WARWICK –– The victims of the Station nightclub fire are mostly working-class people. For many of them, life has been a struggle to make ends meet, even before the catastrophic blaze that burned and disfigured them and took the lives of their loved ones.

But now the victims have something positive on the horizon: a pot of settlement money totaling $176 million that, after payment of attorneys’ fees and expenses associated with their federal lawsuits, will leave many of them with more money than they have ever had. Overnight, the most seriously injured of the more than 300 plaintiffs will become millionaires.

Although the proposed settlements have not yet been approved by the court and the victims have not yet been given final figures on what they will be getting, the payouts are expected before the end of this year.

On Saturday, in anticipation of the payday, The Station Family Fund, in collaboration with the Michigan-based Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, sponsored a daylong workshop at the Sheraton Providence Airport Hotel to help survivors of the 2003 nightclub fire –– and those who lost family members–– deal with money and social support issues. Free financial planning and advice was offered to the victims as well as strategies to cope with stress and pressure from friends and relatives –– and want-to-be friends–– who may come looking for some of the cash.

Those who attended had an opportunity to meet individually with a certified financial planner to discuss individual concerns and goals. There were only about 15 victims at the morning session, but those who came included some of the most badly injured and a mother who lost a son in the fire.

Those who were unable to attend can obtain free advice by going to the Phoenix Society’s Web site, phoenix-society.org.

Jonathan Bell, a partner at the Boston law firm of Greenberg Traurig who has provided free legal services for the Station Family Fund since its creation, told the fire victims that “there was a worry I had that there would be a settlement and people would not have the resources to deal with it.

“We don’t have a settlement yet but we’re getting a lot closer” and it’s necessary, before the money arrives, to know “how to deal with it psychologically, financially and emotionally. It is your financial future,” Bell said. “It is all about you. This is about empowering you to make choices …”

The two certified financial planners who made presentations to the victims –– Floridian Susan Bradley, founder of the Sudden Money Institute, a resource center for new wealth recipients and their advisers, and Clare M. Stenstrom, of New York City –– offered a primer on what to do and what not to do with newfound money.

Both Bradley and Stenstrom have provided pro-bono advice to those who suddenly receive financial windfalls, including lottery winners and those who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina.

Bradley told the fire victims that it was important for them to get financial planning both before and after getting their settlements and to delay, for at least a year, making any big purchases or life-altering decisions, such as getting married or divorced. Too many people blow through their financial windfalls in the first year they get it –– spending on big-ticket items such as cars and houses, she said.

“Money and life go together. Spirit is more important than money but you still have a relationship with money. When life changes,” Bradley said, “this intersection gets complicated. … Millionaires are not always happy,” she pointed out. “You need to have some control here even though it feels like you have no control.

“There are a boatload of decisions you need to make,” but it’s not necessary to make all of them immediately after receiving the settlements, she emphasized.

A man who was badly burned in the fire confided, “I’m scared to death … I don’t know how to handle it. Taxes, knowing how to handle a big sum, juggle it. I’m no genius when it comes to brainpower.” He was looking for advice on how “not to blow it.” He said he had no idea “who’s going to get a slice of what. I can pay my bills and handle money but I’ve never had a large amount of money.”

“You need to know who you are, what you want, how you want to live,” Bradley told him. “You want to have a team of people you trust,” maybe an accountant, an investment adviser, an estate planner.

“Where do you go for these people?” the man asked.

Bradley said the four financial planners who were at the workshop could help him figure out the basics. “We’ll help you understand the pieces and how to put them together,” she said. “Everyone in the room is going to be different …You’re in a major life transition.”

Another fire victim, a mother of two who has undergone more than four dozen surgeries from the burns she suffered at The Station, said she was “stressed” just thinking about the money she’s going to get. “I want to make sure someone doesn’t take advantage, like an investor,” she said.

“You’ll have recurring stress patterns” but “you need to protect yourself from making bad decisions,” Bradley advised.

She told the fire victims, “If someone you care about presses you for money, delay them and tell them you’ll take it to a financial planner. People who really care about you know you need to take care of yourself first.” Money management techniques

• Save more, spend less.

• Think long term.

• Know who you are paying for financial help; pick someone who charges an hourly fee.

• Don’t make big financial decisions when under stress.

• Pay all taxes owed and all debts accumulated, paying off those carrying the highest interest charges first.

• Don’t buy big ticket items or make investments or major life changes for a year after receiving a financial windfall.

• Restrict making gifts to others, even to charities and family members, for a while.

• Spend money on essentials: housing, transportation, utilities, child support, taxes, credit-card bills, student loans, health and homeowner’s insurance and, if you have dependents, life insurance.

• Make lists of what you want and bills you need to pay and then prioritize.

• Beware of financial predators.

• Always have an emergency fund that will cover at least 6 months of living expenses.

• Get your credit report, make sure it’s accurate and settle everything before you get your settlement so creditors don’t slap a judgment on your bank account or garnish your paycheck.

• Aways pay more than the minimum on your credit card.

• Pay all bills on time.

• Track what your spend.

• Avoid debt-consolidation services; instead try negotiating credit-card interest rates yourself.

tbreton@projo.com