick County 4-H Center on the county fairgrounds. He and his family also donate and generate funds for equipment and material needs at the fairgrounds.

As a 4-H club leader, Williams has mentored hundreds of 4-H members and was instrumental in starting a 4-H softball tournament and a Fun Night competition.

Williams is a member of the 4-H camp committee, which oversees activities for 200 campers. He has led camp counselor training and assisted Extension Educator 4-H Youth Development with camp contract negotiations.

During his tenure on the Extension board, Williams served in all of its offices and in PCARET, the Purdue branch of the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching.

Writer: Keith Robinson, 765-494-2722, robins89@purdue.edu

Source: Jim Mintert, interim associate dean of the College of Agriculture and interim Extension director, 765-494-8489,jmintert@purdue.edu

Note to journalists: Photos of the award recipients will be available at http://www.ag.purdue.edu/extension/awards/

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
Agriculture News Page

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Diabetes Awareness

Did you know that more than 8 percent of Americans have diabetes? November is  Diabetes Awareness Month, making it a good opportunity to learn about this increasingly prevalent disease.  Risk Factors - Family history, blood pressure, weight, and activity level are a few of the factors that can affect your chances of developing diabetes. Prevention - The onset of Type 2 diabetes can sometimes be prevented or delayed  through moderate weight loss and exercise. FREE Toolkit for Managing Diabetes - Get practical advice about medications,  insulin, and glucose meters to help you manage your diabetes. Statistics - Get some basic facts, including the number of Americans with diabetes;  the prevalence of Type 1 versus Type 2 diabetes; deaths linked to diabetes; and more.

Long Term Care

November is Long-Term Care Awareness Month

When planning ahead in these uncertain financial times, it’s important to think about long-term care for yourself and your loved ones. Long-term care (LTC) is a range of services and supports you may need to meet your health or personal needs over a long period of time. These services might include emergency response systems, senior centers, assisted living, nursing homes, transportation services, and many more.

Most long-term care assists people with activities of daily living like dressing, bathing and using the bathroom. Other common long-term care services include helping with housework, cooking, shopping, or even managing money. Long-term care can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living or in nursing homes. And it’s not just for seniors—if you have a significant health challenge, you may need long-term care at any age.

While there are a variety of ways to pay for long-term care, it is important to think ahead about how you will fund the care you may need. Generally, Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term care, but only for a medically necessary skilled nursing facility or home health care. Long-term care insurance may be an option to help you and your family prepare ahead of time for the potential need for long-term care. There are a variety of plans available that vary in cost depending on what services you want covered and the age you begin coverage. Before you choose a plan you should take into account where and what kind of care you might need.
Be sure to take some time this month to check out your options and plan ahead, so you can rest assured that you and your family get the care you need. And if you’re a caregiver now for a family member with health challenges, find more resources and support from USA.gov

Warrick County 4-H members chosen for National 4-H Congress

Kendra Mehling and Emily Grimm are preparing to travel to Atlanta, Georgia later this month as two of the nine Indiana delegates to the 2012 National 4-H Congress.

Emily Grimm



Kendra Mehling

 

While at National 4-H Congress, Kendra and Emily will participate in workshops on leadership, diversity and team development.