QUBER User Profile: Diana
As part of our User Profile series, we interview a QUBER user to give them the chance to share more about themselves and their experiences with financial life. Learning more about an individual’s experiences with money management is not only interesting, but can help highlight that the challenges each of us have faced with our finances aren’t so unique after all. By sharing stories and tips, we can help each other get ahead and avoid making mistakes with our money that might be avoided with a warning from those who have been there already.
This edition features a chat with Diana, an American QUBER user who started saving with us in 2022 through a benefits program offered to her by her employer, KFC. We hope you enjoy learning more about Diana and her life!
[QUBER]: Hey Diana! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
[Diana] Hi, My name is Diana and I am a mom to my 5 kids. I am not married yet but have been engaged to my fiancé for more than a few years now. My kids keep me on my toes every day, I balance being a mom, and I also work about 5 days a week. I love to learn and gain a lot of knowledge/information by doing my own reading, writing down notes, and researching information. I love music, dancing, and singing.
How did you come to start saving with QUBER?
My workplace has an organization called KFC Foundation and they have partnered up with QUBER to help teach their workers on how to save money. Since I've signed up this year with QUBER I've been able to save some money, I also read QUBER's blogs on how to save money, whether it be short term or long term, QUBER has so much information that helps, I've been able to earn my bonuses/matched savings, and I also earn ballots for their monthly drawings too. I've not won their monthly drawings but that's ok because I've gained a lot of knowledge since I've signed up with QUBER and I'm also saving money! QUBER also has their grand prize drawing in I think January 2023 and oh boy I honestly hope I could at least win that drawing because it would definitely help bring me another step closer for a down payment to purchase my 1st home for my family and I.
What's your history with money management been like? What were you like with money when you first started making independent decisions about your finances?
Growing up it was really hard because my parents came from another country and they spoke some English but weren't really good at it. I was born here in the United States and through my childhood it was a struggle even up to my teenage years. My parents didn't teach my siblings and I on how to save money, we also didn't really have anyone to help teach, or show us either.
I did however get my first job when I was probably between 15-16 yrs old but as a teenager I just spent on whatever I wanted and didn't know much about savings still. As time went by and I was probably around my mid 20's that's when people I met told me about getting a credit card or do I know about it? I had no clue. My first credit card was a store credit card. That's where it began for me and still I had no knowledge on how to save or even manage a good credit history/report. Yes! I know it sounds bad right? After a few years or more it went downhill for me. It wasn't until I was probably in my 30's that I started taking things into my own hands to learn how to save. I also took things more seriously because now I have kids, a family to think about, and take care of.
As I finally started to save a little bit at a time it felt great to see my money grow in my savings account. Of course I had some bumps in the road along the way but I eventually had to pick myself back up again and keep trying until I got it right!
Diana and three of her five children
If you could go back in time and give your younger self some financial guidance, what would you say?
I would definitely tell my younger self that building your credit as young as 18-21 yrs old helps so much, keeping it good by always making sure you pay your credit card bill on time every month, don't use more than half of your credit limit, always pay any of your bills on time not just your credit card bills, don't overspend on the things you don't really need, and saving money is the most important thing because it helps you throughout your life especially when you have any kind of emergencies or when you need some kind of backup.
What's been your biggest challenge with money management, and what's been your biggest success?
My biggest challenge with money management is that I never knew how to save money, every month would be a struggle because money was spent, I would fall behind on bills, I didn't set goals that I could at least achieve, and keep at it. I didn't have a clue, especially building a good credit history and making sure it stays good.
My biggest success is that I have been able to learn so much on different ways on how to save money, setting reachable goals, I've learned alot about credit also, I've also been able to save some money, I've been able to fix my credit on my own, and build a better credit report for myself so that I will be able to buy my first home sometime around the first half of 2023.
What's your best saving tip?
For me, I don't know if it is the best savings tip/advice but I basically decided to open 3 different savings accounts and I have put some money away in each one so that I don't have just 1 savings account. It helps alot! Even if it is $10, $20, or more each week, every 2 weeks, or once a month at least I have some kind of savings spread out in different accounts. But you also have to be a little strict on yourself to not overspend and keep positive too!
It hasn't been easy since the pandemic hit, especially with high inflation, price increases on food, gas, and other stuff. It has been a struggle to save a little more than I want to be able to save because of how the economy has been like but when I do go grocery shopping I like to look for coupons to help me save, I cook more at home instead of going out to eat, if we do go out to eat I make sure that we've that little extra for that, I also stay home more on my days off of work, and just spend time with my kids/family.
I did have to tap into my emergency savings which sucks but I just keep moving forward with my savings whether it'd be big or little.
What are your financial goals for the new year?
My financial goals for the new year is to hopefully and finally purchase our first home ever for my family and I. I am also hoping to save extra money to help with any future repairs and or cost of a new home if needed.
Do you have any advice for other employees who are just starting their saving journey?
Some advice is to start saving early whether it'd be small or big. Start some short term goals if the long ones seem unachievable or hard because at the end of the day you will thank yourself for it and will have some kind of savings to fall back on. Also start looking for ways to learn more about savings and building your credit. Starting learning when you're young, possibly in your teenage years, is even better. When you finally turn 18 yrs old or are old enough to finally start your credit journey it will definitely help you along the way and help you to stay on top of things!
Thank you so much to Diana for participating in this piece! Diana, we really appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions in detail and share openly about your story with our user community. If you’re interested in being a featured user in our User Profile series, let us know! You can reach a member of our team by sending us an email at support@quber.ca.