Did You Know: FISC is Part of the Displaced Worker Team?

One of the caring features of the Fox Cities that distinguishes us from many communities is how this community helps out people when businesses close their doors or have layoffs. Layoffs and plant closings are a high stress, traumatic time for the people involved. The Workforce Development Board coordinates a "rapid response team" to tell displaced workers about services available in the area to help them.

Participating agencies usually include the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, the United Way, FISC, AFL-CIO, Job Service, Career Pros, Fox Valley Technical College, Unemployment Insurance, and -if there is one- an employee assistance program. The focus is on helping people to understand unemployment benefits, understand retraining and education opportunities, get assistance in looking for new work, and deal with their emotional and financial concerns. FISC helps these people deal with their very real financial concerns and make it through their time of transition between jobs.

Ask FISC

Q. I see articles and stories sometimes about "penny-pinching." Some of the tips seem extreme and unpractical. Do you have some practical suggestions I can use?

A. Some people make penny-pinching into an art form and delight to find ways to save a buck or two. Here are a few ideas we have shared with people over the years.

• Use cash not credit cards for most expenses.
• Cut up your personal credit cards, except for one card. Leave that card at home.
• Avoid addictive TV programming like the Home Shopping Network.
• Stuff breaks, so save some money to fix and replace things.
• Buy all of your groceries at a warehouse type store once a pay period. Plan your meals in advance to minimize convenience store shopping.
• Translate the cost of something into the number of hours it takes you to buy that item. If you earn $30,000 per year, that's $14.42 per hour, but more like $11 per hour after taxes. At $11 per hour, do you really want to work 3-4 hours for that pair of pants? What other options do you have? Do without, try a thrift store, wear out what you have, wait for a sale, buy something else that costs less, etc.
• Track your spending. Look for ways to save. What would you save if you stopped smoking or gave up snacks and soda at work?
• Before you buy anything, stop and think if you really need it. Do you need it now or will later be better? What's the best way to pay for it?
• Remember, once you spend money, it's gone.

Hard Work Brings Debt Relief Plus Dignity

Candid testimonials from FISC clients are reprinted in the newsletter to give hope and encouragement to people dealing with financial concerns.

"When my husband and I remember our first few visits to FISC/CCCS in Menasha, we have to laugh. NOW we can laugh; we weren't laughing then. No way, no how.

Memory one: we're sitting in Chuck Ulrich's office and my head and upper body are spilled over the front of Chuck's desk, and I'm crying, buckets. I'm probably drooling as well. My husband Charlie is looking pale, maybe even a little pistachio green. It's really been a rough year or two. I can't tell you what Chuck is saying, but it sure is comforting. No false hopes, either. He's laying it straight on the line. But we're starting to feel a little better.

Memory two: We're at one of our first financial workshops and either we've just watched or are about to watch I Remember Mama. (Irene Dunn. All those little envelopes and that little box. The family gathered round.) There are about, hmmm…six couples or so in our group. We're supposed to tell a little bit about ourselves and our financial status (in our case financial shipwreck), and I think we're one of the first couples. When it's the turn of the couples sitting next to us, the guy jerks his head and his thumb toward us and says something like, "Well, I know we don't have the problems those people have." Charlie and I look at each other, smile and feel like a couple of A-1 losers.

Mistake one: You're not a loser because your finances get screwed up, or even if you screw them up. We've learned that. Believe it or not, you're still human, you still have people who love you and need you and depend upon you. And you still have the right to take up space on the planet earth. I wasn't so sure when I was trying to perform a mind meld with Chuck's desk back in 1994 or so, but I'm absolutely sure of it now. I remember one of our phone creditors calling us "bottom dwellers" in those early days. Sticks and stones, bub.

Anyway, Chuck warned us that we had a tough uphill battle. It felt to us like an absolute vertical climb. Over half of our income per month was sent to CCCS to cover our $35,000 consumer debt (student loan, credit cards, car loans, credit cards (did I mention credit cards?). Ever bought groceries at a 66 Station with a gas card? We have. Or a Target? Gulp. Ditto.

Long story short, after just under five years and $40,000 plus, FISC helped us to bring our debts and our lives back under control. And, helped to restore a little dignity to my husband and I. Thanks. I mean it. Yes, we worked very, very hard (many jobs, a lot of stick-to-itiveness, and the understanding and support of two great kids-who are now two wonderful men), but I know we couldn't have accomplished what we did without FISC and Chuck Ulrich. We did without a lot of stuff, experienced the foreclosure of our home in Florida (that was no fun, and there are still repercussions from it) but we paid our debts and didn't have to declare bankruptcy. We made the debts; we felt we must pay them.

Goals? I'd like to be able to save some money. I'm still not good at that. We do have some considerably smaller consumer debts (incurred within the last year or so) from helping out our kids. My husband and I like the fact that we CAN help. We never thought we could. I like being able to give gifts to people. People have been so generous and kind over the years. I want to repay them. It's an important part of life to me. We want to pay our debts as quickly as possible now.

How has all this changed us? We buy the bulk of our clothes at thrift stores and Goodwill. We make a real outing of it. We have reliable cars made during the 1980's and still going strong. Charlie is a self-taught mechanic and makes the repairs himself. He's turned it into a real art form. Neither of us gives a fig about furniture. We have a plastic dining room table and chairs.

We're happy. Our finances may not be stellar, but we have a manufactured home on five beautiful acres, cars that get us from here to there, sustenance and covering. Throw in a strong marriage and some humor. Now, that's what I call priceless.