Do you sit down with your kids and look through your bank statements every weekend? Betsy does!
It hasn’t always been that way for Betsy and her family. Betsy was a regional manager for a large phone company and had a stable life. She rarely had to worry about paying her bills or how she was going to put food on the table.
Her reality changed in an instant when she got the call that she was furloughed. When the shock of that wore off, she got a retail job to stay afloat. It was a bit like starting over, but she kept pushing through. Until another unexpected evening phone call laid her off from that job too.
Betsy was at a loss for what to do next, but she needed to be strong for her three children ages 10, 14, and 16, and her elderly mother. She applied for unemployment and began job hunting. Still, she fell further behind on her rent and utility bills.
Her leasing manager referred her to Crisis Assistance Ministry. Betsy was nervous when applying for assistance because it was unfamiliar and outside of her comfort zone to ask for help.
Betsy found a new job before long. But she never wanted to be in that kind of crisis again. She enrolled in the Economic Mobility program and worked one-on-one with a specialist to plan for the future. Betsy knew that “If I didn’t learn how to make changes in my budgeting and finances, I would be in the same position again.”
She says the constant encouragement of her Economic Mobility Specialist Randee, coupled with the bracelet she received when she started the program, helped her stay focused on her goals.
Nowadays, Betsy tracks her spending in her planner with different colored pens to stay on track. And every week, she shares what she learned with her kids. They all have bank accounts and they fill out the ledgers and analyze their spending weekly together. As her daughter says, “The bank statement is a snitch.” They work together as a family to hold each other accountable and work toward their financial goals.
Your donation changed my life and my children’s lives.
Betsy