Celebrating 500,000 Members: Meet a Mother Who Used SaverLife to Get Out of Debt and Launch Her Business

In honor of SaverLife reaching 500,000 members, we reached out to members of our community to learn about their financial journeys and how they’ve seen SaverLife grow over the years. 

Over the past ten years, Edna of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been on a journey to get out of debt and build financial security. It started in 2012 when she paid off all her credit cards. But not long after paying them off, Edna accrued more debt, and the cycle started all over again. In 2016, Edna recommitted to cleaning up her finances. It was around this time—when she was working on paying off her final $10,000—that she signed up for SaverLife after hearing about it on a Facebook group. 

“It wasn’t even called SaverLife then—it was called EARN,” Edna said. “The program helped me be more accountable with my savings. I learned to pay myself first and then pay off the debt.”

Edna was determined that this time around would be different—she would stay debt-free, permanently. She unfollowed companies and people on social media that tempted her to use her credit cards. Another helpful tool was learning to talk more openly about finances. Edna found an accountability partner in another SaverLife member, and the two encouraged each other on their financial journeys. 

“I was embarrassed, but my embarrassment was lower than my desire to change my habits,” she said. 

By the end of 2016, Edna was debt-free again, but this time she had the habits to maintain her budget and continue saving. 

“Once I became debt-free, I put aside the same amount of money I was paying for debt into a savings account and built up my emergency fund,” she said. 

That money gave Edna the cushion she needed to start her own speech pathology business in 2018. 

“I’ve been able to build my business without taking out any loans,” she said. “I’m in a good place financially.”

When the pandemic shut down the world in March 2020, Edna had only been in business for six months. The financial security she’d built over the previous years provided a much-needed cushion against the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. 

“I knew I would be okay even if I didn’t have any clients because I had saved up a year’s worth of living expenses,” she said. 

Luckily, she hasn’t had to dip into her savings. In fact, her business revenue has doubled in the past year. 

In 2019, Edna spoke to KTNV Las Vegas about her experience using SaverLife. In the years since, her financial goals have grown and she continues to use new features added on the site, likeweekly scratchers, tips from financial coaches, and the forum. 

“It definitely wasn’t the site as it is today where you can log in and talk to a bunch of people,” she said. “Now there’s a lot more information on how to save and a forum for people to talk and chat about their experiences.”

Now Edna is focused on maximizing her retirement savings and educating her 11-year-old daughter, Gabriela, about finances. 

“She has her own bank account and knows what she wants to save for,” Edna said. 

 Edna’s advice to anyone thinking about joining SaverLife is to come with an open mind and be patient. 

“Remember that [saving] doesn’t happen overnight,” she said. “There are no shortcuts.”