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The value of money management, even for those with very little money

Think of LISC’s Financial Opportunity Centers (FOCs) as “high-impact financial planning, not for those with assets to invest but for those without them.” It may sound counterintuitive, but so write Caterpillar Foundation president Michele Sullivan and LISC Phoenix ED Terry Benelli in an op-ed for the Arizona Central, citing LISC’s new report on FOC outcomes. The authors describe how financial literacy helped one homeless Phoenix mom get to home ownership—and how it can support thousands of others to break the cycle of poverty.

The below excerpt is sourced from:
"How do you fight homelessness? Fix their spending habits"
by Michelle Sullivan and Terry Benelli

How do you fight homelessness? Fix their spending habits

Phoenix is caught in an economic chasm.

On one side, the metro area is robust and diverse, bouncing back from the foreclosure crisis to attract new businesses and residents. On the other, it suffers from one of the highest big-city poverty rates in the country, leaving tens of thousands of people struggling to pay the rent, put gas in the car and feed their children.

The simple fact is that too many families at the bottom of the economic ladder can't pull themselves up no matter how hard they work. It is a problem that not only holds back disadvantaged areas of the Valley. It also chips away at our overall economic energy and potential for growth.

But what if we could move the needle on economic mobility? What if we could dispel that sense that the quality of life you are born to determines your opportunities in life?

New research points toward one way to do that. The study looked at the outcomes of 40,000 low-income people who sought help through financial opportunity centers, a network of programs embedded in 76 local nonprofits around the country. (The Mesa nonprofit A New Leaf is opening a financial opportunity center this spring.)

Think of it as high-impact financial planning, not for those with assets to invest but for those without them.

The study found those who accessed a bundle of coordinated services supported by intensive, long-term financial coaching were able to significantly improve their employment outlook, their net incomes and their credit scores, among other indicators.

Think of it as high-impact financial planning, not for those with assets to invest but for those without them. Continued[+]...