The Power to Choose
In 1990, a group of visionary women established The Women’s Resource on the founding belief that a woman who controls her finances controls her destiny. Our mission is to help women and girls make choices toward becoming independent, productive, and financially stable.
At the core of our mission is the idea that every woman has within her the power to choose her own destiny. We just give her the tools she needs to make an informed choice, and then support her along her journey to financial security and success.
Furthermore, we realize that every woman’s idea of success is different. You do not have to look any further than the staff here at TWR to see what that means in practice. I asked each one of our staff members to share what their financial goals are and what they would consider to be success in achieving those goals. Those two basic questions produced very different answers:
Christine: “My goals have changed over time. When I began, my main focus was on savings, but now it’s so automated that I don’t have to think about it anymore. Now my focus is about becoming debt free in advance of my kids going to college and to be able to cash flow at least a portion of their college education. I will consider success being able to send my kids to college with a minimum amount of debt and have my kids learn the importance of not getting in over your head and the benefits of delayed gratification.”
Kelly: “I want to focus on budgeting every month, sticking to our budget and ultimately increasing our savings. I have seen the power of a budget. When you take the time to make a budget and actually live by it, it really does help you save money and accomplish your goals. Success for me will be having actually increased our savings in a meaningful way.”
Rhonda: “My goal is to get all of my bills paid every month and ensure that I am making the right sacrifices in my budget, so that even through this time of financial struggle, my credit won’t be impacted. I will know I have been successful when I get back to a point to where I’m paying my bills, paying down my student loans and am saving for a home.”
Katrina: “My goal is full financial freedom. I want to pay off my house so I have no debt and invest more so I can reach that goal. Success for me will be having the ability to do what I want, when I want, in the manner that I want to without having to worry about my finances.”
Jessika: “I want to buy a home, which means getting myself to watch my budget and plan for something bigger. My idea of success will be committing to my goal and really standing by it.”
Sabrina: “I would like to be able to put something aside for savings, which means being able to pay my bills and have a little something extra to save. Success for me will be able to get through college with a minimum amount of debt and student loans.”
Alicia: “Our goal is to remain debt free. To achieve that goal, we are attempting to fully fund our upcoming adoption through savings and potentially through applying for grant funding. We are also trying to pay down our mortgage ahead of schedule. Success for us will be to have a healthy savings so that we can stay debt free.“
Turns out, that despite working with each other day in and day out to promote financial education, we do not all have the same financial goals. Each member of our staff has unique needs and a unique definition of success, just like the women we serve every day. That is why we work hard to ensure that our programming meets the needs of all women, no matter where they are in their lives or what their goals are. We want every woman to have the power to choose the life she wants to live.
