FINANCIAL
EMPOWERMENT:
WORKSHOPS
Financial Empowerment at FSGV partners with community organizations to deliver a range of financial literacy workshops for the diverse populations of Greater Vancouver.
We strive to serve participants who are low-income, newcomers, women, seniors, at-risk youth, and members of other vulnerable populations. Our workshops are offered in English, Español, Việt, Français, 粵語 (Cantonese), 普通话 (Mandarin), and برای ایجاد (Farsi). In session, participants learn skills and tools to enable them to take control over their finances and future!
Browse the workshop descriptions below and then find upcoming sessions on the calendar here:
MONEY BASICS
Money Skills
This workshop covers all the basics to empower you to make the most of your money. Join us to learn about growing your income, budgeting, banking, credit, debt, goal-setting, saving, investing, and more. Gain new skills, improve your relationship with money, and be confident in your ability to invest in your future!
Budgeting
Your money is a tool and we want to teach you how to use it! Learn to track and break down your income vs. expenses and needs vs. wants in order to create a realistic budget. We’ll show you how to design a budget around your goals and give you tips for staying on track.
Credit and Debt
Explore the good and bad types of credit, when it’s wise to use credit, your rights and responsibilities for using credit, and how to build a good credit score — you’ll even leave understanding why having good credit matters. Along the way learn to avoid credit debt and how to get out from under debt.
GROWING YOUR MONEY
Saving and Investing
Want to save for your future but unsure of where to begin? We’ll walk you through the types of registered investment vehicles (like RRSPs, TFSAs, RESPs, and RDSPs) and investment options like GICs, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and index funds. You’ll walk away knowing how to navigate the benefits, risks, and fees to figure out which best fit your goals.
Saving for Retirement
This workshop guides you through developing and executing a retirement plan, regardless of income. We’ll explain government funding resources like the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). We also cover Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) and Tax Free Savings Plans (TFSAs) to strategically reduce taxes now.
RDSPs
If you or your child have a disability, join us to learn about Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSPs). We’ll teach you how to start and RDSP, progressively add money to it, and maximize government funding to top up what you save. We also cover the Disability Tax Credit and the best ways to use it.
RESPs
Post-secondary education is expensive and we’re here to help you create an affordability plan for your child(ren). Saving for your child’s education is more affordable than you think! Join us to learn all about Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs): from starting an RESP account at the bank to accessing government matching and top-ups.
MONEY AND YOU
Money and Relationships
Navigating money as a couple can be tricky – it’s one of the top three things couples argue about! Given that we all have different histories with and beliefs about money, this struggle makes sense. In our workshop, we invite you to explore your personal relationship to money and introduce communication strategies for talking about money with a partner.
Consumerism
Our world is constantly equating happiness with buying and consuming material things. Ads surround us with messages encouraging us to want, buy, and have MORE. There’s a high cost of consumerism on your health, financial stability, our environment, and social equality. Come unpack consumerism with us: what it is and how to manage the influence it has on us.
Frauds and Scams
Each year Canadians lose an estimated $100 million to scams. It’s unfortunate that we need to think about protecting ourselves from scams, but it’s good to prepare ourselves against this kind of theft. This workshop introduces ways you can protect yourself from phishing scams, identity theft, and banking scams as well as what to do if you have been scammed.
NAVIGATING BENEFITS
People need government benefits now more than ever, and a huge portion of qualifying people don’t even know the support is available to them!
Workshops on Benefits Wayfinder support you in using this indispensable tool, identifying the right benefits for you, applying for the benefits, and planning how to best use the money according to your financial goals.
FILING TAXES
Filing taxes is necessary to access many government benefits.
However, we understand that many folks have barriers to filing taxes. For some of us, English isn’t our first language. Others of us are missing the required identification documents. No matter what complications are preventing you from filing your taxes, we can help. Our experts assist you step by step, answer your questions along the way, and collaborate with you to overcome obstacles.