Save Up Program

“The family that prays together, stays  and can save together”, that’s the sentiment Toshuna shared as she spoke about the fact that her brother and mother are also SAVE Up participants. In fact, Toshuna was first introduced to the program by her cousin Tameka who successfully purchased an asset through RISE’s SAVE Up program. Now it is Toshuna who is coming to the office to receive her check so that she can pay off her car.  More importantly, her entire family (brother, mother and cousin and even those who have not gone through the program) now considers themselves a “Saving Family”.  What could be more powerful than that?

"The road hasn’t been easy but it has been a determined and focused effort" that allowed Toshuna to pay off her car early and save money on the interest she would have paid. This mother of two, who works at a local government hospital as a nursing assistant, has indeed sacrificed for the freedoms she now has. The freedom is the product of investing both her 2014 and 2015 income tax returns into lump sum payments toward the balance of her car. Toshuna says that she and her family can now ride in comfort, free of the burden of a car note.  She says that the money she would have paid monthly for her car, will now be used as money toward her daughter’s college fund.  

Toshuna is an avid swimmer, who enjoys spending what free time she has writing poetry and reading. She says she enjoyed the six weeks of  classes at the RISE Foundation office. According Toshuna the helpful life lesson she took from the program was that there is no excuse for not saving money, no matter how small the amount. She says the major challenge for her was being determined to stick to the spending plan she developed in class. Through this process, she says that she has developed discipline and a willingness to sacrifice for her goals. Goals were a major aspect of the training. In fact, that is the jewel she shares with her fellow RISER’s. Toshuna says that "if you can see it, you can achieve it",which was a lesson learned through the creation of vision boards in class. She says that you should never stop working towards your goals. That is indeed a powerful lesson to live by!

Your contributions to RISE will help more families like Toshuna's to set goals for their families and continue to save a portion of their meager earnings to met their financial Goals.  Remember families working together with sound financial tools and technquites can help each other to do more with less!