The topic for this episode is home ownership, particularly how rising costs are impacting new homeowners and the challenges that presents. To speak about this topic are Delilah Blanchard and Sarah Cha Cha Carter, both from Stand By Me’s Home program.

Stand By Me® provides Delawareans with a Personal Financial Coach and a toolkit to navigate the challenges leading to personal financial security. The Delaware Financial Empowerment Partnership (DFEP) is a joint venture of the State of Delaware and the United Way of Delaware working together to combine resources and to create and implement an innovative package of financial empowerment services. We are joined by a coalition of non-profit organizations, corporations, foundations and educational institutions.

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One of the big challenges we are seeing today is how inflation is resulting in higher prices and reduced spending power. Therefore, some creative ways of shopping and budgeting are needed. On today’s podcast we’re joined by Lori Hurst-Farrell and Larron Briddell, two coaches from the Stand By Me program to talk about budgeting for today’s economy.

Stand By Me® provides Delawareans with a Personal Financial Coach and a toolkit to navigate the challenges leading to personal financial security. The Delaware Financial Empowerment Partnership (DFEP) is a joint venture of the State of Delaware and the United Way of Delaware working together to combine resources and to create and implement an innovative package of financial empowerment services. We are joined by a coalition of non-profit organizations, corporations, foundations and educational institutions.

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Living as a first or second generation immigrant in this country and the State of Delaware can present many challenges, particularly for those navigating the world of personal finance such as purchasing a home, paying for college, and other major life events.

Maria Ramos and Edwin Santos from United Way of Delaware's Stand By Me program are featured on this podcast episode, to talk about the challenges that Hispanic and Latino individuals face in the State of Delaware, and how the Stand By Me program helps support them and their families through all stages of life.

Stand By Me® provides Delawareans with a Personal Financial Coach and a toolkit to navigate the challenges leading to personal financial security. The Delaware Financial Empowerment Partnership (DFEP) is a joint venture of the State of Delaware and the United Way of Delaware working together to combine resources and to create and implement an innovative package of financial empowerment services. We are joined by a coalition of non-profit organizations, corporations, foundations and educational institutions.

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As fall approaches, many families’ thoughts turn to school, and for families with students approaching college enrollment, FAFSA – the free application for federal student aid – is a hot topic. There are a number of recent significant changes to the FAFSA, and here on this episode to tell us more about those changes are Cory Dunt and Candace Powell Kinard from Stand By Me’s NexGen program.

Stand By Me® provides Delawareans with a Personal Financial Coach and a toolkit to navigate the challenges leading to personal financial security. The Delaware Financial Empowerment Partnership (DFEP) is a joint venture of the State of Delaware and the United Way of Delaware working together to combine resources and to create and implement an innovative package of financial empowerment services. We are joined by a coalition of non-profit organizations, corporations, foundations and educational institutions.

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The Stand By Me program would not be possible without the incredible coaching team, who are truly the heart of the program. Stand By Me is successful is because it connects customers with a coach for a one-on-one, highly customized partnership, where the coaches work closely with their customers through their financial challenges and onto prosperity.

This episode is all about the coaches – their passion and commitment, their strength, wisdom and skill, and the diversity of experiences and perspectives they bring to their work. Along the way we’ll also learn some things about why they got involved, what motivates them to do this work and help others, and what they each uniquely bring to the table in helping their customers reach their financial goals.

This is a chance to let the Stand By Me coaches shine, to speak from their heart about their role as a coach, and to elevate the visibility of the SBM coaches as a whole and the important work they do each day.

Stand By Me® provides Delawareans with a Personal Financial Coach and a toolkit to navigate the challenges leading to personal financial security. The Delaware Financial Empowerment Partnership (DFEP) is a joint venture of the State of Delaware and the United Way of Delaware working together to combine resources and to create and implement an innovative package of financial empowerment services. We are joined by a coalition of non-profit organizations, corporations, foundations and educational institutions.

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This podcast - Homebuying... 123 - How to go from Creditworthy to Mortgage Qualified - tackles important topics for the first-time homebuyer such as:

• The importance of credit – how does it factor into securing a mortgage?
• What are the factors that influence credit scores?
• Saving for a down payment – what are some strategies for success?
• Shopping for a mortgage - how to evaluate lender choices?
• What are some common mistakes first time home buyers should avoid?

... and much more!

Guests on the program are Sarah Carter - Stand By Me Home Program Manager / Financial Coach, Traceé Taylor - Program Supervisor for Kent & Sussex, and Laura Gendreaux - Director of Financial Empowerment.

Stand By Me® provides Delawareans with a Personal Financial Coach and a toolkit to navigate the challenges leading to personal financial security. The Delaware Financial Empowerment Partnership (DFEP) is a joint venture of the State of Delaware and the United Way of Delaware working together to combine resources and to create and implement an innovative package of financial empowerment services. We are joined by a coalition of non-profit organizations, corporations, foundations and educational institutions.

Support the Show.

The latest Stand By Me Podcast features Donna Snyder-White, Vice President, Financial Empowerment for United Way of Delaware, and Lynn Bivens, Senior Community Resource Specialist for Delaware 211, to discuss Delaware 211, the services it provides, and how it connects to and supports the mission of Stand By Me.

Stand By Me® provides Delawareans with a Personal Financial Coach and a toolkit to navigate the challenges leading to personal financial security. The Delaware Financial Empowerment Partnership (DFEP) is a joint venture of the State of Delaware and the United Way of Delaware working together to combine resources and to create and implement an innovative package of financial empowerment services. We are joined by a coalition of non-profit organizations, corporations, foundations and educational institutions.

Support the Show.

The latest Stand By Me Podcast features Laura Gendreau, Director of Financial Empowerment, and Jude Liszkiewicz, Program Manager and Coach with the Stand By Me program, discussing what we've learned from the past year, and how to move forward into the new year ready for success. Specifically, this program covers:

Post-Covid what have we learned from a financial perspective? What have we seen?

• Increased opportunity for savings?
• More acutely aware of budgeting?
• Rising interest rates impacting credit card and mortgage debt?
• Student loan relief?
• Need for more housing - rental and purchase.

Where do want to go financially in the new year?

• Retirement savings - identifying when to begin.
• More creative ways to add secondary income.
• Financial diversification?
• Identifying more available supportive services via our partners.

Stand By Me® provides Delawareans with a Personal Financial Coach and a toolkit to navigate the challenges leading to personal financial security. The Delaware Financial Empowerment Partnership (DFEP) is a joint venture of the State of Delaware and the United Way of Delaware working together to combine resources and to create and implement an innovative package of financial empowerment services. We are joined by a coalition of non-profit organizations, corporations, foundations and educational institutions.

Support the Show.