Worcester Business Journal

16 Worcester Business Journal | October 14, 2024 | wbjournal.com 2024 Annual Meeting & Central Massachusetts Awards for Marketplace Excellence Nov. 13th 5PM - 9PM — 499 Mountain Rd, Princeton, MA 01541 Tickets on sale: $60 per ticket Join your Better Business Bureau of Central New England for the Join us for an evening of celebration, including dinner, a live band, and cash bar. We are excited to present this annual event with wonderful opportunities to network, meet fellow accredited businesses and honor the best in the marketplace. RSVP at: events@cne.bbb.org Featuring a 5K race, kids activities including bouncy house, building blocks, and fall crafts, online auction and in-person raffle, dog adoption event, live music, beer and cider, apple tastings, local vendors, pumpkin trebuchets, apple cannons, hayrides for all ages, and more! Visit community-harvest.org/harvesthome for details, 5K registration, & auction link. Sunday, November 3, 2024 11am - 3pm F O C U S B A N K I N G & F I N A N C E Because not every child is afforded financial education through school- ing, or any at all, the ABA Foundation offers banks its Get Smart About Credit program, a national campaign providing free financial education to high school students and young adults through local banks. "If we can preempt some of the financial regrets that a lot of people have and start early and educate them on what they need to know … We're going to set them on the right path both for them and for their future families," said Torrico. Barriers to banking While financial workshops at a tradi- tional bank may be beneficial to some, a large demographic can be le behind within those services, said Oliveira. As a financial coach at WCAC, Ol- iveira prioritizes removing the shoulds of finances and instead focuses on a holistic approach to addressing the needs of those living with medium to low incomes. She works one-on-one with clients, as opposed to a workshop setting more commonly seen at banking institutions. "When we are talking about money with clients, we're oen talking about much more than you would ever dis- close at a bank. We're talking about your family dynamics. We're talking about your childhood and what lessons you learned from your parents," she said. Oliveira, who herself was once denied an account at a bank where she attended a workshop, said being denied access to a bank can lead to a prolonged continu- ation of being underbanked. "e average person, when they are told no once, believes that they will be told no again," she said. "ere's a lot of assumptions about people who end up in my seat, that they're spending money like they shouldn't be and by and large, that's not the case. It's just that they're trying to live within their means and it's very tight." As of the end of last year, 6% of Americans an unbanked, a term defined by neither they nor their spouse or partner had a checking, savings, or money market account, according to the Federal Reserve. at rate jumps to 23% when focusing on those making $25,000 a year or less. Unbanked percentages were highest Continued from previous page

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