The Equifax Foundation is dedicated to helping people Build Financial Capability Because, a single financial opportunity Can change the trajectory of families and communities for generations.

Learn more at Equifax.com/foundation ♪ I've got a brand new feelin' - I'm Jacqueline Schadeck, and I'm soon to be your favorite certified financial planner.

- My name's Chris Corinthian.

I'm a financial literacy expert and financial coach.

♪ Ready for action.

- We are a professional powerhouse.

♪ I've got a brand new feelin' - [Jacqueline] So I handle the numbers.

- [Chris] And I try to see what is their relationship with money?

- So we meld the two together to give you the most financial empowerment.

♪ And I'm feelin' good - Chris, we are making our way right outside of Atlanta, Georgia, to go meet up with our mentee, Miss Taylor.

- Okay, okay.

- Ready to meet Taylor?

- I am so super excited to meet Taylor, yes.

- I think this is gonna be great.

So the team has supplied us with some super top secret information on Miss Taylor.

- Okay, come on with it.

- [Jacqueline] Should we dive in?

- Let's dive in, let's go.

- [Jacqueline] So, Taylor, she is actually a single mom with two kids.

She works for a local bank, and she also has another job that she works on the side for additional income.

- My name is Taylor Roach.

I'm 28 years old, and I work for a local financial institution.

I make $45,000 annually and an additional $1,200 on top of that a month.

I'm just having a hard time budgeting.

I'm always ending up in the red at the end of the month rather than in the green.

So definitely trying to get help on how can I save more money, how can I make sure I have enough money to pay for my expenses to live my everyday life?

(upbeat music) - Hi, Taylor.

- Yes, nice to meet you.

- Jacqueline, nice to meet you.

- How you doin', nice to meet you, absolutely.

- First impression of Taylor when I saw her was I got this real genuine energy from her.

She just seemed to be really sweet and a little bit soft spoken, so I'm hopin' that we can get in there and get some of the financial details that we need, get some of that story, so that we can really understand her so we can make an effective plan.

So give us a little bit of your backstory.

It sounds like you have a lot of family who depends on you.

- Grew up in a single parent home, money's tight, so I couldn't do a lotta things that other people could do or save like other people could.

Things got really hard because my mom, she got hurt at her job, so she was out of work.

So everything really fell on me, so when we moved here to Georgia, I was paying rent, school, stuff for my little brother.

I was working two full-time jobs and a part-time job, struggling, like, I'm drowning, and I can't get above the water.

I said, "But if you ask me if I have it, "I'll give it to you."

- It sounds like you've been in a situation where you've always given to other people.

When do you take time to take care of Taylor?

- I don't.

It's so bad because I put everyone before me, before my own happiness, before my own financial needs, everything.

I make sure everyone is good, and then I'm like on the back burner.

I don't get to myself unless it's like an emergency.

Like it's a constant circle, and I can't break the cycle.

- What has you so focused now, that you're ready to make a change, like, you're ready to move forward?

Because we can help you, but until you make the decision, we can only do so much.

So why is it now that you're so motivated to make the change?

- My kids.

I have two little boys, that I'm the sole parent of them, sole custodial parent of them, and they just have me.

They don't have anyone else.

I want to make sure that they have a better life than I did, and if I can provide that, if that means mommy gotta work 17 jobs, then mommy gotta work 17 jobs.

I just don't wanna be a walking contradiction.

I work in finance, and I tell people all day how they can improve their finances, and I've seen it happen in front of my eyes.

I've helped someone come out of financial hardship, but I can't get myself out.

So I definitely wanna take the tools and resources and the advice that you give me because I need it.

- So we're hearing that you wanna create a plan for financial stability, and you want there to be longevity in that plan for you and your children.

So I think we've got some good information here.

I'm really confident that we can make a solid plan for her.

- I am too.

- I was raised by a single mom, so I'm looking forward to digging into Taylor's story and understanding how exactly she's piecing together everything for her family.

- Hey, how you doin'?

- [Jacqueline] Hey Chris, come on in.

- Got a few minutes?

- Yeah, come on in.

I can't wait to design this plan for Taylor.

She has given so much to other people, and it's time for her to really take personal responsibility, accountability, and have some support in her financial journey.

So I think this is gonna be great.

I'm going to work with her on the numbers.

I want her to get really comfortable with where she is, so she can understand where she's going.

So that means we've gotta look at the budget, we've gotta look at the credit score.

What do you have for her?

- I'm going to work with her on boundaries and confidence.

I think those are the two critical areas, where if she focuses on those areas and improves it, I think that's gonna set her up for success in every other area of her life.

I'm really excited about coming up with a strategy that's gonna help her with her boundaries, learning how to say no, learning how to speak up for herself, go for the things that she wants, and have the positive attitude to know that she's gonna get it.

- Good morning.

- Hey, how are you?

Come on in.

- I'm happy, how are you?

- Good, good, have a seat for me.

- Thank you.

- Today, I'm planning to get into budgeting, credit, and overall financial stability for Taylor.

We're gonna do a couple exercises that are gonna help her to understand better how to manage these.

Today, I want us to go over these financial topics and how they play a part in you creating this financial life that you want to for yourself.

Okay.

- Sounds great.

- Sound good?

- [Taylor] Yeah.

- Perfect.

On the sticky notes we have budget, increasing income, credit, quality time.

All of these pieces are gonna lead her to financial stability, which is her end goal.

So tell me a little bit about your credit.

Have you looked up your credit score recently?

- Probably like last month.

It is not the best.

- Give me a numerical value.

- It's like maybe 550.

- 550.

In our society, the credit score is everything to your financial life.

It's a literal snapshot of your financial picture.

Now, not having good credit can hinder you from home ownership.

It can hinder you from having the vehicle that you would like, and it can even keep you from some jobs.

So you can come back from 550, which is great, right, because your credit profile runs anywhere from zero all the way up to 850.

One of the most important parts that people overlook with credit is utilizing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Have you ever heard of the CFPB?

- Yes, I'm not familiar with it, but I have heard it.

- So this is a site that you can go to that is set up to help consumers understand their rights with credit.

So I had a personal situation with the CFPB, right, and so I actually utilized them to help me save my money and my financial status.

Had I not had the CFPB'S protection, I wouldn't have been able to get past owing all of these fees and everything that the financial institution was imposing on me.

So I want you to understand that as a consumer, you have a lot more rights when it comes to your credit and making sure that your credit score is accurately reflecting everything that is a true part of your financial picture and you're not being held liable for things that you shouldn't be held liable for.

- Yeah, I definitely did not know that, so that's very insightful.

'Cause my car, I had definitely had a situation, even though I didn't have gap insurance, but the insurance was covering it, and I feel like they were still charging me.

- The CFPB can be a real good support system.

Taylor right now feels like her financial picture is in just a storm, and right now, she's making about $45,000 a year.

She has her two sons that she's caring for.

We know that the majority of her income is going towards childcare and transportation, which is necessary.

And so the most important thing here that I'm seeing is really not that you're terrible with your budgeting, not that you're not taking care of things like you're supposed to, what I'm seeing is an income gap.

So I'm seeing that you're not making enough money.

One thing I realized when I started my personal finance journey was that you cannot budget your way to wealth.

So while Taylor needs to have a solid budget in place to make sure that she's not overspending, one of the most important things for us to focus on is increasing her income.

She needs more income, so that she can cover the cost of her life and her boys.

I'm not really seeing that you're overspending.

It doesn't seem like you have like any crazy vices that we need to rein in, so I think you're doing pretty good with your budgeting.

I think the issue here is income, and so we need to get you making more money.

And so I know that you were finishing a certificate recently to make a little bit more income at your job.

Can you share a little bit about your plan there?

- It was a certification in business management and strategy 'cause at one point, I was gonna pivot towards business banking at my company.

I had got into this development program that they do through the company.

I went on leave, so that kinda put a halt to that because I wasn't readily available.

- [Jacqueline] Maternity leave?

- Yeah, I went on maternity leave.

It still is something I can achieve, but it will be next year, 'cause it won't open back up until next February.

- So life must have been really hard, if you kinda had to put everything on pause for maternity leave.

- Yeah, it was very hard.

Money wasn't there, support wasn't there.

My mental mind frame wasn't there.

I was just like a walking body.

- I've seen this before, where depression and feeling down on yourself can hinder you financially.

So what do you think you need to do to make sure you're not in that space again?

I know postpartum is a completely different animal, but moving forward, we wanna make sure that you're in a good mental space 'cause your mental health matters.

What do you think is gonna help you in that arena?

- Just being able to provide without having to worry about anything, so that's like the biggest thing.

So definitely increasing my income will be a big, big, big beneficial help to me because that's the main objective.

The more money I have, the more I can help and the more I can contribute to giving my children a better life.

- I think one of the best things to do in preparation for this position is to start having those conversations with those higher-ups and just asking them, "Hey, this position pays about $100,000 a year.

"What are the skills that you're looking for "for a candidate in that role?"

So that you can make sure that you're very clear about what's needed for that position.

And in this time span of the next year, you can be working on building those skills, so that you can be ready for that interview, crush it, and start making six figures.

- Yeah.

- [Jacqueline] Sound good?

- That sounds great.

- Okay, give me some confidence here, some confidence, some energy, some yes.

- Yes, yes, that sounds amazing, yes.

- Okay, good, good.

As a fellow woman in finance, I can understand how intimidating it can be to wanna take new opportunities at work.

It can oftentimes just seem easier to kinda stay in your shell and in your comfort zone.

I really want to encourage Taylor to step out of that comfort zone and to step into her financial power.

I wanna show that I'm living proof, right, so I'm only a couple years older than you and I come from a very similar background, single mom, grew up with almost nothing, bouncing around from place to place.

And I want you to know that at a certain point, you need to make a promise to yourself that you're never gonna be broke again and that you're never gonna be in the situation that you're in, where you're spending above your means and you can't make ends meet.

The opportunities are endless, when you decide to make a promise to yourself and then you keep it.

So I'm really hopeful that this is the promise you're making to yourself, and you're gonna be a financial success.

- Yes.

I feel really good.

I feel like we're gonna come to a really good plan and have some really good ideas to make sure that I am meeting the goals that I need to meet.

I got a better understanding of a lot of the information that she said, and then also it just helped make me feel more confident.

- So hey, Taylor.

- Hey, Chris.

- Do you know where we're goin'?

- I don't, what are we doing today?

- Okay, well you're just gonna have to see.

(both laugh) - I'm not gonna get my hands dirty, am I?

- Probably, no, I'm just playin'.

I think you're gonna like it, so.

- Okay.

- Let's get on out.

- I trust you.

- Yeah, yeah, let's get on out, and let's check it out, okay.

I'm taking Taylor to the plant shop to really show the symbolism between this new life that she's about to experience.

- This one's cute.

- [Salesperson] Thinkin' you wanna go with that one?

- Yeah, I think so.

- [Salesperson] That's a wonderful choice.

- I want her to be able to pour into herself.

Some of the pain points that I wanna address with Taylor more specifically is when it comes to setting boundaries for herself.

I want her to understand that it's okay to look out for Taylor.

How about we get this plant in this pot?

- Right.

(both laugh) - All right, cool, so I'll let you do the honors.

So you can go ahead and pour some of this into here, yeah.

Pour some of this just in here, just at the bottom right.

I really wanna hone in on just this change, right, because the last thing I want to happen is us go through this, talk about all these plans and everything, but then we talked about that cycle repeating, like, that's what I don't wanna see happen, right.

The two areas really that I see moving you forward the best are that confidence, right, and setting boundaries, setting healthy boundaries.

- Yeah.

- So Taylor can take care of Taylor, take care of Cairo, and take care of Carter, right.

- Growing up in my family, we're very close, so everyone helps everyone in a sense.

But sometimes, I always felt like it was more my job to help everyone than anybody else.

- 'Cause I know you shared that in the past, you've always done for others out of a feeling of obligation and guilt because there are people in your life who have helped you.

And you can acknowledge that, but you have to make the decision to say, "I appreciate your help, "I appreciate you helping me get this far, "but I'm not going to do this."

It's not even, "I can't do it," it's just, "No, I'm not going to do this."

And you have to be comfortable to be able to say that.

- Sometimes, it's okay to say no to family.

It's okay to break and have healthy boundaries with your family and people that you're always constantly helping, because at the end of the day, you have to pour into you.

So I have to pour into myself and know that it's okay, I don't have to help everyone.

I can't help everyone, and even if I can, sometimes I don't need to.

- I think this is gonna be an important part right here.

and before you pour it in, I want you to think about what is it that you're gonna be pouring into yourself, right.

If it's words of affirmation, if it's love, if it's confidence, if it's positive thinking, if it's setting bigger goals than I could ever dream of.

I want you, you can come up with every, there's no wrong answer, but every time I want you to pour, I want you to think about what it is that you're pouring into this new life that you're about to have.

- I got it, love, my boys, confidence and assertiveness.

I want you to just pour a little bit of water at a time, that taking care of her personal financial life is a lot like taking care of a plant.

I wanna merge the two together, so that plant can be a reminder of how she can actually nurture and take care of herself in that same way.

And I think with that, it'll be more than just a plant hopefully, and this is somethin' that can remind you each and every day.

Like, when things try to get you down, when things might go off track, it's like, what are these things that can really contribute to, as a reminder, right.

This is different, right (laughs).

- I actually wasn't gonna get my hands dirty.

- Right, you did say that, right.

I was like, wait a minute, you know where we're goin'?

- I think our plant looks beautiful.

- Yeah, our planty, right?

(laughs) That's probably a bad name.

We gotta come up with a name.

Have you thought?

- Oh, Platunia.

- Platunia, come on, Platunia.

- For me, I want to be more confident, and my way of doing that is being more assertive, standing in my ground, saying no, and just taking the time out to know that it's me.

So, I have to put myself first, so putting Taylor first in everything is going to help me gain my confidence and make sure I stand on what I say.

Hey, guys, how are you?

- [Chris] Good to see you.

- Good to see you.

You look great.

- Thank you, you too.

- You excited for our activity today?

- I am.

- Okay, do you know what we're doing?

- I don't.

- All right.

- Okay, that's good.

- Am I getting dirty?

(Chris laughs) - You're not getting dirty.

Taylor has no idea that today, we're taking her to a local improv class.

I can't wait to see what happens.

- They grabbed, they grabbed me, and they start dragging me down, and they.

- Were trying to drown me, but luckily for me, I am an Olympic.

- Dancer, and they didn't know that the Olympics had a dance team, and they move like this.

- Oh my goodness, what are they about to have me do?

- So that's how I got away from all the zombies at Lake Lanier.

- [Improve Team] Yay.

(all clap) - We're here at Dad's Garage.

We're an improv theater, which means we just make up things on the spot.

What things do you know about improv?

Do you know anything, or what's your experience with it?

- I've never done it.

- You've never done it, first time?

- So Taylor, we didn't just bring you here to watch the show, we brought you to participate in the show.

So we want you to bring your main character energy to the stage, so that you can learn the confidence that you need to tackle your financial life and be the best mom for your boys.

- Okay, how do you feel?

- I'm a little nervous.

- That's okay though.

- That's okay, that's all right.

You got this, you got it.

- [Chris] Come on, let's go.

- So now I'm feeling really nervous, because now I have to get on stage, and I'm like, oh my gosh, stage fright is kicking in.

- I think this activity is really gonna help Taylor literally have a voice.

I think it's gonna help her speak up for herself, help her with that posture, help her with that confidence, to say, "I am important.

"I'm a strong woman, and I can do this."

- My heart is like racing, oh my god, okay.

- And notice how like we all applauded for each one.

It's like, "Yeah, whatever you do is amazing."

You cannot fail.

- Okay.

- So, Miracle Madaline.

- [All] Miracle Madaline.

- Avery, the adventurer.

- [All] Avery, the adventurer.

(all laugh) - Now, here's the thing, here's the thing.

You gotta do it confidently though, right.

- [Taylor] Okay.

- Now I have to admit, now Taylor, on that last one, I didn't hear anything out your vocal chords.

- A little soft, she coulda went a little harder.

- I saw motion, but I didn't hear anything, so I wanna hear your voice.

Your voice is important, okay.

- Use the deep voice.

- Okay.

(all laugh) We're doing the exercises.

They're fun, they're wacky and crazy.

So it's like, okay, I'm starting to get comfortable, and I'm starting to come out of my shell.

Terrific Taylor.

- [All] Terrific Taylor.

(all cheer and clap) - All right, I like the buildup.

- I was gonna give you prom.

- [Taylor] Okay.

- [Madaline] Yeah, talk about prom.

- Okay, prom.

Prom is frilly and glittery.

- I'm lookin' at Taylor, she's gettin' into it.

She's bein' vocal, she's steppin' outside of her comfort zone.

I'm really so glad to see her doin' this.

- She was a little bit cold at first, but now I can see she's really implementing the things that we've taught her.

- You gotta have the shoes to match the dress, the tiara, the sash, the gloves.

I know my prom was amazing.

I won Best Dressed.

I definitely see my confidence come out.

They're pushin' me in the middle.

They're tellin' me, "Just do whatever, "let's just do that, just get comfortable," and at the very end, I definitely felt my confidence level go up.

I stopped and looked over my shoulder and said, "What is the problem?

"Can we fix it?

"Why are there ants in my car?"

(improv team cheers and claps) - Let's go, Taylor.

- Yeah, good job, good job.

- That was so cool.

Oh man, oh man.

Thank you all so much.

Like, that was amazing.

How do you feel Taylor?

- I feel like I don't even have words for the feeling that I'm feeling.

Like, honestly, like it was just, it was fun.

It got me outta my comfort zone.

It was like, "You can do it, just do it.

"Don't think about it, just do it, just do it, so."

- Well, we loved watching you come out of your shell.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, so much for helping her today.

This was really great.

- Yeah, thanks so much.

- Thank you.

(all laugh) - Let's talk for a little bit.

- Okay.

- Improv is gonna be such a powerful tool for Taylor because she really has to step into herself and out of her comfort zone to now be able to manifest exactly what it is she wants in life.

- How do you feel?

- I feel great.

I feel encouraged.

That was really scary.

Being up on stage is like, I had started to (laughs), I wanted to move to the back.

I'm like, oh my gosh.

But having just that great energy and you guys cheering me on was like, "You can do it, go ahead like," and I just got like comfortable and I just wanted to like try my best.

And so, I feel great.

- Well, you were really amazing on that stage.

It was awesome to watch you really bloom and flourish into yourself, and that was our plan for this exercise was really to get you honed in on understanding your worth and standing up for yourself and building your confidence.

Because again, you're not gonna be able to pour into anybody else's cup, if your cup isn't full.

And it's so important that we understand that these skills that we're building in life translate into our finances.

- Because the thing is, it wasn't so much the knowledge, it wasn't so much you didn't know exactly what to do, but it's about applying that strategy to Taylor.

You told us yourself, you're always helping other people in that area, but you're always overlooking yourself, when it comes to everything, not just professionally, but personally as well.

- You really came to that stage with main character energy.

- Yes, yes you did.

Let's go.

- You did, it came outta you.

Yeah, and we were so proud of you.

It was awesome seeing that, and now, you have everything that you need, right, so we're really excited to send you off with your financial success kit.

Taylor, this is for you.

Now Taylor has her financial success kit.

We've given this to her, so that she can track her budget over the next month.

I think that financial stability is really just on the other side of her discipline and execution in her financial success kit.

- Wow, this is like surreal, really.

Like, the short period of time that we've like spent together has definitely been like, it's been like groundbreaking, because like I said, I have all the tools to do it myself, but I don't do it.

Having the support from you two and just talking, it really like, it really brought some things to attention and to the forefront to be like, hey, this has to change and you do have good people in your corner to keep you going.

Like, it's just the beginning, don't give up, and I'm doin' this for my babies, really.

Like they mean every, I'm sorry.

- [Chris] It's okay.

- They mean everything to me, and this has been like, just like a great experience really.

I'm going to walk outta here with my head held high and execute the tools and resources that Jacqueline and Chris have given me.

It doesn't end here.

I have a long journey ahead of me, but that's a part of the plan.

They gave me some homework to do, so I'm gonna go home and execute it.

I'm gonna start making my budget.

I'm gonna start looking for new ways to increase my income, whether that means a new job or just see with my current job, what can I do to get me to the next step?

Ooh boy.

- Yeah (laughs).

- [Taylor] That was real tear, guys, that was like.

- Wow, what a story.

Taylor, she grew up, lost her mother young, became a mother on her own, and has been supporting everybody else in her life.

We've gotten her out of her comfort zone with improv.

We've even talked about increasing her income.

I think that she's going to be on a really solid path towards financial success.

- I think that Taylor has really focused in on her reason why.

Why is this so important?

Now she's startin' to see why it's important to her personally and how loving herself and pouring into herself is actually gonna help her pour into her boys.

And as she focuses on the reasons why, that's gonna help her push forward and succeed in all the areas of her life.

Find more My Money Mentors financial advice, tools and resources at MyMoneyMentorsShow.com The Equifax Foundation is dedicated to helping people Build Financial Capability Because, a single financial opportunity Can change the trajectory of families and communities for generations.

Learn more at Equifax.com/foundation - [Announcer] W-A-B-E.