On December 31, 1999, Ellen Smiley left the airline industry, after a career spanning more than 30 years with British Airways. She took a few interim jobs, eventually landing at a large credit union on Long Island, where she soon found herself in the business development department. It was there that first learned about financial literacy—a subject she knew nothing about. But It didn't take Ellen long for her to see the incredible value of financial literacy, and what a difference such knowledge could have in people’s lives. By the time she left the credit union in 2013, she was teaching between 125 and 150 classes a year. In today’s episode, as 45 Forward continues our recognition of National Financial Literacy Month, we talk with Ellen about her many insights and experiences as the owner of her own financial literacy consulting practice. Working with individuals and groups, she teaches commonsense basic skills—which many people lack—like setting up sensible budgets and how to improve their credit scores. She has worked with people across multiple ages and generations, from high school students to college students, to mature families and older adults. Financial literary provides knowledge that is increasingly necessary as the world gets more complex, and Ellen will explain how her programs and practices lead to significant stress reduction and free up money that can be used to improve their lives of families, no matter what stage of life they’re in.