Susan Anderson
“When you want to embark on a large financial commitment, whether buying a house or a car or anything, it’s good to check out what resources are available...knowing what you're going to get into and what you're going to need so you know what you're in for. ” - Susan Anderson
Susan Anderson’s saving strategy was simple: found money was money to save. When she worked overtime and received a check for her overtime pay, she deposited into her CAAB Individual Development Account. When she received a reimbursement check for supplies she bought for the yoga studio where she worked part-time in exchange for classes, she deposited that into her IDA. Any time extra money found its way to Anderson, she added it to her savings, so that by the end of six months she had already saved the $1,000 maximum she could put into her IDA.
That savings, combined with the $3,000 in matching funds, enabled Anderson to pay for her last semester of graduate school at George Washington University. Previously Anderson had paid for much of her tuition using her credit card. Anderson earned her master’s degree in public policy and women’s studies while at the same time working for Population Action International, where she continues to work as planning coordinator.
An offhand comment while she was in class led Anderson on the path to CAAB.
Living in a studio apartment on Euclid Street at the time, Anderson remarked to a classmate that she imagined she would never be able to afford to buy a house. Her classmate said that she used to think the same thing, until she enrolled in the District’s Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP). Anderson signed up for HPAP as well, through Housing Counseling Services, a DC nonprofit.
When she realized that HPAP limited her homebuying prospects, however, Anderson left the program. “I ended up not doing HPAP because I would only have been able to purchase a studio and I was not interested,” Anderson explains. “They limit the amount you can buy. If you spend above that they won’t fund you. My cap they gave me would have only allowed me to afford a studio.”
Through Housing Counseling Services, she learned about CAAB, which offers more flexibility for savers. “I originally signed up to save for housing,” Anderson says, “but I switched to apply it to school when I learned you could use your savings for educational purposes. I was already going to school but just looking into buying a home.”
Anderson had to wait a few months to enroll in an IDA because matching funds were not available when she first came to CAAB. She did, however, begin taking CAAB’s money management classes right away. “I found the “What are your rights?” class interesting in terms of dealing with credit card companies,” she says. “I also learned tips for saving, tracking your spending, and budgeting. I had more or less budgeted before but never this formally.”
During the budgeting process Anderson realized how little purchases can have a big impact on your overall finances. “I started noticing that little things you think don’t cost much really do add up,” she recalls. “I learned to be mindful of whether I really wanted to purchase something for two dollars.”
Anderson says she learned a lot and enjoyed her experience with CAAB. The IDA program was “not very time intensive for what you really get out of the program,” Anderson says. “The process for submitting to use the funds was really easy and the whole staff has been very helpful and supportive and great to work with.”
While she used her IDA for her education, Anderson would still like to buy a home someday. She is currently living in a group house and saving. She will consider buying a home “when I have more money to put toward the purchase,” she says.
When that does happen, Anderson will bring to the process the resources and savvy she gained from her experiences with HPAP and CAAB. “When you want to embark on a large financial commitment, whether buying a house or a car or anything, it’s good to check out what resources are available,” she says. “Do a lot of research beforehand, knowing what you’re going to get into and what you’re going to need so you know what you’re in for before you make a financial commitment. Have a good foundation and a plan.”
