Christin: An Unemployed Mother Working to Build Financial Security
Before the pandemic began shutting down American life, Christin was working as a marketing assistant at an oil and gas company. Luckily, she was able to collect unemployment benefits, but when the additional funds expired at the end of July, she struggled to make ends meet.
“That was what took me over the top with the bills I needed to pay,” she said. “When that stopped, I was back at square one deciding what bills to pay this month. It’s been hard.”
With a 13-year-old son doing distance learning, finding a new job has been difficult.
“Since he’s autistic, I’m not able to leave him by himself,” she said. When he was attending school in person, Christin’s son received a lot of one-on-one instruction. All of the in-person work of his education now rests with Christin, making his education her full time job.
Despite the difficulties she has faced because of COVID-19, Christin has also been taking strides to build financial security. She discovered SaverLife on Facebook, and has been using the platform to build her emergency fund.
“I didn’t have that much saved before,” she said. “When I did have a job, I would spend money like it was nothing. SaverLife has taught me to spend on what I need, not what I want.”
Without a job, saving money has been difficult.
Christin put aside $50 from each of her unemployment paychecks to help her build an emergency savings account.
“I’ve been putting aside money,” she said. “Something for a rainy day so if something like the pandemic happens again, I’m not strapped for cash, and I can lean on my savings.”
Christin is using her time at home to further her education. She enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree, which she hopes will someday help her secure a higher-paying job.
“Since I’m at home, I might as well try to do something so that once I graduate, I can try to get a better job than I had before,” Christin said.