Belle

When Belle first learned she would be receiving $1,000 every month for three years, she knew that she wanted to use it to move. After her fiancé was murdered, she moved in with the grandparents of her two oldest children. “I knew my ultimate goal was I’m leaving here”. She took the unconditional cash and opened a security credit card to start building her credit. Every month, she put half of the money into her savings account. She was able to use the money to build her credit score, move out into her own apartment, and help pay for her children’s graduation and college expenses. “Both my kids started going to college, we didn't have a financial struggle, in a sense. We didn't have to struggle financially. With that extra $1,000 a month, it helped so much on just senior pictures, or hey mom, I wanna go so-and-so with my friends. It was the supplemental income, as if I had a helper. It really was my help mate.”

The money gave her an opportunity to plan and budget, which she had never been able to before because she never had extra money. “To some people it was extra money, but to me, it was just a lifeline…realistically, when you start paying bills or you start doing this and this and this, once you break up $1,000, it's gone real fast. It made me be smarter about budgeting…I gotta make it stretch for all of these extra things that I can't afford from my check.”