Bay Area Cost of Living Soared 18% Since Recession Began

Quote of the Day

October 31, 2011 By Maria Stokes Leave a Comment

During this time of increasingly scarce resources, helping people achieve financial stability requires unique partnerships and focus. In establishing SparkPoint East Contra Costa, twelve county agencies and local nonprofits have banded together, offering a full range of financial services, all under one roof. Creating SparkPoint is a real opportunity to work together more effectively to really help families in our community.”

- Joe Valentine, Director of Contra Costa County Employment & Human Services, which has provided $200,000 to support the launch of SparkPoint East Contra Costa in Bay Point.

Read the press release, “United Way and Contra Costa County Open Poverty-Fighting SparkPoint Center in Bay Point.”

Learn more about SparkPoint at www.sparkpointcenters.org.

Filed Under: Pathways out of Poverty Tagged With: Contra Costa, SparkPoint, United Way Partners

Translating the Language of Money

October 14, 2011 By Leah Staub-DeLong Leave a Comment

“How can I save if I feel like I’m barely making ends meet?” “What’s the best way to start paying down my debt?” “Will I ever be able to buy my own home?”

SparkPoint financial coaches help clients tackle challenging questions like these every day. To succeed, they need to address complex financial issues in terms that are easy to understand.

To help coaches continue to improve the way they work with clients, professional financial counselor Kate Wilusz addressed these and other questions last week during a financial planning workshop at United Way. The workshop offered new approaches for discussing financial challenges, tools and goals with clients.

Key takeaways included the strategy of “hiding” money in savings before it reaches a checking account, the benefits of certain accounts such as Roth IRAs, and the role of financial planning in achieving long-term goals.

Deana Deleon, a financial coach and CPA at SparkPoint East Contra Costa in Bay Point, came to the workshop to get new ideas for how to talk to her clients about their finances.

“The Financial Planning 101 training underscored the importance of having a cash reserve as a way to reduce and stay out of debt,” Deana said. “Savings is a hard topic to teach our lower-income clients. With the new information and techniques I learned from this training, I hope to empower more individuals and families to save!”

Several United Way staff also attended to learn how to better manage their own finances.

Learn more about SparkPoint at www.sparkpointcenters.org.

Filed Under: Pathways out of Poverty Tagged With: Income, SparkPoint

Bay Area Cost of Living Soared 18% Since Recession Began

October 4, 2011 By Maria Stokes Leave a Comment

The cost for basic needs in the Bay Area – such as rent, food, health care, child care, transportation, and taxes – has soared 18 percent in the last three years, according to the newly updated 2011 California Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard. The new Self-Sufficiency Standard was released today by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development in partnership with United Way.

During the same three years, wages have remained flat, increasing just 2%, while regional unemployment rates have increased 72%. This has created a perfect storm for low-income families, preventing many from making ends meet.

“The Self-Sufficiency Standard has become a key tool for non-profits and government agencies – enabling us to more effectively assess and tackle poverty in our community,” said Anne Wilson, CEO of United Way of the Bay Area. “For example, our SparkPoint financial education centers use the Standard to coach clients to establish goals, pinpoint challenges, and identify training and education opportunities that will lead to a job that adequately pays for a family’s needs.”

“In addition, United Way used the Standard to help establish our goal to cut Bay Area poverty in half by 2020,” Wilson added. “The Self-Sufficiency Standard helps us identify how many families are struggling to make ends meet and what they need to earn to support their families.”

Read the press release, “Bay Area Cost of Living Soars 18% Since Recession Onset.”

Download statistics to see what it takes to get by in your county.

Are you ready to take action to fight poverty? JoinUnited Way’s MAKE IT BE movement on Facebook.

Local media coverage for the new Self-Sufficiency Standard: