The YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix mission is the Empower Women and Eliminate Racism. One of the unique way the YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix chapter empowers women is through financial education. The Own IT Financial Education is on a mission to spread financial education throughout the valley of the sun. We bring our series as far out as Buckeye in the west valley to as far Gilbert in the east valley. Financial Education is understanding all the impacts of daily decisions for the average family makes when trying to balance a budget.

We provide a 4-week series that breaks down the elements of financial education by setting goals for our finances, overcoming the obstacle that we face with our finances, establishing a spending plan and understanding credit options and their credit reports. There are studies after studies that shows that many individuals are lacking the understanding of basic money management matters that is needed to achieve their financial stability. The Own It series is on a mission to break this barrier and help more and more reach at as least one of their financial goals so that they are one step closer to financial stability.

Here are some testimonials from participants of the Own It series:

Dulce attended the Own It Financial education program with the goal in mind of learning more about how to effectively manage her money. She had set a goal for herself of increasing her savings and being able to use some of her savings to focus on travel. Dulce found the program to be very helpful in inspiring and motivating her to be more responsible with her money. Since finishing the program, Dulce could identify many of her spending leak areas and has been able to save over $500. She is also on track to save enough money for a trip to Italy at the end of the year. Dulce states the Own It program helped her get on the right track with learning to manage her money and she is continuing to use the program tools to strengthen her healthy spending/saving habits.

When Jayleen came to the Own It Financial Education program, she had a good job with a decent salary. She had grown up in a life of poverty and never received the skills to manage her money. She was a 24-year-old single mother, didn’t qualify for government assistance and her account was always overdrawn. She saw a flyer for the Own It program and signed up for the free class thinking it might be the answer to her prayers. She used the skills she learned to develop a budget and start saving. She was able to save $3,500 and bought her first home in a great neighborhood. The Own It program helped her attain her #1 dream and has opened possibilities for new dreams and accomplishments. Jayleen is a much more confident, determined women and first in her family to own a home. She’s breaking the cycle of poverty and raising her daughter in a positive environment. Jayleen owes her success to the YWCA and the Own It program.

From these testimonials, you can see that just having a bit of financial education can change your relationship with money and change your path to financial understanding. If you feel that you are in need of some financial education click here to sign up for an upcoming Own It series at a site near you.