Yvette Hubbard has always taken care of her family. As a mother of two, she always worried that as a renter she could be put out on the street. But she never thought she’d have the stability that came from owning her own home.
A friend told her about Southern’s Asset Builder Individual Development Account (IDA) program that is designed to help low-income individuals save to advance their education, buy a home, or start a business.
Every dollar Yvette invested in her IDA was matched by three dollars of federal and private funding. In less than a year she had reached her goal and had saved enough to make a down payment on a three bedroom, two-and-a-half bath house in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
Now she realizes just what can be achieved by saving a little money each month. Although she’s not in the IDA program anymore, Yvette saved enough money on her own to build a 480 square foot addition to her house and she continues to make improvements by working on the yard, landscaping and painting.
“The IDA program taught me how to manage my money and not get in over my head,” says Yvette.