Mind Over Money

When Monique joined Financial Fitness, she knew her relationship with money “wasn’t great.” Her bank account reflected this – bouncing up and down with her mood swings. 

“If I had a lump sum of cash in my account, I wouldn’t want to touch it. I wasn’t saving or investing; it just sat there. And then I’d get into random moods where I’d spend a lot of money in a short period of time.” 

Monique enrolled in Financial Fitness 101, where she was paired with Coach Carol. They met regularly to go over coursework and talk about financial goals. Carol provided accountability, but also foresight – If this is what you spend in a month, what does that look like in a year?  

Monique was challenged to reflect, not just on her financial future, but on her past. And the more she looked, the more she recognized her parents’ spending habits in her own behavior. 

“We were chronically homeless. They would spend money on hotels so we’d have somewhere to stay. If they did have money, they would spend it on materialistic things. Now, just being aware of those patterns is helping me make healthier choices.” 

Now enrolled in Financial Fitness 103, Carol is learning about investments. In fact, with guidance from her coach, she recently opened her first 401K. 

As Monique shares, “A lot of us former foster youth don’t have anyone to guide us, and that’s what Just in Time provides. They give us guidance, and they help restore the hope that we are somebody and that we can amount to what other people amount to despite what we’ve gone through.”