Tax season can mean a couple of things, depending on where you stand with the tax man. For a lot of us, we’ll get a refund, and happily decide where to spend the “unexpected” windfall. For some of us, we end up with a bill, hopefully one that we’ve been expecting and planned for throughout the previous year. I know that when I was younger, tax season always got off to an early start. I’d complete my taxes as soon as possible so I could get that refund deposited into my checking account. And if I didn’t have bills that needed to be caught up (which happened quite a lot in my youth), I’d have plans for updating my wardrobe, or getting something new for the house. And while it was fun to spend the money, it didn’t do much for my financial situation. Luckily, after talking with the staff at Afena, I discovered a way to save money, start repairing my credit, and still get some of those things that I really wanted.

 

Lisa at Afena introduced me to the Share Secured Loan. It’s an interesting concept, and it really did play a big role in helping me rebuild my credit. We took my tax return and put it into a savings account. I then was able to get a loan for that same amount at a very low interest rate and very manageable monthly payments. This helped me to start budgeting, it sent positive information to the credit bureau on a monthly basis, and once that loan was paid back, I still had my tax refund plus interest in a savings account. And since I had become accustomed to making those monthly payments, it wasn’t a stretch to start adding to those savings.

I know I usually will blog about my family, and that makes sense. When you’re in a family, your finances are the family’s finances, and it’s a good idea to build your spending and budget plans with that in mind. But I’ve heard friends and acquaintances and even strangers talking about how much they’re looking forward to that tax refund, and having been there, I can’t help but share my own experiences with Afena and how they helped me start saving, building my credit, and getting the money I was looking forward to spending all at the same time. I’m Claire, the Afena blog mom. Thanks for reading.