For the most part, the United States is composed of an individualistic culture. The general norm and expectation of those who’ve “made it” is that they are able to function well and good all on their own. Independence, in all of its glory and fame, is the act of juggling career, family, personal life, and most of all, finances. It’s hard to feel confident about your independence and the way that your working through the world when there’s a doubt and concern about the possibility that your finances aren’t completely in good shape.
Maybe you shop too much, spending money on clothes that you need by never wear. Maybe it’s eating out, making excuses for the lack of groceries in the fridge and the surplus of waste in the trash. Maybe it’s just not knowing how to balance and budget it all, feeling a constant pressure about the way you’re spending and receiving money but never really sitting down and seeing the ways you could be saving. And it’s not easy, it hardly ever is, but being financially literate is one of the most important ways to ensure that you are living, not just surviving.
A major component of our Transitional Housing Programs is financial literacy training. We need to ensure that participants are able to pay off their eviction notices and overdue utilities and to continue to step out of debt rather than tread in it. One of the components of our program is to support individuals in the development of housing, career, financial, health, and personal goals that are reviewed at scheduled appointments with a case manager every 1-2 weeks. This component is made possible through a grant provided by Ally. This way our case managers are able to focus on financial literacy improvements throughout a participant’s involvement with our housing program.
In the end, becoming financial literate, and maintaining a healthy budget can do wonders for an individual’s life and health, and that’s always something worth celebrating.
You can learn more about Ally and it’s programs on their site.