Financial Coaching Helps Mom Save
BSP's financial coaching has helped Merecdes save for the future
Mercedes Sayula Beleche is a property service worker from Southern California.
She has actively participated in BSP’s Financial Literacy classes to improve her financial management skills and work toward her long-term goals. Although Mercedes was already a diligent saver, she sought additional tools and strategies to enhance her efforts and reach her ambitious savings target of $10,000.
BSP’s financial coaching focused on helping her develop a plan tailored to her specific circumstances with the overall goal of savings. This included reviewing monthly expenses, identifying unnecessary expenses, organizing bill payments and budgeting.
She learned various methods of budgeting such as the reverse budget method in which she prioritizes paying herself first. Other strategies discussed include automating savings and organizing bill payments.
Mercedes found financial coaching helpful as she reported the tools and strategies she learned from financial coaching have helped her shift the way she thinks about money. Through financial learning, she has learned to identify unnecessary expenses and adopt a “values-based approach” to spending in which she prioritizes spending money on things she finds important, such as buying a car or house in the future.
With tools such as budgeting, she has been able to implement strategies in which she pays herself first, prioritizing saving money. Mercedes reports that by implementing these changes into her savings strategy she is on track to accomplish her savings goal in 15 months as she has already completed 35% of her savings goal.
