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Spending money part 2: Creating a budget

Welcome back to the TRIO Financial Literacy Blog. Currently, we are on the second phase of “spending” related to becoming more financially literate/responsible.

You had homework to complete, did you do it? If not, before reading further, go back and seriously consider ending the task laid out.

By now, you should’ve looked at your finances and have a monetary objective for your money. What habits or trends have you discovered about yourself? Where is your money going? If you are unsure or you can’t see anything good, that is ok. You are here to shed light on the issue that needs a remedy.

Daryl Singleton
Daryl Singleton

The best remedy for financial literacy is budgeting! If you are like me, budgeting is scary. It sounds like a prison for money. However, that is flawed thinking. Budgeting is the key to financial wholeness. In researching, I came across tons and tons of budgeting plans and tips. In the previous blog, we mentioned having financial goals, and this is where budgeting comes into play. It is all about working backward, seeing the end goal first, and working your way toward it from where you are. It takes sacrifice and dedication, but there is gratification in your delay if you trust the process. When you create a personal budget, you are sorting your expenses into categories to make sense of your habits to meet your set goals.

During my research, I came across a budgeting tip that is the easiest and has impressive results. It is called the 50-30-20 Rule. Here is how it works; No more than 50% of income on needs, no more than 30% of income on wants and at least 20% of income on savings or debt repayment. This budgeting model is universal and maintained by many.

Take a few days, look at your income, and follow this rule to develop a budget. In the following weeks, we will look even closer at budgeting tips and tricks to best. Let’s build!

Naima Turner’s winding road to success included a stop at SC4

Naima Turner arrived in Michigan in August 2009. She had an eight-day-old newborn and three other children aged ten, nine and two and was facing a new life as a single mother after separating from her husband. She had no income, no car, no furniture, and her only support system was her mother.

Turner had one thing going for her, though, and that was her certainty that she knew what she wanted to become, though she wasn’t quite sure how she would get there – yet. She was starting her life over again with nothing but love and determination.

She and her children stayed in her mother’s one room basement for three months until she got her own place in a trailer home. She had to ask for assistance from the Michigan Department of Human Services to survive. In order to get help from Michigan Works she needed to volunteer. So, she volunteered, cared for children, and started going to school full time at SC4, taking the prerequisite courses needed to get into the Associate Degree Nursing program.

Although Macomb Community College was closer, Turner’s aunt Crystal was already in the SC4 nursing program and recommended it to her niece. She told her that the instructors were outstanding, which Turner found out was absolutely true.

“Tami Turney, Kim Murphy, and Laurie Lamont were amazing!” Turner recalled. “They were personable, yet professional. Their compassion as nurses shone through in their roles as educators, as well. Their teaching styles were exactly what I needed to drive the subject home and help me remember. They used stories – and laughter – to help us recall difficult content and make it more applicable.”

Turner was so inspired by her SC4 instructors that she decided to follow in their footsteps and become a nursing instructor herself.

“Nursing is about so much more than just skills and knowledge,” she explained. “It’s also about the standards and characteristics that the profession requires and demands. I love being able to contribute to the development of extraordinary nurses who go out and serve our communities.”

Turner completed her ADN degree at SC4 in May 2013, then continued her education at Chamberlain University, getting her BSN and her MSN degrees there. For her MSN, she majored in nursing education. She’s currently completing her DNP degree at Chamberlain and expects to graduate this year.

She’s served for nearly eight years as a staff nurse in obstetrics, including labor and delivery, antepartum, and post-partum care; as a clinical instructor in OB and pediatrics; a didactic nursing instructor, and is currently the Director of Nursing for a program in California.

Her experience getting started at SC4 left a lasting impression of the value of a community college education.

“It’s priceless,” Turner said. “It’s vital for communities to accommodate adult learners, their schedules, and their lives, while enabling them to reach their goals and dreams. Community colleges aren’t as costly but are just as reliable and valuable when it comes to the education and experience gained. Students who choose community colleges receive a great educational experience and go on to do great things.”

Turner is certainly an example of that. Despite her difficulties when she moved to Michigan a decade ago, her current success is inspiring and shows the power of self-determination and hard work.

“It was extremely rough and difficult, but I persevered despite all the difficulties and barriers,” Turner said. “God is merciful, and he saw me through it all. If someone is determined to reach their goals, no circumstance or obstacle can deter or stop them. No matter where you are, where you’re destined to be and who you’re destined to become is a realty that only you can make come true.”

TRIO Student of the Month – Adam Baszewski

Soon after starting at SC4, Adam Baszewski experienced something many new college students do: a need for some extra help to get through some of his more challenging classes. He heard about SC4’s TRIO Student Support Services program and decided to check it out.

“I needed some support with some assignments that I was having difficulties with,” Baszewski explained. “TRIO helped me by providing a tutor for an advanced class, which helped me succeed.”

He soon discovered that TRIO offers more than just academic help.

“They also offered to help me with my career planning,” he said. “I plan to use that to my advantage soon.”

Baszewski lives in SC4’s Campus Housing, which gives him some additional peace and quiet.

“I’d recommend TRIO to others because it helps people with disabilities,” he said. “and they can help you plan your future.”

Baszewski will be seeking a job as a website developer with a “company with a good reputation.” For all of his success and growth as a student, Adam Baszewski is the TRIO Student of the Month for April 2021.