Seeing that many Indiana University East students and residents in the greater Richmond area might have difficulty with financial decisions, Business and Economic Research Center (BERC) faculty Oi Lin Cheung, Ph.D., associate professor of finance, and Roger Crane, lecturer in accounting, have started an initiative for the coming fall to enhance the financial literacy of the community.

Cheung and Crane will host a panel discussion and workshop series beginning Wednesday, September 9, to help participants work through financial decisions such as renting versus buying a home, leasing versus buying a vehicle, how to finance them and get insurance to cover them, and other topics. The panel discussion begins at 6 p.m. with a reception in the Whitewater Hall Lobby, located at 2325 Chester Blvd., Richmond, Ind. The presentation will follow in the Community Room.

This initiative includes a panel discussion session where professionals in real estate, automotive dealership, banking and insurance will discuss renting versus buying a home, how much home an individual or household can afford to buy, the local real estate market, leasing versus buying an automobile, bank financing (mortgage and automobile loan) as well as insurance (homeowner, renter and automobile).

The panel discussion session will continue into three related workshops where business faculty of IU East and other professionals will focus on “What are my best options for housing and transportation?”, “How should I finance my home or automobile?” and “What do I need for insurance?”.

All these events are supported by the IU East Mindful Exploration Committee and are free to attend. All IU East students and residents of greater Richmond are welcome.

Panel Discussion Session
Wednesday, September 9
6 p.m., Reception for participants, Whitewater Hall Lobby
6:30 p.m. Panel Discussion on “Should I Rent (Lease) or Should I Buy?”, Whitewater Hall Community Room

Workshops
11:30 a.m., Whitewater Hall Community Room

Wednesday, October 7: “What are My Best Options for Housing and Transportation?”
Wednesday, November 4: “How Should I Finance My Home or Automobile?”
Wednesday, December 2: “What Do I Need for Insurance?”

For more information on the series or registration, contact Oi Lin Cheung, associate professor of finance, at ocheung@iue.edu or (765) 973 8497 or Roger Crane, lecturer in accounting, at rbcrane@iue.edu or (765) 973 8401.

About the IU East Business Economic Research Center
The BERC is sponsored by the IU East School of Business and Economics. The center is designed to assist in capturing and creating economic data that will be useful in supporting the economic vitality of the Eastern Indiana and Western Ohio regions.