At Clearwater Credit Union, we believe education helps ignite human potential. We want every Montanan to have an opportunity to prosper, and we’re taking action to help make that happen by offering no-cost school and community educational experiences.
Clearwater’s Community Financial Education team partners with high schools, adult learning facilities, elderly care facilities, businesses, and community organizations to facilitate free financial educational experiences. Nearly 10,000 Montanans have attended a Clearwater community education experience.
Current Educational Offerings
The following classes are currently available for either in-person or remote options. Many of the classes can be facilitated to fit a 45-minute school environment or expanded for a full hour class for youth and adults.
Get an introductory overview of banking, including understanding what a financial institution is and what it does, banking terms and account types, and how to recognize and protect yourself from fraud.
Learning Outcomes
Whether you want to manage your spending, get out of debt, buy a home, or start a business, personal financial empowerment is the first step to controlling your financial future. Oweesta and First Nations Development Institute developed the core information for our Native Communities, and our Clearwater Education Team is certified to delivery this specific curriculum. This curriculum is broken down into four separate 90-minute classes or a full day experience of activities and financial education through the Native lens.
Learning Outcomes
Are you thinking about purchasing your first home? Or it has been a while since you went through the home purchasing process? Learn the benefits of home ownership, the application and shopping process, and get ready for your monthly payment.
Learning Outcomes
Take control of your financial future by understanding the fundamentals of money management. You’ll learn how to set SMART financial goals, track your spending and create a spending plan with your savings goals in mind.
Learning Outcomes
Financial fraud is an ever-expanding industry. Learn about the current trends we are seeing, tips to avoid them and protect yourself and others in your life.
Learning Outcomes
The Financial Reality Fair is an interactive learning experience where students visit volunteers to make decisions on real life expenses. Each student is given a career, income, and family size, then will choose the lifestyle and expenses they want, hoping to make it on their monthly income. Once they visit each expense opportunity, students will meet with a financial counsellor to determine if they made it, need to make changes, or what additional money they can save for future expenses.
Learning Outcomes
If you’re unsure what type of higher education options are out there or how to pay for them, this class is for you. We’ll explore a variety of higher education options beyond just the traditional four-year degree, explore the true cost of school, and discuss how to budget for those expenses.
Learning Outcomes
Credit cards are often one of the first loans a consumer might have. Understand how credit cards function, build or hurt your credit and tips to handle credit cards and credit card debt.
Learning Outcomes
Conversations about money can be difficult to start among all family dynamics. Discover your money culture, tips for managing money as a family, and how to help your family start learning about healthy financial habits early.
Learning Outcomes
Predatory lending can be devastating to your financial life. Learn what to look out for and how to avoid a predatory lender along with how to get out of predatory loan, if possible.
Learning Outcomes
Confidently finance your first or next vehicle with the help of this interactive class. You’ll learn what factors into a loan decision, and what comes next as you continue to grow your credit history with a vehicle loan. We’ll also work through loan payment and interest rate examples.
Learning Outcomes
Writing a resume can feel like a daunting task. We want to make it easier and give you some tips and tricks to make your resume stand out from the crowd.
Learning Outcomes
Having good credit can save you money on interest rates and make you eligible for new opportunities. Learn about the importance of credit and what factors into your credit score, as well as gain a better understanding of how to build, repair, maintain, and protect your credit.
Learning Outcomes
Take control of your debt and your financial future with help from one of our Certified Financial Counselors.
As a Clearwater member, you have access to free financial counseling to help you build a budget, (re)build your credit, mitigate fraud or ID theft, and learn how to navigate financial challenges.
No time to attend an in-person class? Our online Financial Education Center offers easy-to-understand articles, videos, tools, and other resources to increase your financial knowledge and improve your overall financial well-being.