Sabrina

A few years ago, my car mistakenly got towed. For a lot of people, this would be an annoying inconvenience – a bad way to spend an afternoon. But for me, it was devastating. I needed my car to pick up my kid from school on time, to get to work, to get home and I didn’t have the money to get on public transportation much less pay the $150 fee to get the car back! This minor mistake put my entire life and financial wellbeing into jeopardy. How was I going to get to work and school?

This was my reality – and the reality that so many working moms like me face when we’re making just enough to barely get by. When you don’t have savings, even the smallest things can create a tragedy. 

That’s why the Compass FSS program is so important to me. When I joined the program a few years ago as a college student with a young son, I wasn’t earning a lot of money and I didn’t have any savings. Then I started working with my Compass Coach, Carla, and things really took off. I already had taught myself so much but I didn't have the resources nor access to put this knowledge into action. Carla helped me to master my inner voice and reaffirmed the basics like paying your bills on time and improving your credit score, but also how to manage your money long-term to build wealth. With Carla’s support, I saved $6,000 in just six months and now my credit score is up to the mid-700s!

Just a few weeks ago, I got a flat tire. This time, it was so easy to take care of because I had built savings through FSS to deal with it. Just a drive up to Raymond’s tire shop on Blue Hill - no stress, no headache.  These tragedies now are just little hiccups and I'm capable of staying on track towards my long-term goals. That’s the difference that having savings and financial security has made for me.

I’m planning to use the money I’m saving through the FSS program to buy a multi-family property. My goal is to use it as a stepping stone for my future ventures: to lease the units to small businesses and offer housing to ignored community members at an affordable price. I’m excited because I know it will be a powerful way for me to build assets for my family while also contributing to wealth-building and entrepreneurship in my community, my home.

The Compass FSS program means so much to me because it affirms that the lives of people like me matter. That when you invest time and resources into people, when you include us in society, when we get the mentorship and financial guidance we need and want, we can do amazing things. We can build wealth for ourselves, our children, and our community!