Wanda

Wanda is a mother of three children. She migrated from Puerto Rico with her family over 30 years ago. When she first arrived, life was made more difficult by the language barrier. Wanda remembers translating for her mother during many job interviews, even when her own English was not yet fluent. Today, Wanda works at the local Housing Court. She is saving $75 per month – which is always a struggle with three children to raise and expenses piling up all the time. She manages by using the budgeting skills she has learned in the LCW/Midas matched savings program and by making a habit and a priority out of saving. In addition, she says the peer support that her matched savings group provides for each other is very helpful for staying on track.

Wanda will invest her savings and the match in purchasing her first home. Her dream is to own a ranch-style house with a yard, and with rooms that she and her family can paint in any color they choose. Most of all she wants a place where she and her family feel safe. She is trying to save extra money, and also plans to take a first-time homebuyer seminar so she can be well-prepared for homeownership.

Speaking of her future home, Wanda says, “It will be an investment that… will help my kids to set up their own goals in the future and work on them until they get it. It all started with the matched savings program and now I feel empowered and dedicated to continue with this goal until it is accomplished.”