News Articles

5-5-07 News Journal Business Section Features Money Smart Class Participant

By THOMAS S. BROWN
Business Writer

DELAND -- Pat Williams remembers being taught by her parents to be thrifty when she was growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y.

"I had my little savings-account passbook at elementary school, and every Tuesday we'd bring in our quarters to add to our accounts," Williams said.

But years later, after starting her career as a massage therapist, the financial lessons of her girlhood were forgotten and she found herself seriously in debt.

"I was one of those people who wouldn't open the mail or answer the telephone because I knew it was going to be someone wanting their money," Williams said.

Four years ago, she left New York and moved to DeLand to help care for her widowed mother. As part of starting over in a small, quiet town, Williams resolved to regain control of her finances. A year ago, at the urging of Donna Banks, a Spring Hill neighborhood activist, she enrolled in Money Smart, a free 10-hour course in household money management. Now, at 53, Williams has returned to the disciplined routine she was taught as a girl.

"I have a journal and keep track of everything I buy. I keep receipts for everything -- they're the receipts of my life," she said.

She's also become a shrewder shopper, sticking to shopping lists at supermarkets and avoiding impulse purchases at convenience stores. She's urging friends to open up no-fee bank accounts instead of paying check-cashing fees to stores or payday loan shops.

Money Smart is a self-help program that was launched locally last spring by the Campaign for Working Families, a coalition of area nonprofits and banks helping low- and middle-income people to improve their finances. More than 400 area residents have taken the classes, organizers report.

The course uses materials developed by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the agency that insures most bank and thrift accounts. Topics include the basics of banking, budgeting, record-keeping, understanding credit reports, using credit cards wisely and preparing for home ownership.

"It was very elementary," Williams said of the class. "A lot of the things I knew already, but that was all right. I needed a reminder."

Williams said one of the more valuable things she gained was more self-confidence in dealing with bankers and creditors.

"If you don't deal with your bills, then the bills will deal with you" she said. "Ninety percent of the time a business will help you out if you just call them up and say, 'Here is my situation -- this is what I can afford to do right now and what I can pay later.' "

After getting her personal finances in order, Williams moved on and scraped together enough money to open her own massage studio, pEssentials, to supplement massage work she does at the West Volusia YMCA. (The "p" in her company name stands not only for Pat but also various guiding words for her enterprise, such as pure, poised, positive, precise and priority.) The business opened in March in the Conrad Building, 112 W. New York Ave.

"The lessons I learned about keeping track of my own money are now being used in my business," Williams said.

Williams took her Money Smart class at the Spring Hill Resource Center, but most students have received the training at DeLand's One-Stop Career Centers, a state-financed employment agency, said Loretta Wilary, Money Smart's coordinator. The program is seeking large employers and nonprofits to host future classes.

"This makes sense for an employer to offer," Wilary said. "If their employees get better at handling money, they'll be less likely to jump to another company for 50 cents more an hour."