Changing A Mindset
Owning a house seemed like a fairy tale to Saul and Maria. For years, saving for a down payment felt impossible for while they juggled rent, groceries, and three growing kids.
"We were living paycheck to paycheck," Saul explains. "We didn't make a plan. Money came in and money went out. We didn't feel poor, but we did feel stuck."
When a neighbor invited them to Siempre Padres, Urban Ventures' Spanish-language program for parents, they decided to give it a try. The program was just starting a section on financial literacy, led by Franklin, the program director.
Franklin challenged everyone to save $1,000 in three months, insisting that the barrier was mindset, not income. "Everybody has the option to save money," he told the group. "It's not that you can't, it's that you don't choose to."
Saul remembers being surprised by Franklin's directness. Maria and Saul were skeptical, but open. They paid closer attention to their spending and started noticing where the money actually went. With Franklin's guidance, they built a plan. Small choices, repeated daily, started adding up. Three months later, they had saved more than they thought possible.
Franklin remembers their initial skepticism, and he remembers how they overcame it. "What made them different is they stuck to the plan. Many people will start, but they give up too quickly. Saul and Maria remained committed, and it changed their lives."
The program became a lifeline in the face of unexpected challenges. When Saul's job as a cook was eliminated without warning, he mentioned it to others in Siempre Padres. Within a week, someone connected him to a contractor looking for extra help. Saul took the job, not knowing he'd just found his career.
But if you ask Saul, the savings account and the new job weren't the most important outcomes. "The most important thing I learned was not about money," he explains. "The most important thing I learned is that I could change how I think."
“Each lesson poured a little more into us. Soon we were full, and then overflowing.”
That fresh mindset pulled them back for more classes: healthy relationships, positive discipline, goal setting. "These were lessons our own parents never had the chance to teach us," Maria says. "Each lesson poured a little more into us," she reflects. "Soon we were full, and then overflowing."
The overflow shows. Saul's experience in construction led to home remodeling work, and eventually to starting his own business. Today, he leads a team of eight employees. After years of fixing up homes for other families, Saul and Maria were finally able to buy one of their own. The fairy tale became reality.
Their hard work has overflowed into their family as well. Their eldest child is in college, the first in the family to pursue a degree. Their younger two children are starting further ahead than Saul and Maria ever did.
Saul recognizes that his mindset changed about family, too. "Before, I worked all the time. I wasn't present for my family. Now, I am a better father and a better husband," Saul explains, before pausing. "Well, Maria gets to say if I am a better husband." Maria lets out a little laugh with a tiny nod.
The overflow has gone beyond their own family. Saul and Maria are now the ones inviting their neighbors to Siempre Padres.
"We share our story a lot," Saul says. "Thanks to Urban Ventures we're able to do this. We invite others because maybe it will change their lives too."
He's quick to emphasize that the classes themselves are only the first step. Real change, he says, begins with a fresh perspective on what's possible. It's about changing the way you view yourself and your situation. Without that mindset shift, they would still be renting, still living paycheck to paycheck, still wondering if a home of their own could ever happen.
"Without that change we wouldn't have this house, we wouldn't have this family."
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