Focus Group Reveals How Local Households Make Ends Meet on Tight Budgets

 
"I've never taken a vacation with my kids before ‘cause I didn't know how to work out money to be able to do something with my life. So I want to do it now."
-Amy*, focus group member

Could your family manage successfully on $35,000 a year? What about $18,000 a year? Less than $10,000 a year? 

Eight Yellowstone County women, household incomes ranging from $35,000 a year to less than $10,000 a year, met recently for a round-table discussion with United Way of Yellowstone County to share the strategies they used to successfully make ends meet on a tight budget. During the two-hour group meeting, the women told their life stories, shared their financial and personal triumphs and gave down-to-earth tips and strategies for making ends meet.

The personal stories of the eight group members and their strategies for financial success were recorded in a series of reports developed by Elizabeth Eberlin, an AmeriCorps VISTA serving with United Way. The full reports on United Way's group discussion, including financial survey data and quotes and personal stories from the group members, are available here: Report  and  Supplemental Quotes.