My experience growing up with a single mother has heavily influenced my financial education and the path I’d like to take in parenting my daughter. As a child, I witnessed my mother’s perseverance and determination as she worked to move us from a small trailer home to a bigger house with better resources.
Despite her success, finances and money management were not topics that we discussed regularly in our home, and once we became more financially stable, we often went out and bought things whenever we pleased rather than sticking to a budget.
As a result, when I went to college and entered my early 20s, I struggled with my personal finances. It wasn’t until my 30s, when I had my daughter, that I decided to get serious about learning the steps to pay off my debt and become financially secure. That’s when the opportunity to join WANDA fell into my lap. One of my coworkers sent me an email about the WANDA program, and it immediately interested me. With the due date fast approaching, I got my materials together and applied that day.
My WANDA experience has been very valuable. The program has connected me with a wonderful group of women with whom I can relate, and taught me concrete skills to better manage my money so that I can pursue my dream of being a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP).
The goal setting workshop was particularly helpful because it showed us how to break down our goals into smaller pieces so that they feel less overwhelming and complicated. We also learned about good versus bad debt, which helped me realize that it’s possible to grow your savings even when you have debt. As I pursue my higher education goals, I am encouraged that even if I take on more debt in the process, I’m making an investment in my future.
As I grow and continue on my financial journey while raising my two-year-old daughter, I’m planning how I will discuss money management with her in the future to ensure she enters adulthood with the tools she’ll need to succeed. I want to teach her to be happy with less, be okay with delayed gratification, and create a household where we’re not afraid to talk about money like how I grew up.
If there’s anything I want to share with women who are in a similar situation, it’s that it’s okay to save, even if you have debt, because every little addition makes a difference.
