When you have extra money, it's easy to talk about all of the responsible things you should do with it. But when you find yourself in the situation of not having enough money to take care of you and your family, you go into survival mode.

As the holiday season winds down you might be thinking about financial goals for the new year. Often during the month of January, we find that we might have overspent during the holiday season.

Remove that stress by taking control of your life. Money 101 is a financial lifeline that gives you the tools to break down your challenges into smaller, manageable pieces of a plan that works. The Ohio State University Extension, Wayne County Office, will be offering Money 101 twice during 2026.

Money 101 is a FREE program that has been created for individuals who want to improve their ability to become financially stable.

This is a series of four, one-hour educational classes.

Session One: Values and Goal Setting

• Understand your personal money values
• Recognize how choices will affect your success in achieving financial goals
• Set affective goals to direct your financial plan

Session Two: Creating your Spending Plan

• Understand the difference between fixed, flexible and occasional expenses
• Understand and utilize the steps to create a spending plan

Session Three: Financial Decision Making

• Understand how decision making affects financial outcomes
• Learn strategies for making wise financial decisions

Session Four: Debt and Credit Repair

• Understand the principles of credit
• List the implications of credit use
• Identify techniques to manage debt

The first series will be offered virtually over ZOOM on Feb. 3,10,17, and 24 from 12-1 PM.

The second series will be held in person on Aug. 5,12,19, and 26 from 5:30-6:30 PM at the Extension office, 428 W Liberty St. Wooster, OH 44691.

If you would like to learn more about this program or are interested in registering for either of our Money 101 series, please contact OSU Extension at 330-264-8722. Classes are dependent on sufficient enrollment.

Kaitlynn Tonn is an OSU Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Educator and may be reached at 330-264-8722 or tonn.13@osu.edu 
CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis. For more information, visit cfaes.osu.edu/nondiscrimination. For an accessible format of this publication, visit cfaes.osu.edu/accessibility
This article was previously published in The Daily Record.