Sha'Dana: Dreams Deferred
UPDATED on November 10, 2020:
When SaverLife spoke with Sha’Dana in June, she had been furloughed from her job and was denied unemployment.
In October, we caught up with Sha’Dana to see how she’s been doing.
“I’m back at work,” Sha’Dana said. Her office was able to set up Sha’Dana and her coworkers to work remotely, so Sha’Dana was able to return to her job at a cyber security nonprofit. They hope to be back in the office in early 2021.
Her daughter, who is in middle school, is doing remote schooling. Sha’Dana assists her with schoolwork once she is done with her own work for the day. After graduating from college in May, Sha’Dana’s son has gotten a part-time job at a hotel.
Despite not going back to work until after Labor Day, Sha’Dana never received any unemployment benefits.
“I gave up on it,” she explained. “It was too much back and forth.”
Sha’Dana’s son did receive unemployment, and his benefits helped the family make it through the summer. Now that she is back to receiving her full income, Sha’Dana is focused on paying her outstanding bills.
“It’s overwhelming,” she said. “The grocery bill is still higher than normal, and from everyone being home, the utility bill is also higher.”
Sha’Dana said she is, “trying to save again just in case something happens.”
Before the pandemic, Sha’Dana had been saving money for a down payment on a home.
“I was just getting started,” she said. “I had $8,000 saved up.”
She had to deplete her savings account to make ends meet while she was furloughed. But, despite the setback, she hasn’t given up on her dream of owning a home.
“I just have to start over,” she said. “Since I’m back on a regular paycheck maybe I’ll be able to start putting money away again.”
After years of renting, 2020 was supposed to be the year Sha’Dana was going to buy a home of her own for her family. With steady work at a cyber-intelligence nonprofit near her home in Maryland and her son Cameron finishing up college and ready to be on his own, it seemed like an attainable goal. But then the pandemic hit, Sha’Dana was furloughed, and her son lost his job at school. Cameron and Sha’Dana’s middle-school-aged daughter Nia were both suddenly taking classes from home, and Sha’Dana’s mother moved in as well. Sha’Dana’s hopes of buying a home of her own are fading. “I am really worried about getting us out of this place, and getting back to feeling comfortable spending again, because right now, we are at the point where all we can do is buy necessities,” said Sha’Dana.
Despite graduating from college, the pandemic limited the celebrations for Cameron. Sha’Dana is also concerned he won’t be able to find a job — his degree is in hospitality management — because of the impact of COVID on the travel industry. “It feels like that world is really hard hit, so I don’t know when he will be able to find a job,” she said.
Sha’Dana and her son both applied for unemployment, but Sha’Dana was denied. Cameron received benefits, but not much. The family has fallen behind on some of their bills. “It feels like I am trapped in a never-ending cycle,” she said.
Sha’Dana used her stimulus money towards rent, and the SaverLife emergency payment came in handy for utilities. “It helped me get caught up, so I’m at least not behind on those anymore,” said Sha’Dana.
Although she may not be able to buy a house as soon as she hoped, Sha’Dana is grateful she started saving with SaverLife, because it provided a much-needed cushion when things got tough. “The information I got from SaverLife really helped me with putting aside money from my paychecks and any unexpected money I came into — it all went right into my savings account. It helped me at the start of COVID to know, ok, I have a bit of money saved up. It wasn’t as bad,” she said.
Sha’Dana’s office is starting some remote work this summer, although she won’t be back full time, and she’s hopeful that she will be able to save more money in her emergency fund and eventually, her retirement fund. “I want to make sure I put something aside for me and my kids because we’re in a time where you can’t go to friends or family for money, because everybody’s in the same boat, everybody’s struggling. So I want to be in a place where whatever happens, it won’t be detrimental,”she said.