SCALE Students Talk Budgeting and Saving

From June 13 to 28, 2017, a small group of SCALE* students came together for a Financial Literacy class, a collaboration between SCALE and Somerville Community Corporation.SCC Asset Building Specialist Janine Lotti, who regularly teaches a Financial Literacy class at SCC’s Somerville Avenue office, facilitated the learning.

Meeting for three hours twice a week, the students learned about setting goals, creating a personal budget, building and improving credit scores, and saving money for the future. Each student set a personal goal to accomplish by the end of the class, and either met or were close to meeting that goal by the end of the two-week period.

The goals had to do with changing spending habits in order to save money for future opportunities, including saving for a child’s education, sending remittances to relatives, and taking family vacations.

The students who participated in the class are Budry Benjamin, Shelove Duperier, Ana Flores, Maritza Flores, Vanessa Mendoza, Natallia Nedbailava and Josue Rivera Orellana. 

“What is unique about this class,” explains Janine, “is that the content is very much driven by the students who participate. They set individual goals, and we work together as a group to help them achieve those goals.”  

* Somerville Center for Adult Learning Experience