Financial Roadmap
Household Budgeting Training
Community Need:
We all understand the importance of early intervention with financial literacy – The 3R Foundation recognizes the need to educate our community, whatever the age, on the basic building blocks of creating a budget and the importance of managing our day-to-day expenses. Outlined below are a few facts:
- Akron has the second highest eviction rate of any city in Ohio and one of the highest in the country, according to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University.
- Akron is rated #8 in the top 10 most stressed cities in the U.S., according to WalletHub survey. The four dimensions are studied by WalletHub were: Work Stress, Financial Stress, Family Stress, and Health and Safety Stress.
- Akron came in 16th in Financial Stress, 6th in Family Stress, and 8th in Health and Safety Stress.
“Too many Americans lack comprehensive financial literacy, which causes them to have lower credit scores, prevents them from getting credit with good interest rates and lowers the amount of wealth they build throughout their life, among other negative consequences. Because financial literacy is so essential, states should prioritize teaching it from a young age. It’s not surprising that the most financially literate states all require personal-finance education before students graduate from high school.” Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst
3R’s approach to community issues is to bring a team of non-profit organizations together to help individuals in need.
Objective
To provide basic financial training and support for the Akron community by educating individuals in the importance of creating and executing a Financial Roadmap.
Purpose
- A different approach to financial education in the Akron community.
- Break the generational cycle of debt, governmental financial dependence and non-profit assistance.
- Building relationships with individuals that are not transactional, but long lasting with purpose.
- Working with broad set of Akron agencies to address the holistic needs of individuals.
Goals
- Build a network for the students to rely on as the navigate their Financial Roadmap.
- Every graduate leaves the class with a budget, an understanding of their expenses, their current state of debt (and dangers of debt) and the importance of national financial scoring systems (FICO).
- Every graduate of the program is assigned a seasoned resource to assist with difficult financial decisions.
- Build an alignment of collaborative resources for students to ensure financial success such as job search assistance, housing, banking assistance etc.
Tactics:
- Build an alignment of collaborative resources for students to ensure financial success (job search assistance, housing, banking assistance etc).
- Assess student needs to develop an individual game plan.
- During each class, interact with the financial resources assigned.
- Each class has homework assignments to build a meaningful budget.
- Case studies are reviewed in class
- Every student is assessed on what help is needed then individual non-profit organizations are contacted to assist. These needs range from employment, housing, credit rating improvement, re-entry programs etc.
- The financial training is conducted at multiple non-profit locations.
Class Content
Class 1 focuses on current/future state of the student, spending habits, cultural norms and expense tracking. Three case studies are reviewed and as homework each student is to track their expenses for the length of the course. We request each student to define what additional help is needed to start their individual assessments.
Class 2 is a deep dive into debt. This ranges from types of debt to the cost of debt. Included in this class is FICO score and building a plan to eliminate debt. The homework from this class is to develop a list of their debt and the impact of monthly cost of that debt. Individual assessments are completed, and resources are assigned to help.
Class 3 is primarily focused on the types and quality of their financial decisions. This includes discussions about fixed versus variable expenses, and the importance of lifestyle choices.
Class 4 finalizes and reviews the budgets for each person. In this class we assign one of our volunteers to “walk alongside the participant” … providing a valuable resource that they can call upon when they are facing a difficult financial decision. This important class covers career development, loan and debt consolidation, reduction of expenses and more.
A Financial Roadmap!
Success Stories
Suzie attended our first course in October 2024. She was financially distressed. Her fiancé left her with 5 credit cards maxed out, 4 months behind in mortgage payments and 2 car loans. Simply stated she was over $20K in past due debt, in addition to her day-to-day expenses. She took our course and put together her Roadmap she accomplished the following:
- Sold one car
- Consolidated her credit card debt-and paid them off
- Worked with the bank and paid 2 months of her past due mortgage and had the balance put to the end of the loan
- Took a second (part time) job
Suzie is on solid footing. When she entered the class, she had a hard time holding the tears back. Today she is working at Amazon (full-time) and Dollar General (on the weekends).
Gerry attended the October 2024 class. He is 76 years old living on a railroad pension but had over $28K in credit card debt. After building his financial Roadmap in the class he accomplished the following.
- Sold his house and moved to an apartment
- Paid off all his credit card debt
- Has a solid plan with his wife on how to manage their monthly expenses and avoid taking on more credit card debt.
Heather was part of the October 2024 class. She has a dream of owning her own home. She built her financial Roadmap, but while she was getting pre-qualified for a mortgage, she discovered her mother had taken out a credit card in her name and owed $4K. Working with our resource team she is paying off her credit card debt and has moved into an apartment in Middlebury neighborhood. “The Well” an Akron based community development organization for Middlebury owns properties, that when she is ready, will be willing to help her purchase.
Demitrius took our January class. He built his financial Roadmap, which included joining Skypoint – sober living. He is living at Skypoint as he works on his sobriety and is looking for a part-time job. He has enrolled for CNC training at the Akron CNC training center. Demitrius has been a role model in the class by helping others.
Resources
As we grow, we are always welcoming additional resources…volunteers…” along siders”! Our current team includes:
Chuck McGonigle – 20-year P&G international executive and 20 years working as CEO for multiple CPG companies.
Ron Conte – 40+ years of Tax Accounting for individuals and businesses. 7 years as principle of Buckeye Mortgage Group.
Tom Segatta – 35+ years at Goodyear as chief engineer and project manager. 7 years as volunteer with VITA as tax preparer and site coordinator at the Financial Empowerment in Akron.
Phyllis Anderson – 30+ years of experience in Residential Mortgage Lending, currently specializing in Low to Moderate income borrowers with 5/3 Bank. Areas of focus include: credit counseling through several Summit County Non-Profit Organizations, educating the community on homeownership, pride in homeownership and building generational wealth.
Greg McDermott – 40+ years of experience in financial services, working with individuals as well as private and public companies representing national advisory firms and a local national bank. Areas of focus include Financial Planning, Trust, Employee Benefits, Retirement Planning and Insurance.
Steven Schloenbach – 11 Years Trust Audit/Compliance Officer at First National Bank/First Merit (1985-1996), 29 years Chief Financial Officer at Akron Community Foundation (1996 – present). Maintains the integrity of the community foundation’s financial and accounting systems & works diligently to preserve the transparency of the community foundation for its constituency.
Dave Maynard – Global Senior Executive with 35+ years of broad-based, cross-functional experience in Building Materials and Industrial Products markets. A respective, value-based leader who utilizes a collaborative operating style to deliver business objectives.
Chris Misanko – a 50+ year sales executive in the steel industry and nationally/globally in the industrial packaging field.
Dee Girard – 24+ years of Retail Banking experience and is currently an Assistant Manager and Certified Lender at Flagstar Bank in West Akron. Dee has a passion for education and has been involved in this area for 20+ years, including designing & implementing a financial literacy program for at-risk teens and young adults. She has partnered with Life Skills Center, Paths, Junior Achievement, Akron Public Schools, Akron Rec Bureau and is a multi-year VITA tax volunteer
Buzz Pelland – President, The 3R Foundation. Retired president of ALDA Advisors, Inc., a firm offering financial planning to individuals and businesses. Served as Finance Director for the City of Fairlawn for 20+ years. Most important…a lifetime dedicated to community service in Akron supporting those most in need.
Shawn Bonner – Since 2014 Shawn has worked with diverse populations facilitating life skills in prevention as a strong supporter of personal growth and development. He is a co-founder of The 3R Foundation, conducts the Summit County Citizens Circle, participates in the Summit County Reentry Coalition and currently serves as the Director of Community Engagement with South Street Ministries. Because of his own experiences, his life was documented in a book…” The Hell and Back Gang”.
Donovan Harris – has dedicated himself to creating a positive change in Akron. He bringing help, hope, and opportunity to the community. Born and raised in Akron, with a deep commitment to creating positive change, Donovan works tirelessly to address local challenges and uplift those most in need. Whether through outreach, community programs, or partnerships with local organizations, he strives to make Akron a better place for everyone. His efforts continue to inspire others to act and contribute to building a stronger, more resilient community. He is a co-founder of the 3R Foundation.
Reference:
https://wallethub.com/edu/most-least-stressed-cities/22759
For more information contact
The 3R Foundation
330-310-4335
Akron3R@gmail.com