Financial Literacy 101: Budgeting and Savings

Kelbin Carolina from Citadel Credit Union is leading a workshop on personal budgeting and saving strategies at the Wynnefield Library on Monday, October 26. It's a session on the basics: how to build a budget that actually works and how to save without feeling like you're cutting everything out of your life. If you've been meaning to get your finances in order but didn't know where to start, this is a good place to do it.

The workshop is part of the Free Library of Philadelphia's Community Impact Week, which falls under its broader personal-finance program. That program covers a fair amount of ground—budgeting, homeownership, credit repair, and investing—all aimed at helping patrons get their economic footing. The library also points people toward local financial-counselling partners for more one-on-one help: Ceiba Philadelphia works with Latino communities, Clarifi provides certified financial counsellors, and the City of Philadelphia runs seven Financial Empowerment Centers.

The Wynnefield Branch serves the Wynnefield and Overbrook Farms neighborhoods, and it sits right next to the John C. Anderson Cultural Center, not far from St. Joseph's University. The area takes its name from Dr. Thomas Wynne, a Welsh physician to William Penn and Speaker of the first two provincial assemblies of Pennsylvania, who built his home, Wynnestay, in 1690—'stay' means 'field' in Welsh. The house still stands at the corner of 52nd and Woodbine. Around 1904, the Wynnefield Improvement Company built homes in the style of Wynnestay, and the branch opened in June 1964 after a campaign by the Wynnefield Residents Association.

Kelbin Carolina's session starts at 5:30 PM on Monday, October 26, at the Wynnefield Library, 5325 Overbrook Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131-1498, at 54th and Overbrook.