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Financial Wellness

Learn how to prepare for the uncertain road ahead

This seminar will provide the tools you need to improve your financial wellness. No matter where you are in your career, chances are that 2020 changed your perspective on your personal finances. If you are looking for an approachable way to get started on achieving your financial goals, including how to weather a recession, this course will help you create a clearer picture of your current financial health and design both short-term and long-term action plans.

Upcoming course date

Friday, April 22, 2022 from 12:30-3:00pm PT

Benefits of attending this online course

By the end of this seminar, you will be able to:

Set clear savings goals

  • Determine how much you need for your emergency and retirement savings and how to tactically reach those targets.
  • Understand how to catch up if you have fallen behind on your goals.
  • Know the best options for where to store your savings to maximize growth, including how to use tax advantaged accounts.

Create a realistic budget to improve your financial security.

  • Employ automation to simplify reaching your goals.
  • Find your ideal liquidity ratio.
  • Learn how to reduce overhead, especially bad debt.
  • Discuss options for tailoring your budget to fit your personality and unique timing of expenses and income.

Develop a plan to achieve stronger financial health.

  • Estimate your personal net worth, monthly budget, and cash flow.
  • Use ratios to gauge your financial health.

Financial Wellness content overview

This course is geared toward people who want to better manage their finances and are relatively new to financial planning. The objective of this seminar is to help you to:

  • Gain financial literacy to improves both short-term and long-term planning.
  • Transition from survival mode to planning mode by creating and maintaining disciplined resolutions.
  • Prepare a roadmap for improved future stability.
  • Reduce anxiety and stress related to personal finances.

Registration and Fees

Dates and fees Registration
Friday, April 22, 2022 from 12:30-3:00pm PT
$295
Register now
Deadline: April 15, 2022

Program fee includes instruction and learning materials. Payment must be made by credit card or UW budget transfer prior to the course. It is strongly encouraged that you register early as space is limited. See discount and cancellation policies.

Jennifer Graves is a full-time assistant teaching professor of operations at the UW Foster School of Business. She has taught courses on the topics of personal finance and operations management. Professor Graves was previously at Keystone Strategy (a consulting firm that specializes in AI/ML and digital operations) and co-led the Seattle office, where she expanded the Pacific Northwest presence. She brought a wealth of knowledge in operations, innovation, and digital transformation with a focus on expanding the firm’s offerings and leveraging AI/ML within supply chain, inventory, manufacturing processes, and distribution networks.

Professor Graves’ other past roles include leading store inventory at Starbucks for all 10,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada and working at Bain & Company in private equity, consumer products, retail, manufacturing, and education. A graduate of the University of Washington Foster School of Business, she holds a B.A. in finance and marketing. She earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

By sponsoring employees to attend this seminar, you will be helping them to take charge of their financial wellness and lower their stress. According to a survey by PwC, “nearly half of the employees said that financial setbacks gave them the most stress.” Research has linked employees’ personal financial health to their productivity and absenteeism, which ultimately impacts an organization’s bottom line. A recent article by PK Financial states, “the average cost of absenteeism in a large company is more than $3.6 million/year.” The article further emphasizes that “by implementing a financial wellness program, your company can help its employees tackle these issues head on, which in turn may help reduce these issues and expenditures.” It is critical to address these stressors to prevent a larger ripple effect on employee productivity. Promoting financial wellness can help to create a more productive workforce.

Like our in-person courses, online courses from Executive Education are designed and led by Foster School faculty and taught using the same evidence-based research and application. Students will participate in discussions, breakout sessions, and direct interactions with our faculty. Courses are conducted via Zoom, which facilitates real-time interface between students and faculty via webcam and text-based chat.

Two weeks prior to the live class session, you will receive information about any pre-readings, assignments, or case studies that need to be completed before class.

In addition to the faculty, each course has an assigned Program Manager who will provide guidance throughout the course.