Sarah’s Journey

“Growing up in Stoughton, my parents didn’t have money. We limited things and how we used things. My earliest memory of money was that I was a dancer and dance was expensive. My parents said, ‘If you want to keep doing this, you have to figure out how to contribute to this.’” Sarah remembers being 11 or 12 when she had to go to her dance teacher and tell her that she couldn’t be on the team anymore.

This formed an early negative relationship with money because Sarah felt stuck, unable to dance. Luckily, her teacher figured out a way for her to teach tap and ballet to four-year-olds four times a week to pay for her own dance classes. Her upbringing shaped lifelong money habits.

“My parents were not financially savvy. They did not instill financial practices in me and I saw them struggle with money growing up,” says Sarah. “Now as an adult I realize how much I function in a scarcity mindset and so much of that stems from when I was young. Behaviors are hard-wired in us. I confront my scarcity mentality every day.”

She says many people don’t dig into the root issue behind their decisions, and they may keep doing the same thing and wondering what’s wrong with them. Often at financial institutions, people don’t feel comfortable enough to have a conversation about what drives their financial decisions. Fostering a healthy relationship with money for some people, means overcoming and healing from financial trauma.

“How you feel about money, the reason you have certain thoughts or buying habits, stems from your formative years,” says Sarah. “I worked with someone who was anxious about buying shoes. We discovered it was because as a child, they were only allowed one pair per year. They still carry that trigger with them, but we can work to overcome that.” 

Others may have online shopping addictions or credit card debt. For one of Sarah’s clients, the root cause of credit card debt was traveling a lot for work, and feeling guilty about being away from their family. For others, a stressful workday leads to increased spending. 

The Finance Complex

Like many of us, Sarah thought banking was all numbers and calculations. She also realized just  how many of the financial policies and practices were created by white men for white men. 

“Being a woman in finance wasn’t fun to navigate as a college student,” says Sarah. She even took up golfing so she could leave the office at 3 p.m. every day, so that as a woman, I would have permission to leave the office at 3pm from time to time, just like the men. And she noticed people were treated differently based on their gender, race and age – ultimately impacting the types of financial services they could access. She switched her major from Finance to Sociology and Human Resources. 

“I feel very strongly that banking is more about the human element of things than it is about the numbers. People don’t realize you can have people skills and care about social things and still work in finance.”

Sarah graduated from college and started working for a community bank in California. She witnessed young people coming in and navigating finances for their parents who didn’t speak English, without financial knowledge themselves. She also noticed people taking advice directly from tellers, who did not have the person’s complete financial picture in mind. These experiences sparked her interest in working with families to educate them, as well as advocate for change to financial products and services at the national level. 

The Credit Union Difference

Sarah joined Summit Credit Union, a non profit organization,  in 2012 and worked her way up from Branch Manager to the Managing VP of Financial Empowerment. In her current role, she oversees Summit’s education programs for youth and adults – everything from classroom presentations to financial coaching. Programs like Project Teen Money help young adults save, spend smartly and give back to the community. 

“When I step into high schools today and realize the programs we have to help youth, I think ‘Wow, the sky is the limit,’” says Sarah.

Summit Credit Union is one of only a handful of financial institutions nationwide that offers bank accounts for youth ages 14 and older, without a co-signer. Through branches located in all four Madison Metropolitan School Districts high schools, youth can make deposits and ask questions. During the early days of COVID, Summit’s school branches closed, causing many teens to take their paychecks directly to a payday lender. 

One of the biggest obstacles for youth was getting transportation to a Summit branch. On September 1,  2022, Summit launched a fully virtual account opening service for youth. 

“How are we creating access?” asks Sarah. “We’re trying to get youth and teens away from bad choices before it compounds.”

Sarah and her team try to help people save for things while celebrating success along the way. They don’t want anyone to feel backed into a corner with only one place to go.

“I was doing a session with 11 year olds and one asked, ‘what should I be saving for?’ I asked, ‘what do you want right now?’” says Sarah. “It’s this concept that we have to pay ourselves for our future first. It’s about building the habit.”

“Pay yourself for your future. The more you have put away, the more choices you have. That’s all we want for people. The more choices you have, the happier you’ll be in life.”

For people in stable financial situations, she asks, “What are your dreams? What are you trying to achieve?” She recommends celebrating success along the way so you don’t get discouraged or feel limited.

“Financial wellbeing is a journey,” says Sarah. “It’s a state of happiness that’s in constant flux. Your buoyancy, or how can you maintain that without tipping your boat is what we want – but it’s fleeting.”

For people who find themselves in an unstable financial situation, she asks, “What are things that cause you stress and why? Once we understand what got you there, we can better help you get out of it.”

Future Goals

In a world where Sarah’s Financial Empowerment team would no longer be needed, communities would be connected to free resources so they could make smart financial choices/decisions. 

She encourages us to support financial reforms such as student loan forgiveness programs at the federal level. When someone is faced with an overwhelming medical bill or student loan debt, it creates a lack of confidence. “They don’t want to come and talk to a bank because they’re afraid,” says Sarah. Her advice for individuals is: “Talk to someone, avoiding it is going to make it worse and you will need someone with financial knowledge to help you create a plan..” 

Several nonprofits in the region offer financial advice at no cost. If you prefer not to go to a financial institution, go to a nonprofit organization that’s unbiased and can offer education. 

Madison is having conversations about services the city can offer in the future. We continue to work with city leaders to find more channels to provide free financial empowerment resources for all. 

Additional Resources:

• • United Way 211
  • Bank On – Milwaukee
  • Social Development Corporation – Milwaukee
  • NAMI Dane County – free counseling for families or individuals in crisis or dealing with mental health issues that may impact finances.
  • Tenant Resources Center
  • Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin
  • Summit Credit Union -Financial Tools

* From Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health