Advice from Successful Savers

Robert Harris

A plan is key to successful saving, according to Robert, and before starting to save he encourages sitting down to write out a plan that caters to your specific needs and goals, and then sticking to it.

Unlike other college graduates; Robert Harris is not too worried about paying off his student loans. As a participant in CAAB’s Individual Development Account (IDA) matched savings program, Robert saved money during the summer to pay for school expenses in the fall and spring, reducing his student loan amount.

“Every summer was dedicated to putting more money into the account…so that during the school year I would have money to help with my tuition,” he said. With the 3-to-1 match provided by the IDA program, Robert was able to cover a large portion of his college costs.

“My loans are under $15,000 compared to other people who owe $45, $50, or $60 [thousand],” he said. Besides paying for his tuition, Robert also used his savings and matching funds to purchase school supplies, such as books and a laptop, which made it more convenient for him to complete assignments.

Robert first learned about CAAB’s IDA program through the Urban Alliance Foundation, a CAAB partner organization. After Urban Alliance recommended that its students sign up for the program, Robert opened his IDA in 2003, the year he graduated high school.

Being disciplined to save came naturally to Robert and whenever he got paid, he did not waste time moving a portion of this paycheck into his savings account. “I always used to say, you can’t miss something you never had,” he said. “Even though I had the money for a split second I put it where I needed to put it…before I got attached to it.” A plan is key to successful saving, according to Robert, and before starting to save he encourages sitting down to write out a plan that caters to your specific needs and goals, and then sticking to it.

Robert’s discipline has paid off. He is the first of his siblings to receive a college degree and considers it a great benefit to come out of school with substantially lower loan amounts than his fellow classmates.

Robert’s family is also happy that their son and brother has successfully completed his undergraduate education. As an African-American male from DC, Robert is very aware of the stigma he is associated with and he is proud that he beat the statistics. “Growing up in DC, you [seem to] have very slim options. You’re either stuck in DC, in jail, or dead,” he said.

Robert, however, ventured out of the District to graduate from North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. He currently resides in Durham and is employed by a mentoring agency but recently made the four and a half hour trip back to DC to participate in CAAB’s Commencement Celebration honoring the achievements of its savers. “Without [CAAB] I don’t know what I would have done except for take out loans,” Robert said. “The IDA program helped me get where I wanted to go.”

Now at age 23, he aspires to own his own information technology (IT) business that specializes in computer network administration. Robert describes the business as being similar to the Geek Squad, a subsidiary of Best Buy that repairs computers. He envisions starting out with a home-based business and later expanding into a company with multiple job sites and employees.

He says he will continue to save in the future and has already begun thinking about saving for his next endeavor. “I still have to go to grad school.”