Joining WANDA was one of the first steps I took towards regaining my independence and setting myself and my children up for success after my divorce this year.
I grew up as the daughter of an immigrant who worked very hard to provide for our family, but as a result, my parents felt it was impolite to discuss money and how we managed it. So when I went off to college and then got married, I knew very little about money management or budgeting. During my marriage, I had little agency and direction over our finances. As a family, we supported my husband’s business ventures and let those outcomes dictate our income and budgeting.
Now as I enter into this new stage of my life, I am ready to take charge of my finances and future. I have a background in education and outdoor recreation, but to expand my learning and revenue, I am actively pursuing my real estate license in the hopes of purchasing my own property and educating my family and my children so they can afford a home in the future.
Knowing that I had these goals, my friend, Danika Dellor, the CEO of WANDA, invited me to apply to the program to help me on my journey.
Taking ownership of your finances for the first time at this age can be scary, but connecting with other women who have been through the same challenges as me and have succeeded was very encouraging. It took away some of the shame I felt and allowed me to address many of the overwhelming feelings and emotions that came with my new life.
The concrete skills and the budgeting practices WANDA teaches have made a huge impact on my savings. I’ve adopted the practice of making Excel sheets to track my finances and have even implemented it with my daughter for her monthly allowance. Now, she too can understand how to be financially stable.
With these new practices and budgeting tactics, I want to change my life and the lives of others around me. I’ve been heavily inspired by the success stories of past WANDA moms and hope that with this new knowledge and my real estate license, I can help other single mothers accomplish their goals and secure affordable housing in the future.
No matter where you are on your journey, know that there are so many resources around us, and within us, to make that change. The really powerful part about this program is seeing WANDA mom alumna coming back and educating us, and sharing their personal journeys of how they came out of some really dark times and never gave up.
WANDA is really a wonderful support for women by women. You are stepping into a community where you truly can get what you put in, and if you take that first step to learn more about money management, you will succeed.
