Lauri: A Community Worker Changes Her Money Mindset
Lauri takes pride in her job working in reemployment education for the Texas Workforce Commission. She helps individuals such as military service members and single parents who have experienced a loss in income as they look for work. Yet despite her expertise in helping people find work, money was always an intimidating topic for Laura.
“Money is such a secretive thing,” she explained. “Especially when you’re not good at it.”
One of the things she learned from her job, though, was how importance honesty is to personal growth.
“What I’ve learned from being in this position for so long is that we all love to have someone we can be open, honest, and transparent with,” she said.
The clients Lauri works with need this openness in order to figure out the next step in their professional lives. Guiding them through this process inspired Lauri to be more honest and transparent about her own relationship with money. She was also inspired by her husband’s healthy, rational approach to money, and realized she wanted to improve her own relationship with money. Last year when Lauri turned 40, she embarked on a quest for wellness in all areas of her life.
“I saw that I was using money to fill an emotional void,” she said. Lauri said she used to overspend to make herself feel better, and ignore her bank statements and debts. “I had a lot of money secrets.” And she’s not alone - 40% of American report keeping money secrets from their significant others.
Lauri knew that in order to improve her relationship with money, she would need to admit how much she didn’t know and commit to learning. Instead of becoming a master budgeter or saver, Lauri focused on educating herself by taking advantage of free resources and reading articles on websites like SaverLife.
Over time, Lauri became an active member of SaverLife’s online community. Her favorite part of SaverLife is the personal stories.
“These stories really speak to who the person is,” she said. Reading about other people’s financial experiences helped Lauri feel less alone and encouraged her to keep going.
Since joining SaverLife in July 2020, Lauri has saved one month’s salary. She’s currently working toward the goal of having three months of her salary saved. She’s changed her money mindset to focus on finding peace through saving money as opposed to spending it.
“SaverLife does such a good job of building a community where individuals can share their stories of where they came from financially. It’s a safe space to be honest and transparent and receive education and other resources,” she said.