Call Kurtis: MoneyWork$ Class Pays You to Attend
These days, just about everyone could all use a little financial advice. We learned about a program that actually pays you to fix your finances. It's a six month program with lessons from financial experts and one-on-one counseling with a financial coach.
MoneyWork$ is a financial literacy program offered by Sacramento non-profit group Opening Doors. It costs $50 for an individual to sign up and $75 for a couple. But if you complete the course, you'll get double your money back.
It's a big day for William Ferris. It's graduation day. He's celebrating his completion of MoneyWork$.
"We paid off two credit cards and now we're putting the same amount of money that we were spending on the cards into our savings," says Ferris.
The program is open to people above the poverty line, but below the self-sufficiency standard.
"And really what that means is people who have some income from work, but they're still struggling to make ends meet," says Opening Doors Deputy Director, Debra DeBondt.
DeBondt says the program teaches everything from how to read your credit report, to creating a budget, to buying your first house.
"The purpose of MoneyWork$ is really to empower people to make decisions about how they're spending their money," says DeBondt.
"What I learned was that there was emotions tied to those decisions. And that I had to own those emotions, as opposed to just act on them," says Dianne Segura, another recent MoneyWork$ grad.
Living on just part-time wages, she says thanks to the program, she was able to pay down some debt, get a substantial savings account going and get her spending in check.
"I can say I've spent no more than $40 in the last two weeks. I would have never done that six months, eight months ago," says Dianne.
After successfully completing the program she and William are getting their class fee refunded two-fold.
"Nothing to lose, everything to gain," says Ferris.
Opening Doors funds the MoneyWork$ program through donors. There are 15 classes total. They meet every Tuesday for the first three months, and then once a month for the last three months.
Classes meet at the One Stop Career Center on Hillsdale Blvd. in Sacramento, but you need to sign up, by calling opening doors at 916-492-2591 or sending an email to nele@openingdoors.org. For more information go to their website www.openingdoorsinc.org.
