No Strings Attached: Free Financial Planning at DC Financial Planning Day, October 23

Dozens of DC Metro Financial Planners Will Offer Free Advice on Budgeting, Financial Planning, Debt Management, Paying for College, and More

WASHINGTON, DC, September 29, 2010 — We’ve all heard that there’s no free lunch, but in these challenging economic times, Washington D.C., metro area residents will be able to get free financial planning advice and guidance from professional financial planners at the D.C. Financial Planning Day. No strings attached. No business cards exchanged and no one will even follow up with a call.

 

The event will be held Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus in Washington, D.C., and will feature experts from the Financial Planning Association® and highly qualified CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals, all volunteering their time and expertise to work with local residents one-on-one to address important financial issues.

Financial planners will be at their own tables to meet one-on-one with attendees to answer questions on budgeting, getting out of debt, income taxes, dealing with mortgage foreclosures, paying for college, estate planning and insurance, among many other topics. The advice will be offered on a “no strings attached” basis and planners will not give out business cards or sell financial products or services.

The event will also feature a series of classroom-style educational workshops addressing key personal finance topics, including: Planning for Your Financial Goals, Investing Basics – 20 Tips for Becoming a Smart Investor, Real World Retirement Planning, Young Professionals: Launching Your Financial Plan, and more.

DC Financial Planning Day is organized by the City of Washington, D.C., in partnership with the Financial Planning Association of the National Capital Area and as part of the national Financial Planning Days initiative created by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Financial Planning Association, Foundation for Financial Planning and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The collaboration is a first-of-its kind effort involving city governments and thousands of financial planners nationwide united in an effort to provide free financial education and programming to communities throughout the United States.

TO PARTICIPATE: DC Financial Planning Day is free and open to the public. Members of the news media are invited to attend the event and interview the organizers. The event will be held Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus (Bell Multicultural High School), located at 3101 16th St., NW, in Washington, D.C. Events will begin 10 a.m. and will run until 4 p.m. The venue is conveniently located just one block from the Columbia Heights Metro Station (Green and Yellow Lines).

Free online registration for DC Financial Planning Day is available at www.FinancialPlanningDays.org/DC, or by calling toll free at 877-861-7826. Walk-ins are also welcome.

LOCAL EVENT CONTACTS:
Daniel F. Drummond, CFP Board – 202.379.2252 or ddrummond@CFPBoard.org
Helen Modly, CFP®, FPA of the National Capital Area – 540-931-9051 or hmodly@focus-wealth.com

Media Contacts for National Financial Planning Days Initiative:
CFP Board: Daniel F. Drummond – 202.379.2252 or ddrummond@CFPBoard.org
FPA: Lynn Brackpool – 303.867.7173 or Lynn.Brackpool@FPAnet.org
Foundation for Financial Planning: Jim Peniston - 770.938.1110 or Jim.Peniston@foundation-finplan.org
U.S. Conference of Mayors: Elena Temple – 202.861.6719 or etemple@usmayors.org

ABOUT CFP BOARD
The mission of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. is to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning. The Board of Directors, in furthering CFP Board’s mission, acts on behalf of the public, CFP® certificants and other stakeholders. CFP Board owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements. CFP Board currently authorizes more than 61,000 individuals to use these marks in the United States. For more about CFP Board, visit www.CFP.net or call 800-487-1497.

About FPA
The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) is the leadership and advocacy organization connecting those who need, support and deliver professional financial planning. FPA demonstrates and supports a professional commitment to education and a client-centered financial planning process. Based in Denver, Colo., FPA has 95 chapters throughout the country representing tens of thousands of members involved in all facets of providing financial planning services. Working in alliance with academic leaders, legislative and regulatory bodies, financial services firms and consumer interest organizations, FPA is the community that fosters the value of financial planning and advances the financial planning profession. For more information about FPA, visit www.FPAnet.org or call 800-322-4237.

About Foundation for Financial Planning
The mission of the Foundation for Financial Planning is to help people take control of their financial lives by connecting the financial planning community with people in need. The Foundation funds programs that provide pro bono financial planning, and connect volunteers through the involvement of the financial planning and services community. The Foundation strives to help people who are underserved by the market, in need of financial guidance, or in a financial crisis. The Foundation aims to improve the lives of all Americans through access to pro bono financial planning and financial life skills education to provide those at all socio-economic levels with the knowledge to control their financial lives and opportunities to obtain unbiased financial advice in time of crisis and disaster. For more information about the Foundation for Financial Planning, visit www.foundation-finplan.org.

About The U.S. Conference of Mayors
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,204 such cities in the country today. Each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. More information about the Conference is available at www.usmayors.org.