Today I visited the Second Grade Class at Westwood School to promote Reading Makes Cents! Teaching children about the importance of saving. We had so much fun the kids were so great! In the spirit of having fun learning about saving we took a silly face picture. Thank you so much to Ms. Chappa's Second Grade Class we all learned so much.

Hi Everyone! I am so excited! An article I wrote for "Mom's Making a Million" just got published today. You can read the article at the following link. This is a really exciting day for me; growing up as a dyslexic, I never thought this would happen! It is amazing how passion for something can make your dreams come true for all of us.

http://momsmakingamillion.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-is-your-retirement-story.html

My good friend, Laura Schwartz, CEO of “The White House Strategies”, spoke at St. Norbert College about her new book, “Eat-Drink and Succeed - The Power of Social Networking”. Laura’s book will inspire you and give you solid advice from her own experiences Schwartz, a native of Plymouth, Wis., was White House director of events during the Clinton administration, served as a senior advisor to Senator John Kerry during his presidential campaign, and has worked extensively with former President Clinton on behalf of his foundation. She is currently a political consultant and frequent guest on the CBS Early Show, as well as BBC World News and other international television programs. In "Eat, Drink and Succeed," she details the networking strategies that led to her ascendance in the Clinton administration, and prescribes techniques for others seeking similar success. I believe that it is perfect timing for Laurs's book because in a time when Facebook and Twitter have come in to our lives, it is so important to remember the amazing things that can happen when we have a meal together, listen to one another, and ask each other, “How can I help you?”. Building bridges can open up doors in your life where your dreams can come true and you can help other’s to come true in the process. I just love this lady; she is amazing and you will love her book! You can purchase it here at http://www.eatdrinkandsucceed.com/laura/Excerpt.html , or you can email Laura directly at Laura@WhiteHouseStrategies.Com. And! If you reference buying a book on behalf of Mrs. Wisconsin's Mission (I promote a topic, savings and retirement readiness, near to her heart: “Talking about Tomorrow Today”), Laura will donate $5.00 from each book towards my mission. Her company will contact you regarding billing and shipping.

I was at Kaukauna High School today working at the Uncle Sam Booth for the "Reality Store Event" that over 300 students attended. The students had to plan for their future by picking a career, if they would be married or single, and if they would have children. Then they stopped by the Uncle Sam Booth and we started by deducting the taxes out of their monthly pay they received from their jobs. Such a nice Uncle he is! After paying rent, buying groceries, car payment, car insurance, clothing, health insurance, putting aside for retirement... well, you get the picture... they had a MAJOR "Reality Check"! Teaching high school students to be financially literate can have a huge pay off when they become adults. Thank you to everyone who made this event a success. Our local Channel Two news crew even stopped by to capture the story you can read it at the link below.

http://www.wbay.com/global/story.asp?s=12352541

Financial Literacy Months Continues with Wisconsin CPA's promoting "Teach a Child To Save"

I went to Westwood Elementary School today to promote "Teach a Child To Save" I love teaching children because you always walk away having them teach you something new! Twenty Two more children have now signed the savings pledge.

April is Financial Literacy Month!
The American Bankers Association "Teach a Child To Save" Campaign.
For 14 years the Teach Children to Save program has partnered banks with students for lessons on the importance of saving. The program's goal is to encourage bankers to reach 5 million students before the end of 2011, the 15th anniversary of Teach Children to Save. I will be visiting several schools during the month of April to promote this amazing National program! Today I was at Montessori School in De Pere, Wisconsin and we had a blast learning about being a saver! Twenty Two children took home the saving pledge with a promise to save.

This morning I spoke at the West Side Rotary Club in Green Bay! I had
the opportunity to share with them my platform, "I Owe Me". iOMe

is a national college contest that I am in charge of driving. The iOMe challenge engages our youth in the the topic of savings/retirement
readiness. I also spoke about my own story of the day someone asked
me, "Are you preparing for your retirement?", and how that question
changed my life in a very significant way. The Rotary Club is an

amazing organization. The motto they live by is "Service Above Self".

Happy Easter Everybody! We had such a great day today and it all started at 4:45am when my son Cooper couldn't sleep anymore because he was so excited to find his basket which we did at 5:30am. We had all of the family over today and the kids had a big Easter Egg Hunt! It's so great to know that winter is behind us now we hope and we have a new beginning with Spring. Easter is my favorite holiday I’ve heard it said that the Easter egg represents new life – as a chicken hatches from an egg.What a wonderful gift!