This is a bittersweet blog post for me, because it marks my final chapter with Indiana MoneyWise. After nearly eight years with the office of the Indiana Secretary of State, I am moving on to a new opportunity.

In my time with the “SOS,” I’ve had the opportunity to meet with thousands of Hoosiers and spread the good word about financial fitness and fraud prevention. I created programming and formed partnerships that I’m quite proud of, particularly our work with the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana and the formation of the Indiana Council Against Senior Exploitation (IN-CASE). I helped build the new Indiana MoneyWise website from scratch. I’ve contributed many words to the MoneyWise Matters blog and the e-magazine that preceded it. And I’ve loved every moment!

I never hesitate to tell Hoosiers - both strangers and loved ones - just how much I enjoy my job. I’m excited for whoever gets tapped to take over. They will be welcomed by a compassionate, creative, and innovative team. Maybe one of you reading right now is that lucky person.

While no new blog posts will be published to MoneyWise Matters until a new scribe is assigned, we have a wealth of archived posts for you to explore. For those of you who are fans of this content, I encourage you to explore our fully redesigned Indiana MoneyWise website. I wrote the content, so if you enjoy my blog posts, you’re sure to enjoy the website. We designed it to be more user-friendly with a simplified menu structure, making it incredibly intuitive to use. It puts free, reliable, and unbiased financial information in your hands so that you can manage your money and avoid fraud.

I will end by again saying thanks to all our loyal readers, and I hope our paths cross again in the future. Until then, I leave you with some final words of wisdom.

• Con artists are very good at what they do. It’s their job. Lying is lying. Stealing is stealing. It doesn’t matter what color shirt someone is wearing when they do it. Fraud is a crime, and fraudsters are criminals.
• Always investigate before you invest. Check with the Indiana Securities Division first.
• Credit and debit are not the same thing. When you pay with debit, you’re spending your money. When you pay with credit, you’re spending someone else’s money, and it will cost you more in the long run.
• Pay yourself first. Repeat this mantra until it sticks. Think about the future you want and save for it!
• Compound interest is your friend when it comes to investing… and your foe when it comes to debt.
• Paying your bills on time is the number one way to improve your credit score.
• The IRS will never call you with a threat of arrest, and you can’t win a lottery or sweepstakes you never entered.
• When in doubt, play Animal Crossing.

Cheers,

Kelly Griese, Senior Investor Education Coordinator