Advice from Successful Savers

Vicky and Kiyana Rayfield

"Stay motivated and keep going even through the rough times because they will come consistently but they will never last."

Vicky Rayfield and her daughter Kiyana share a passion for helping others. Vicky runs her own consulting firm assisting different companies with workforce development issues. She has spent the previous twenty years working in the human services sector, consistently benefiting others through her profession. She is currently enrolled in CAAB’s Individual Development Account matched-savings program, with the intent to put her savings toward expanding her business. Kiyana, walking along a similar path as her mother, graduated from the matched-savings program in July and has used her funds to launch a nonprofit organization called Another Way Advancing Youth. AWAYcreates an arena of music recording capacity to help young adults embrace the arts, with the ultimate goal to help them finish high school or earn their GED.

For Vicky, raising her children to be financially educated has been an integral pillar of her parenting. Two years ago she started her business and felt first-hand the difficulties associated with the process, “I was working a full time job so I had an income and although I knew what the pitfalls of starting a new business were, it was a great challenge when that difficulty hit,” Vicky recalls, “When I was growing up we didn’t have that kind of teaching…My parents’ focus was on providing for the family.” She has put forth her best effort to encourage Kiyana to be a saver rather than a spender and Kiyana has taken her teachings to heart. It was actually Kiyana who first discovered the benefits of CAAB’s financial education and matched savings program. Reflecting on her experience in the Individual Development Account (IDA) program, Kiyana explains, “I’m proud of myself for saving the money. My business has started off and I’m reaching out to kids like me. I had my children at an early age and I didn’t go back to college right away. I was on welfare. But I woke up one day and decided I didn’t want to be on welfare anymore. I wanted to make my mom and my grandparents proud of me.”

Indeed, when she came to this realization, Kiyana acted immediately, “I’d have to get up early at 4:30 a.m. to drop my daughters off at daycare and go to work at McDonalds and then go to classes in the afternoon.” Kiyana’s efforts led her to positive results. She eventually got a junior-level job in the DC judicial system and has since earned a full-time position, “I came to work every day and went above and beyond,” she explains, “I had to prove to them that I could do it… I busted my butt and so the director requested that I stay full-time.” Already reaping the benefits of her persistence, Kiyana faced her next challenge—saving for her nonprofit organization.

Today, with the help of CAAB, Kiyana is working towards her dreams. While AWAY is still in its early stages, Kiyana is resolute in creating a successful organization. “I wanted to do something that had meaning for me,” she says of her decision to bring what had been a seemingly out-of-bounds hope to a reality well within reach, “Going to school and getting a house have meaning but I put a lot, if not all, into this business.” She has made some worthwhile changes to her financial lifestyle, too. “I needed to find a way to budget my money. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it,” she laughs, “Even today it is hard because I love pocketbooks. I just have to keep walking by the stores. But my savings account is looking really good. I keep a set amount in and don’t fall below that.”

For Kiyana and Vicky, smart saving is only possible with the right mentality. Kiyana describes her attitude toward saving to be about resilience, “[I] stay motivated and keep going even through the rough times,” she says, “Because they will come consistently but they will never last.” And for Vicky, saving is about stability, “Find something to save, any amount,” she advises, “I get my pay check toward the end of the month and make a beeline for the bank before anything comes up.” Although Vicky is still shy of her savings goal by a few hundred dollars, she is further motivated to continue saving every time she visits Kiyana—and all she has to do is admire the décor. “I finally felt like I had completed something. I had never done something like it before,” Kiyana describes her happiness at meeting her asset goal, “I have the last letter from CAAB stating how much I saved hanging on my wall at home.”