The Amazing Savers contest was created by RCU to encourage community members to take charge of their financial lives through education.
The challenge
The Amazing Savers contest was created by RCU to encourage community members to take charge of their financial lives through education. RCU is a nonprofit, member-owned financial cooperative with a long history in the North Bay. It first opened for business in 1950 as Sonoma County Employees Credit Union (SCECU) to serve the needs of Sonoma County employees. Since that time, the organization has changed into one that welcomes anyone who lives, works or owns a business in eight Northern California counties, including Marin, Sonoma and Napa. It now operates 18 branches and has more than 200,000 members.
RCU was eager to find an engaging way to help people achieve financial well-being, so it modeled its contest after popular reality TV shows, where participants compete against each other in a series of challenges, chronicling their progress along the way. The winning team would be awarded $10,000. “We saw a huge opportunity to educate people about financial topics such as budgeting, goal setting, financial planning and credit,” says Brett Martinez, president/CEO at RCU. “Most people don’t receive a formal education about financial matters, but it’s an important life skill.”
After putting out a call for contestants in February 2011, RCU received nearly 100 applications. From that group, a steering committee made up of RCU employees chose five finalists, though all applicants were invited to schedule appointments with an RCU financial coach. Chapman says that when choosing the finalists, RCU was looking for participants who could identify specific financial goals they hoped to achieve.
The competition wasn’t just about contestants racing to save the most money, however. The coaches wanted to help them make changes that were in their best interest and could be sustained. The finalists had several responsibilities, including bimonthly meetings with their coaches where they would chart their progress, learn new skills and receive homework assignments. Participants were also asked to write a blog about their experiences, which were shared through RCU’s website and a dedicated Facebook page (the contest’s dedicated page is no longer active), and to attend several contest-related events, including the Sonoma County Fair. Over the six months of the contest, the teams were very open about sharing their struggles and successes on the path to changing their financial futures.
Team Campbell
Angela and Tom Campbell of Sebastopol have been managing the delicate balancing act of caring for their family and their landscape contracting and design business for years, and they were looking for a way to finally feel in control of their finances. They’d been able to pay off their consumer debt, but between their two teenage boys, Nicholas and Christopher, only years from college, caring for Angela’s mother, Destiny, who lives with the family, and facing their own retirement needs, they weren’t sure what to tackle next.
Together with their coach, Stephen Hazard, manager of RCU’s Cleveland Avenue branch in Santa Rosa, the Campbells determined their short- and long-term goals and created an action plan to achieve them. In six months, they were able to start an emergency fund, increase their monthly cash flow and create realistic budgets for their family and business. They traded in their old SUV for a new car and have found that the lower fuel costs nearly cover the new monthly payment. “Everything they put their minds to, they were successful at,” says Hazard. “Not only have they changed their lives and their habits, but they’re helping their kids [learn important financial lessons] and teaching them to be successful in the future.”
Angela Campbell can’t believe the difference the contest has made in their lives. “As a small business family, we were always behind the gun,” she says. “It baffled me that we couldn’t accomplish this before, no matter how hard we tried. I think becoming really committed and having the information to back it up has turned things around.”
This year, when workers’ compensation premiums were due, the couple didn’t have to worry, because they’d been putting money aside toward the expense for months. Tom Campbell says he and his wife feel they can be mentors to others now, because they’ve been down certain paths, made mistakes and found a way out. “Now all the puzzle pieces are in place and we can see the whole picture,” he concludes.
Team Flores
Cecilia and Antonio Flores of Santa Rosa have been married for seven years and are parents to 5-year-old Sammy. They felt like they were each earning a good living but had nothing to show for it at the end of the month and hoped to learn how to better manage their money. Working with Rene Meza, manager of RCU’s Mendocino Avenue branch in Santa Rosa, the Flores family began by creating a budget with a built-in savings plan. Meza, a father of five, says he could identify with the young family and shared many personal stories with them about the sacrifices and planning required to get ahead financially. Together, they worked to craft goals, some short-term, like having weekly family meetings about finances, as well as longer-term goals like owning their own home.
During the contest, the Floreses were able to refinance their car loan to a lower rate, start a youth savings account for Sammy, start a vacation account and increase their credit score. Most important, they began contributing to their 401(k) plans to take advantage of employer matching money. Several unexpected expenses have come up, but the family has felt the relief of having savings to cover them and has been able to get right back on track.
Cecilia says coworkers from the hospital where she works, and even strangers who have seen her in advertisements for the contest, now stop her regularly for financial advice. She listens as they tell her what they’re going through, then points them toward RCU. Flores says she’s been particularly grateful for the chance to share her new knowledge—and Meza’s phone number—with her friends and family. “They see the relief in our faces and that we’re not so stressed now,” she says. “This is one way we can help them.”
Team Jaworski
Priscilla and Dawid Jaworski of Santa Rosa moved to Sonoma County more than a year ago to raise their young son, Miko, closer to family. On arrival, they found rents to be high and jobs scarce. They moved in with Priscilla’s parents, found part-time work and watched as their savings dwindled. “We were at this really fragile point,” she says. “We wanted to focus on our finances but didn’t know what to do or how to do it.”
The Jaworskis’ biggest goals at the time were to open an emergency fund, improve their credit score and start saving for both Miko’s education and the down payment on a house. The couple worked closely with Tim Sikes, manager of RCU’s Fourth Street branch in Santa Rosa, and adjusted their budget periodically, particularly when both found full-time jobs. By the end of the contest, the family had paid off their car loan early thanks to a refinance, opened a health savings account (HSA) to prepare for future medical expenses, started Miko’s college fund and increased their credit score by more than 70 points. The biggest surprise came during the second half of the competition, when they realized they’d saved up enough for a down payment on a house. The couple closed on their first home in October.
The Jaworskis believe they represent many of their “millennial age” peers—college graduates who may have good jobs but for whom buying a home seems out of reach. “Making sacrifices and being patient has been a big part of it,” says Priscilla. “It’s hard, especially in our society, when people want nice things and can often get them right away.” Dawid says that, as a coach, Sikes went above and beyond in helping them reach their goals. “It was always about helping us find solutions,” he says. “That’s what community is all about.”
Team Lynch
Like so many people these days, Jennifer Lynch of Corte Madera had been laid off from her job as a teacher and was making ends meet by working part-time and moving home with her parents. One night, while visiting RCU’s website, she saw an ad for the “Amazing Savers” contest and realized the application deadline was just 10 minutes away. She knew this was her opportunity to get the financial education she’d needed for so long, so she quickly typed in her information and hit send.
Since being chosen, Lynch’s life and approach to spending have changed dramatically. She started a full-time teaching job, but decided to move in with a roommate instead of spending more for a place of her own. As someone who loved giving gifts and buying impulsively, she’s learning to use coupons, make some gifts by hand and limit her spending on school supplies.
Lynch has also brought the lessons she’s learned back to her fifth grade class. She set up a reward system called “Lynch’s Loot,” in which students can earn points by doing extra jobs and lose them through poor choices. Twice a month, students use the points to buy things in the classroom store, such as homework passes and pencils. While some kids can’t wait to spend their points on smaller items, others are learning to save them to use toward bigger buys, such as choosing the seating assignments for the week.
Richard De Ramon is the manager of RCU’s Novato branch and coached Lynch through the second half of the contest. He says that when he first took on the role of Lynch’s coach, he thought he was just helping one person. “Jennifer is a single woman, but I came to realize she has a family in this contest with her, too—the 28 kids in her classroom.” He did a presentation in her class on the importance of saving but found them already knowledgeable because of the lessons she’d been imparting for months.
Through her diligence, Lynch has been able to move out, raise her credit score, reduce her credit card interest rate by 22 percent, increase her savings and start a vacation fund. Her advice to others is simple. “Save right now,” she says. “Don’t wait until the next paycheck.”
Team Van Patten
Sharon Van Patten of Ukiah, who recently went back to school to receive her teaching credential, is the mother of three school-aged girls: Jessica, Kursten and Emma. She entered the contest because she knew it was time to get serious about her financial goals, including paying off her student loans and credit card debt. She also wanted to be a good role model to her girls as they learn to manage their own money. The family was paired with Kristie Strickler, manager of RCU’s new Sebastopol branch, who helped the family determine a budget and a concrete set of goals.
“It was setting those financial goals that really helped us stick to our budget,” says Van Patten. “We can see what we’re saving for and that’s given us the incentive we needed.” The family has now set up an emergency fund, a holiday account, 529 college savings accounts for the two older girls and junior savings accounts for the two younger girls. Just after the contest officially ended, Van Patten was also able to pay off her credit card debt. “Seeing results has been a huge reward,” she says. “I’d get together with Kristie sometimes and be smiling from ear to ear.”
Even after accomplishing so much, Van Patten can recite the next items on her financial to-do list by heart. They include completing her emergency fund, setting up a 529 account for Emma and a Roth IRA for herself. Van Patten’s daughters have embraced the challenge as well, and have set their own savings goals. Jessica is working to pay off her car, Kursten is saving to buy her own car next year and Emma is saving for a new pair of boots. “Money doesn’t have to give you anxiety,” says Van Patten. “You really can be in control of it.”
And the winner is…
The winner was determined by the contest’s steering committee through a combination of factors, including overall improvement in the family’s financial situation, their participation in required events, improvement in their credit scores and the results of online voting. RCU held an evening gala at its administrative headquarters in Santa Rosa on November 17 to announce the results. An excited group of more than 150 people, made up of RCU employees, community members and the contestants’ friends and families, gathered for food, wine and to cheer the accomplishments of all of the participants. Just before the winner was announced, the audience received the surprise announcement that each of the families not chosen for the grand prize would win $1,000 from RCU to put toward their financial goals.
Hands pounded the tables in a makeshift drumroll as the winner of the $10,000 prize was revealed: Team Jaworski. The confetti fell and all the teams congratulated the young family, who had moved into their first home only two days earlier. Priscilla says she’s shocked but grateful at how their lives have changed in such a short period of time.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better team,” says Sikes. “It’s a great feeling for me as a coach to see them accomplish what they set out to do.”
All of the families seem confident that the habits they’ve worked so hard to build will last a lifetime. “The work certainly doesn’t stop here,” says Meza. “The Flores family knows that RCU and I will still be available to work with them in the coming years.” RCU is hoping that by hearing the families’ first-hand stories and seeing their progress, others will be inspired to call or stop by a branch to set up their own session with a financial coach. The online worksheets and tools used by the contestants are available at www.rcuamazingsavers.org. “We’re here for everyone,” adds Strickler. “You don’t have to be a contestant to come in and talk to us. The most important message is that you can do this, too, if you’re ready to make the changes.”
