People of EarnIn: Francesca Crespo

Francesca is all about her family. Her children’s success is her success which is why she’s been slowly teaching them the value in saving money. Now, Francesca’s new goal is to buy a home and she’s been taking the necessary steps to make that goal a reality. Read all about it below:

“I just want to make sure my kids succeed. I don't succeed if they don't succeed. I'm not going to be here forever and I want to make sure that they have the knowledge, the financials, and the confidence to be on their own. That's what motivates me. I let them fail sometimes just so they can understand what it takes to succeed, and see what happens when you fail. But if you fail, you don't give up, you get back up and you do what you have to do.

They've seen me fail. When we were furloughed because of COVID, money was very tight. With the older girls, they started working so now they understand. They get the idea of what it's like when you work all these hours and your paycheck is next to nothing. Now they understand my point when I say we don't have a lot of money right now, so we need to watch the electricity, watch the water, and be responsible for things in the house. They're getting it.

I tell them every time they get paid, I don't care how much your check is, if your check is $124, you take that $24 and put it in your savings. If your check is $257, you take $57 and put it in your savings. At least get them started somewhere. Now I don't have to tell them, they just automatically do it. They want a car, they have to go to college, and they want to go shopping. Well, you have to save money. You can't just spend all your money. There's nothing wrong with going shopping, but make sure you have money that you put away for a rainy day.

Right now we’re renting a home so our goal is to purchase a home. We’re working on our credit, seeing what we need to do, trying to save money, and just building from there. I want to purchase a home, but I don't want to get stuck in something I can't pay for. We're just taking things slowly. I've paid all my credit cards off. I got them all to zero and put them away. We won't use them if we don't have to and my scores jumped up quite a bit. When you see that, it keeps you positive and keeps you confident and, you know, keeps you motivated.

That’s where EarnIn comes in. For the times when I don't have that extra money, I can just go in and borrow. It's really good too that you give limits because I know, when I get paid, I know what's coming out of my check and it's not going to be any more than this. It really does help out.”

What’s your financial goal? We’d love to hear about it! Send an email telling us about your financial goal at stories@earnin.com.