“Money Talks” is a financial literacy program that is hosted by Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger. This program works to educate students on budgeting, saving, investing, maximizing income, credit, loans, retirement plans and entrepreneurship.
GCSU is hosting a “Money Talks” panel discussion on Wednesday, Oct. 9, in the Arts and Sciences Auditorium. The first session starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 11:30 a.m. and the second session starts at 1 p.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m..
According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, financial literacy is being able to understand information about money services.
The panel comprises a moderator and financial professionals from different parts of Georgia. The moderator for the panel at GCSU is Art Terrell, a radio personality. The five professionals coming to speak as a part of their panel are Sileta Bell, Leanne Francis Craport, Ebony Francis and Cait Howerton.
Sileta Bell is the president of Bell Consultants, a company that provides professionals with templates to create their desired work documents. The company was created in 2023 and has a team of professionals who range from copy writers to business plan writers. They also review business plans and provide certifications for grant writers.
A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account that one can put money into that gets taxed upfront and can then be invested in stocks or bonds. Then when one wants to withdraw funds from it later, they do not get taxed on the money they are pulling out. There is a certain amount people can put into their Roth IRA each year, and that is called a contribution. This year the max number that can be put in is $7,000 dollars, but one does not have to max it out.
“I try not to spend on a bunch of food when I have food at home, that is a big thing for me,” said Bailey Inmen, a junior nursing major. “I have not heard about them (Roth IRA) in classes but I have heard about them (Roth IRA) from my parents. I should look into setting up one (Roth IRA) when I get my own income, like a steady income.”
Leanne Francis Craport is a senior consultant at Deloitte Consulting, a firm that works with businesses to find solutions for any problems by providing information on how to navigate mergers and the modern world with Artificial Intelligence, or AI.
“I have my savings account, obviously,” said Sophie Bryant, a junior marketing major. “I try not to eat out to save money, in that way. I need to get a lot better at it. I need to go to that (Money Talks Event).”
Ebony Francis is a chief executive officer and accountant at AvestiCorp, an accounting firm that works on tax preparation and maintaining businesses’ financial records.
Cait Howerton is a certified financial planner at Earned Wealth, a wealth management firm that takes all areas of people’s financial lives to create the best environment for them to thrive.
Students and staff can register by scanning the QR codes on the posters around campus or through the text message sent out Tuesday, Oct. 1, and clicking the link. There will be a break between sessions, and lunch will be provided for the panelists and those who came.
