A Penny Saved is a Penny Learned

Photo of a caucasian woman with down syndrome sitting at a desk with a laptop and notepad smiling with her head in her hand with thoughtful expression. The blue background also shows a chalk bar graph for budget planning with dollar signs.

Finances in Everyday Life

Do you ever find yourself singing along to ABBA’s “Money, Money, Money”? While we don’t want to forget that the most meaningful and beautiful things in life are not things at all, we all know that finances are an important topic. We ask financial questions every day. To buy the latte or not? Buy lunch out or pack a bag? We hurry the kids past the toy aisle if our pockets are feeling thin. We splurge on the Nutter Butter and Oreos when we feel on top of the world. We weigh the balance of saving for tomorrow and living today as we make each decision to the question: where do the dollars and cents go?

Financial Independence for People with Disabilities

People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities ask questions around money all the time too. The Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF) has a resource to help provide financial education tailored to people with disabilities. Everyone deserves to have independence in managing their own finances.

Cents and Sensibility: A Comprehensive Guide

The 8th edition of Cents and Sensibility: A Guide to Money Management is an updated, accessible resource that would be beneficial for anyone. As the website states:

“Everyone needs to understand how to manage their money so that their money doesn’t manage them!”

What’s new in the 8th Edition?

Two new chapters: Investing for My Future and Identity Theft
Expanded chapters: Borrowing, Decision-making, and Where to Put My Money
Over twenty helpful worksheets

How to Access the Resource

You can access Cents and Sensibility and the worksheets directly on the Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation’s website, https://patf.us. Resources are also available in Spanish. Additionally, you can reach out to PATF to request a print copy if you prefer.

StudyMoney: An Interactive Companion

Don’t miss out on the online companion resource. The website is designed to go hand-in-hand with Cents and Sensibility. There are even knowledge checks to help solidify what you are learning. The online interactive activities are particularly helpful because the math calculations automatically update as you enter your numbers. These can be downloaded as fillable PDFs or printed out.

Visit StudyMoney.us for more details.

Photo of a caucasian woman's hands with red painted fingernails working at a desk with a computer, cash, and a calculator. A post it on the laptop shows the text "Budget Plan"

The Family Companion: Teaching Children About Money

It’s important to talk to children about managing money. The Family Companion to Cents & Sensibility: A Guide to Money Management can help. Parents and Guardians can make the process more natural by using the “Teachable Moments” and “Conversation Starters.” The “Teachable Moments” are broken down into levels based on complexity: Seed, Sprout, Seedling, and Tree.

Again, PATF made sure to make English and Spanish versions available at patf.us.

Photo of a young caucasian family: mom, dad, daughter placing coins in a pink piggy bank for a vacation fund.

Money Talks: Free Webinar Series

PATF keeps finding innovative ways to make financial education and skill building more and more accessible. They developed a Free Webinar Series on Financial Empowerment for People with Disabilities. The series, called Money Talks, is available in past recordings. The slides and transcripts are also available.

Photo of a nickle and a penny with a drawn speech bubble over the penny that says "I have a cent-sational knack for saving! It just makes cents: Even small change can lead to big savings over time!"

Who can benefit from the series?

People with disabilities
Family members of someone who has a disability
Advocates
Educators
Service providers

Educator Manual: A Classroom Resource

Lastly, I want to mention there is also an Educator Manual. This resource is designed for classroom use. Again, the material is relevant and pertinent to students with and without disabilities. Teachers can use the guide, slides, and worksheets as they write lesson plans covering themes of income, saving, and using financial services.

The website stresses that the Educator Manual aligns with the 7th edition of Cents and Sensibility. Educators may wish to use the additional resource sheets to help coordinate the two versions.

Statistics (from 2022) state that “nearly 1 in 4 students have access to a personal finance class.” PATF developed a brief handout titled Financial Fundamentals. It is meant to help youth/young adults with disabilities and their families start discussions.

Download the Financial Fundamentals PDF handout.

Conclusion

Everyone must navigate financial decisions everyday. Education is key to making informed choices. So whether you are building a budget for the first time, looking at the basics, or hunting for tips, Cents and Sensibility just makes sense!

Edited with some assistance from AI CoPilot.

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