Three More Wise Men
At Love INC we believe a need can be a door to a relationship and that investing inrelationships leads to a better life. We say it’s best to give someone a fish, teach someonehow to fish, and show someone how to use a net to safeguard the catch!This is a story about three men who reached out to help and be helped. All came fromdifferent financial and educational backgrounds. Love INC’s Extra Mile program providesfinancial wisdom and friendships.
Cedric’s Story
When Cedric heard about Love INC’s Extra Mile coaching program, he thought this would be agood way to serve. He had finished his MBA a few years earlier and after finishing the trainingprovided by Love INC, Cedric thought he was ready to help. And he was…sort of.“I thought I was ready to help him, but I found out I was not completely prepared,” said Cedric.When it came to budgeting and dealing with financial issues, Cedric was ready, but life is not allabout information - sometimes it’s more about relationships than knowledge. Wayne, an exoffender, struggled greatly defining needs and wants – he had two cars and was living paycheckto paycheck and didn’t see what Cedric saw were some obvious solutions. “Things definedprestige for Wayne,” explained Cedric.While Wayne was learning from Cedric, Cedric was learning from Wayne about life from theviewpoint of someone who didn’t have the advantages that Cedric enjoyed. Helping Waynemeant more than showing him financial ABCs – it meant learning about the man, not just hiscurrent circumstances.Over 16 weeks, both men took steps, forward and back, in their new friendship and in themoney management course. By the end, Wayne came to sessions on time or early, hisassignments completed and they often finished the night’s agenda ahead of time. There wastime just to sit and talk and hang out and their friendship deepened.Cedric kept in touch with Wayne after the class ended, learning that Wayne paid off a debt.One year after Cedric became a coach, Wayne called him to say, “Guess what? I’m a coach too!Wow! The student has become the teacher!”
Wayne’s Story
“I was a cash-only person and I had few expectations when I started the course,” says Wayne,who was having trouble getting an apartment because of a low credit score. “I wanted to learnhow to budget what little money I had.”“When I first met Cedric I thought, ‘This kid’s too young to be teaching me about money.’ Therewere times when he really didn’t understand where I was coming from but he listened a lot andsought guidance from other people, so he was better in our sessions.”“I had a hard time keeping track of my money and because I always had cash, it was easy to doa lot of impulse shopping. I’m very much a planner now. Cedric made sure that I accounted forevery cent I spent, he was a real stickler about that. It was important to be on the money.""My credit score was 420 when I started the program – now it’s706!”Wayne was pretty excited to become a teacher and help others. He met Bobby, who becamehis first client, through In2Action, a Christian men's prison transition program. Wayne describedBobby as being different than himself. “He was used to having a lot of money – I mean, a lot ofmoney. He never looked at the prices – just bought what he wanted.”The men started a Sunday night routine – dinner, watching some Walking Dead episodes, thenworking on budgeting. “Bobby really needed to see his money working and to be aware ofwhere his money was going,” said Wayne.
Bobby's Story
“Wayne and I weren’t very close at first, just acquaintances at In2Action. I was pretty alonebecause all my friends had moved away. It’s funny – I understand macro and microeconomicsbecause I was a finance major in college – but real life is a real eye-opener,” said Bobby.“Extra Mile taught me about transparency, about being honest with your budget. It gave mespending accountability. You know, most people have to pay someone to provide a service likethat!” Bobby explained.But it was more than financial advice that Bobby received. He and Wayne talked a lot long aftertheir Extra Mile experience was completed and shared some good life advice too. (Wayne is 10years older than Bobby) “He’s been through some of the same experiences that I’ve gonethrough. He’s been a good friend and a tremendous asset to me,” said Bobby.