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When the Tucson Money Faire kicked off three years ago, the foreclosure crisis hadn't hit, many assumed home values would keep rising, and employment was strong.

With the potential for so much wealth, it was the perfect time to teach the public, particularly West Side and South Side residents with lower incomes, how to budget, save and cut down on debt.

Times are tougher now, but the Tucson Money Faire was again back in action Saturday at El Rio Neighborhood Center, 1390 W. Speedway, offering financial workshops to anyone interested.

"The mortgage-foreclosure workshops are a big draw this year," said Kelly Griffith, deputy director for the Southwest Center for Economic Integrity, which puts on the Money Faire with the help of a slew of other organizations.

In some ways financial trouble never felt so festive. Volunteers in green shirts hustled and bustled about to answer questions. Each hour, a $100 bill was raffled off to attendees. Chili dogs were served up outside as a cover band rocked out to classics.

But a quick look at the workshop schedule was a sobering reminder of what many people at the Faire had to face.

"Budgeting in Time of Crisis" and "Foreclosure Timelines and Options" were the first workshops of the day.

Certainly, foreclosure was on the mind of Bob Lang, whose mortgage rate just jumped from 6 percent to 13 percent.

"We're facing foreclosure or bankruptcy — one of the two," he said. "It's been very frustrating. We built our house and lived in it for five years."

Lang, who is retired after a career with Boeing in Kansas, said he has tried to modify his loan but has had little luck.

Although he said he is current on his mortgage, he seemed almost resigned about losing his home.

"If we do surrender the home, I want to be able to rent," he said. "Is my credit report going to prevent me from renting?"

Lang was making the rounds at El Rio, speaking with non-profits and credit unions at the various information booths, but the person he probably most needed to talk with was Cheri Horbacz, a program manager with Don't Borrow Trouble in Pima County.

Horbacz has taught numerous foreclosure-prevention workshops this year, and she was getting ready to do it again at the Tucson Money Faire.

"The biggest key is prioritizing your debt," she said.

Horbacz said she didn't know if the threat of foreclosure was driving up traffic at the event compared to past years, but she had no doubt that times are tough and this year's Money Faire was timely.

"Money is tight," she said. "Everything costs more."