Newsroom

Making Ends Meet in Manor

Meet the Maldonado Family – they live in the Manor area in Austin, Far East on 290. Benito, Sr. and Leonor are parents to Benito, Jr. (15,) Brenda (12) and Blue Emmy (1 mo.) Like the Salazar Family, they face a unique set of economic challenges and rely on their community for support. Benito, Sr. works two jobs to make ends meet for the family, but it can still be a struggle to manage everyday expenses in addition to the cost of housing and utilities. It takes about fifty thousand dollars for just a family of four to break even in Austin, so the Maldonados rarely have enough money at the end of the month after covering their rent, food, childcare, car insurance, bills and more. The Maldonados aren’t alone – half of all people in the Manor neighborhood spend 1/3 or more of their income on housing. And as temperatures rise during the blistering Texas summer, it can be tricky to keep up with high utility bills. Luckily, the Maldonado family is able to utilize our Navigation Center, where dialing 2-1-1 will connect them to local resources that can help them pay these high bills so that their utilities are not disconnected.  $50K For a family of four to break even in Austin 50%  Renters in Manor who spend 1/3 or more of income on housing The Maldonados have considered using payday loans when they’re behind on bills, but this can cost them $1,000’s in annual fees to predatory […]

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It takes a lot to thrive as a working family

This is the Salazar family – they live in the St. John’s neighborhood in Austin, near the intersection of I-35 and 183. Like many Austin families, they juggle many challenges – tight budgets, long hours and trying to provide the best for their family – so the Salazars need support from their community. Claudia, the mother, decided to stay at home to care for their children and avoid the high costs of child care while her husband provides for the family by fixing cars. Between transportation to get to work on time, food, bills and rent – there’s barely enough left at the end of each paycheck. During the summer especially, as the temperatures rise, so do water and electric bills – so a time that most families enjoy together is a time of stress in the Salazar home as their finances get even tighter. The Salazars have even considered taking out payday loans just to get along – but these can cost thousands in fees and leave them with even more challenges. But the Salazars can turn to United Way to access safer banking options so they can avoid payday lenders – or call our Navigation Center to connect to summer food programs.  In a couple of years, their daughter Kylie will enter middle school where many students begin to fall behind. The Salazar’s know that for Kylie to stay on the path to graduation, she’ll need support from both of them, she’ll need to not worry about food or how she’ll get […]

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Free tax prep is “the best thing I’ve ever come across”

In my work with UWATX, I’ve had the pleasure of helping thousands of Central Texans take a meaningful step towards financial security by opening bank accounts, encouraging savings and taking advantage of free tax prep. Recently, I got to speak with Sarah in La Grange who used myfreetaxes.com/uwatx (which is powered by H&R Block) to file her taxes for FREE.  Sarah had just gotten back in town from Brenham where she works at the State Supported Living Center. Sarah has been living in La Grange with her husband and three kids (10,4, and 2) for the last ten years.  She grew up in the city and always knew she wanted to raise her kids in a rural setting with good schools.  “It’s the best thing I’ve ever come across – I’ve encouraged all of my friends and family to prepare their taxes this way” – Sarah on myfreetaxes.com/uwatx How were you getting your taxes done before this? What changed?  I had been getting them done at retail tax preparers for years.  Last year, I paid $290 for my return. This year, they whipped it up  in what seemed like no time at all and then asked for $315 plus a $35 fee for direct deposit. I can’t afford that, I have a husband and three kids, so I got up and walked out.  What did you do then?   I reached out to Workforce Solutions in La Grange, TX and they connected me to the United Way service.  I sat down at a computer and […]

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Taxes made easy as one, two, free

With more and more people working multiple jobs to make ends meet throughout the year, preparing your taxes can be overwhelming and time consuming. I myself had a few side jobs in 2013. With five W-2 statements and a few 1098-E forms, I wanted a second look at my return.  I was looking forward to using my tax return to pay off a few bills and start saving, so I wanted to make sure I didn’t overpay for tax preparation. There are so many choices  for  tax preparation and I quickly realized that most charge a fee of some sort.  Since I was looking forward to using my tax return to pay off a few bills and start saving for the future, I wanted to make sure I didn’t overpay for this service. While watching KXAN one morning, I heard about a Community Tax Center (CTC) that offered free tax preparation for eligible families. I quickly went online to find out the requirements and how I could take advantage of free tax preparation. Community Tax Centers, a program of Foundation Communities that is supported by UWATX, provides free tax preparation for households making up to $50,000, with the income limits being slightly higher for households of five or more.    I made an appointment with a Community Tax Center near me. With my Tax Prep Checklist provided by CTC and documents in hand, I headed to the east Austin location.  During the quick and easy check-in process the Intake Volunteer […]

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To understand how many families struggle, we need to look at savings and assets

Written by: Don Baylor In our mind’s eye, we typically picture people struggling economically as individuals or families either disconnected from steady employment or those with jobs earning wages below the poverty level. What we too-often fail to consider is how much it truly takes to cover everyday expenses in our community and what might happen if income is interrupted. The federal poverty guidelines consider a family of four to be poor if the family income is $23,550 or less, but these numbers grossly underestimates the income necessary to meet a family’s basic needs.  According to CPPP’s Better Texas Family Budgets, a Greater Austin family of four needs to earn more than $50,000 per  year to cover housing, transportation, food, child care and other expenses.   Notably, this “break-even” salary does not include any debt service or allow for any type of household savings.  In order to save for a rainy day and college, the same Austin family needs to earn about $1,000 more in annual income.  While one in five Greater Austin families is officially income-poor as defined by the federal poverty level, a bigger share of Greater Austin families are living paycheck-to-paycheck and experience economic insecurity, with low incomes, insufficient savings, or both.   What’s more, income is only part of the story, because while income gets you by, assets get you ahead – and in our community  nearly twice as many families are considered poor when we look at poverty through the lens of assets. An individual or household […]

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What is payday lending & why does it matter?

Over the past few weeks, much has been discussed in the media about payday lending, how the industry has grown in Texas and what the implications are for our state. We’ve been working on providing alternatives to payday lending through our Financial Opportunity program for a few years. It’ s a complex issue with many facets – so our experts worked together to break it down and answer some questions.  What is a payday loan?  A payday loan is a small, unsecured, high-interest, short-term cash loan that needs to be repaid within two weeks or by the next payday. Borrowers are looking for an average of $500 [PDF], and in Texas, 67 percent of loans are for $500 or less [PDF].  In most cases, borrowers write a post-dated personal check for the advance amount plus a fee. The lender holds the check for the loan period, and then either deposits it or returns the check when the borrower pays in cash. Why do individuals use payday loans?  There is a misconception that payday loans are use for unexpected emergencies, like medical bills or car repair, but the the Pew Charitable Trust found that 69 percent of people took out their first payday loan for “a recurring expense, such as utilities, credit card bills, rent or mortgage payments, or food.”  Oftentimes, borrowers may need to pay bills a few days or a week before their paycheck, so payday loans function as an ‘advance’. What are the benefits of payday loans?  The biggest benefit is speed […]

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What scarcity means for families we serve & each of us as well

A few months ago,  economists and researchers Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir  published Scarcity:  Why Having Too Little Means So Much – a fresh perspective on the causes of poverty that suggests scarcity, a lack of resources like time or money, drastically changes the way people think. Since January is Poverty Awareness Month, this seems like a perfect time to reflect on the psychology of scarcity.  Basically, the authors found that scarcity taxes the mind reducing cognitive capacity (IQ) and executive control (willpower). They call this the “bandwidth tax” and it could be experienced in a momentary situation, such as after a long day at the office, or daily and with no end in sight, as is typical when living in poverty.   Scarcity also contributes to “tunneling,” an effect where individuals focus exclusively on immediate deadlines, like that the rent is due today or the car needs a repair. That happens because families don’t have a cushion, so there is no slack to cover unexpected financial shocks we all inevitably face and putting out financial fires becomes you primary focus. This explains why a payday loan can look attractive today when a car repair has captured your absolute attention.  While putting out the fire, there is no bandwidth to foresee the additional problems that could arise in two weeks when the loan is due. Unfortunately, this creates a cycle – borrowing creates a deeper hole in the future.  The psychology of scarcity is true for people who lack financial resources AND those who lack time resources.  The same […]

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UWATX kicks off service year with 5 new AmeriCorps VISTAs

After wrapping up a banner year with two Success By 6 VISTAs, we are  welcoming five new AmeriCorps VISTAs to the Strategic Programs team. As one of several high-performing projects across Texas, we gained the opportunity to bring on two additional VISTA members to support Financial Opportunity and the Navigation Center‘s outreach work, while continuing to support Success By 6. The addition of new VISTA members means that UWATX will have capacity to take on new projects and the staffing to support increased systems building. Continuing support for Success By 6:  VISTAs have been crucial to building capacity in early care and family support systems. In order to continue and expand this work the Success By 6 VISTAs, Jeffrey King and Rebecca Nawls-Walker, will support data collection and analysis for the School Readiness Action Plan 2-year update, create and facilitate processes to incorporate parent input into the SRAP, coordinate programs for the Success By 6 Center Project, and manage our digital outreach programs, Text4Baby and Ready Rosie. New efforts in Financial Opportunity:  Building upon the early care and education work, the Financial Opportunity VISTA, Willy Raedy, will play a pivotal role focusing on 2-Generation strategies: an approach to early interventions that combines workforce training with high quality child care. Building capacity around 2-Generation efforts improves outcomes for the whole family by focusing on improving parent’s job readiness while providing early interventions for their children. Additionally, Willy will facilitate the blending of financial literacy into workforce development services and manage the […]

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Bank On Central Texas connects individuals to bank accounts

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2U4aejO1BI[/youtube]   At United Way for Greater Austin, we know that having a bank account is a critical first step toward thriving financially. That’s why, for the past two years, we’ve been partnering with banks, credit unions and government to get more people banked as part of the Bank On Central Texas initiative, part of our Financial Opportunity program. In our short history, we’ve already opened 12,000 bank accounts, helping people make that critical first step on the path to thriving. Recently, we undertook an ambitious project to raise awareness about the benefits of a bank accounts. We got on the radio, went online and spoke in-person at events to tell people about their options and how a bank account could help them. And we succeeded – we reached thousands of individuals and the number of online inquiries about the program skyrocketed. We also got to meet so many people who were helped through our outreach, including Mark Mead of Alamo Lawn Care, who is using his account to manage his business, and Alfredo and Patricia Hernandez who didn’t have a bank account before. Special thanks to all of the financial institutions who partner with us on this exciting initiative – and to Don Kendrick, Regional President of Wells Fargo’s Central Texas Region and UWATX Board Member, for his support and for narrating the above presentation.  

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Get in better financial shape – 10 tips from the Financial Empowerment Boot Camp

In Texas, working families are often unable to access traditional financial services that can help them repair or build financial stability but across the country, social service providers are working to educate client. That’s why our Financial Opportunity program brought in staff from the Baltimore and Maryland CASH Campaigns to provide training for more than 40 nonprofit providers about how to talk to their clients about money. The Financial Empowerment Boot Camp covered the role of a practitioner, exploring their own financial values, exploring their clients’ financial lives, and financial content and resources. Below are a few tips from the Boot Camp that can not only help clients you may work with but also help you with your own personal finances: Giving people the confidence to make better financial decisions and to access existing resources can change their financial reality. Most people don’t have someone to talk to specifically about their finances besides a bankruptcy attorney or credit counselor. You CAN talk to people about money. It may sound too personal, but you can do it even if you aren’t an expert on financial issues. Your finances don’t have to be perfect to talk to anyone about money. We are often ashamed of our own financial mistakes. Use these as a teaching tool and way to build rapport. No one is perfect. You already have many of the skills that you need to talk to people about money. Likely you have great skills around listening, asking powerful questions, problem solving, and […]

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