Join our participants as they reduce debt and increase savings with the help of Summit financial coaches.
Jeff and Sue's Journey:
Graduated and Moving On (and out)
As some of you know, our son spent five years in the Marine Corps and is currently utilizing the GI Bill to further his education. This last Thursday, he graduated from Madison College with an Associate Degree as a Liberal Arts Transfer student. He has been accepted at UW-Stevens Point where he will continue to pursue a degree in wildlife law enforcement.
In less than a month, we will be moving him into his first apartment. He is quite excited about moving out and into his own place. Even though he served for five years in the military, he has never truly lived on his own…you know paying rent, utilities, groceries, and all the other things that go along with it. He is learning quickly just how responsible he is going to have to be. He has numerous stories of people he knew would blow through their paychecks because they didn’t know the first thing about budgeting and saving. As soon as the money hit their account, they wanted to spend it – and in some cases, all of it!
Because of the many tools available through Summit Credit Union, this transition should be fairly easy. We will be able to pass on much of the knowledge we have learned while being in Project Money. We can easily set up a budget with him and set up auto transfers for his rent and utilities. We can also set up savings accounts to help him put money away for monthly expenses (groceries, gas, entertainment) as well as making sure he is saving throughout the year for his car insurance, renter’s insurance and an emergency savings for those unexpected things that pop up. He will be able to use Summit’s Climbr® to keep track of his budget, his upcoming bills, and when he gets paid.
This move will also be another change for us – we’ll be empty nesters again! Our budget will most certainly change. Our grocery bill and utilities will be the first place we see a reduction. Before the first of the year, we will review our yearly budget and make some adjustments in these categories. Less money spent means more money going into our savings!
It is so gratifying for us to know that we can help our son be financially successful from the start. We will be able to pass on strategies that he can utilize for the rest of his life.