If you’re going
• Forsyth County Public Library’s financial planning workshops are set for 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Sharon Forks branch, 2820 Old Atlanta Road; and 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Cumming branch, 585 Dahlonega Road.
• For more information and to register, go to www.forsythpl.org.
The Forsyth County Public Library System will offer a chance to learn more about financial planning next week.
In conjunction with the Financial Planning Association of Georgia, two three-hour sessions, one at the Cumming branch and one at the Sharon Forks branch, will be held to help people better prepare for their financial futures.
Both are free and open to the public.
Mendy Gunter, manager of the Sharon Forks branch, said the two sessions stemmed from another financial event held this spring.
“We had a Money Smart Week last April, which was the first time we partnered up with the Financial Planning Association of Georgia,” she said. “That was a weeklong series of financial-related programs and it was very successful.”
Chris Staples, the pro-bono director of the association, said about 10 financial advisers will volunteer their time at the events.
“We’ll do a short presentation geared for a macro overview, if you will, just to say, ‘Hey these are some of the areas you need to pay attention to personally,’” he said. “The presentations are really designed to generate questions.”
Participants will then be able to work one on one with a financial planner.
“We have access to so much information nowadays, so it’s not access to the information that’s the issue,” Staples said. “It’s what to do with the information.
“There’s too much information. So what we try to do is help someone kind of sift through what is and is not relevant to their particular situation and help them see what they need to be focused on.”
Gunter said some of the topics to be addressed include: saving for retirement; investments; when to begin Social Security payments; death planning; and saving for college.
She said there is room for about 50 people per session, in order for each person to have time for the one-on-one meetings.
“I would recommend because there is a limited amount of space that people sign up as early as possible,” she said.
Anyone interested in attending either of the sessions should sign up online at www.forsythpl.org.
To the library staff, offering free money management information is important.
“Given the current financial climate, we’re all thinking about ways to plan and save money,” she said.