Waterford, Michigan – Oakland County Michigan Works! is launching a new, year-long series of free, virtual financial wellness workshops next month, to help people make smart decisions with their money.

Hosted by national, state and regional experts, the no-cost Financial Fitness workshops are open to anyone who is interested in better managing their finances. Subject areas include budgeting, investing, credit scores, paying for higher education, retirement planning, home ownership, elderly care and more.

“As we emerge from the pandemic, financial wellness is at the top of so many people’s minds and getting sound advice from leading experts in the field is important as we all move forward,” said Oakland County Executive David Coulter. “I’m excited to see Oakland County Michigan Works! expand its popular week of free workshops into a full-year schedule. There really is something for everyone and I hope people take full advantage of this opportunity.”

The county’s Financial Fitness program kicks off on Tuesday, April 6, with “Realizing the American Dream: Achieving Home Ownership” and 11 more workshops are scheduled during the month:

• April 8 Why Debt is Not the Problem
• April 9 Saving Money on Groceries (Budgeting)
• April 13 Recovering from the Pandemic – Financial Planning for Gen X, Y, and Z
• April 15 Foiling Identity Theft
• April 16 Five Money Questions for Women
• April 20 Learn How to Position the Student for 100% Funding (Paying for Higher Education)
• April 22 Writing a Business Plan
• April 23 Debt: Both Useful and Dangerous
• April 27 Preparing your Investment Portfolio: Retirement and Taxes
• April 29 A Dollar Stretches Further Than You May Think
• April 30 Recognizing and Avoiding Predatory Lending

The full schedule of workshops through June and registration links can be found at OaklandCountyMiWorks.com/FinancialFitness. Directions for logging into the virtual workshops are sent to registered participants.

“Financial wellness not only enhances a person’s quality of life, but also contributes to employability,” said Oakland County Michigan Works! Director Jennifer Llewellyn. “We’ve brought together an impressive lineup of speakers to share their knowledge and insights on accomplishing these goals. Visit our website for a full list of workshops.”

Oakland County Michigan Works! operates service centers in Novi, Oak Park, Pontiac, Southfield, Troy and Waterford. Combined, they assist more than 105,000 job seekers annually. Services include career coaching, interviewing and job search workshops, placement assistance, training courses and job trend information.

The service centers also assist more than 3,000 employers seeking assistance with talent recruitment, apprenticeship programs, job fairs, candidate pre-screening, hiring and training support, layoff support and labor market data.

Service center staffs remain available by virtual appointment to work one-on-one with job seekers to build their resumes, prepare for job interviews and help address other needs. To schedule a virtual meeting, call 1-248-858-5520 and select the office nearest to you. The service centers are hosting several virtual workshops for job seekers. A schedule can be found at OaklandCountyMIWorks.com.