The PEARLS Program: "We work smarter, not harder now"

Eric and Lisa Huggins were the typical family. They knew they wanted to buy a home but didn’t know where to start. Once they decided  it  was time to move forward with purchasing,  they began looking around and were at a loss as to what to do. Their son’s grandfather was a former board member of NeighborWorks Waco, so they had heard a lot of good things about the organization in the past.They decided to contact NeighborWorks Waco to see what they could do for their family.  

When they finally met with NeighborWorks Waco, Mr. Huggins stated, “The counseling was great because we knew our credit wasn’t great but we didn’t know how to fix it. From the first appointment, we already started to learn how to go about fixing it and what steps to take.”

For every family that participates in the PEARLS program, NeighborWorks Waco recommends that they attend the Financial and Homebuyer education classes. “We took the Financial Freedom class and it opened us up to all kinds of information that we never had about credit and about budgeting.  It gave us a lot of information. Now our budgeting is better, our spending is better.  We are more aware now,” said Mr. Huggins.  Mrs. Huggins added, “It gave us a plan of attack.”

The Huggins' ultimate goal is to be homeowners. Being a part of the PEARLS program has helped their family get closer to that goal by making them aware of their spending habits. “We work smarter, not harder now,” Mrs. Huggins stated.

Realizing that they had work to do before they could reach that ultimate goal of homeownership, they decided to stay with family to save money.  After a few months, however, they felt it would be better to rent.  After looking around for rental homes, Mrs. Huggins came across a home that just happen to be one of NeighborWorks Waco’s.  “I just happen to see this one, I met Karen here and I saw she had a NeighborWorks shirt on.  I thought ‘Not only are we already in the program but they have this rent house too?’… I call it divine intervention.” Without hesitation the Huggins decided to participate in the PEARLS program. Renting a home as opposed to an apartment, they felt it was safer, more private, and their kids would have a yard to play in.

So far the Huggins’ experience with the program has been a positive one because of all the things they have learned and how much they have grown financially.

When asked if they would recommend the program to others Mrs. Huggins’ stated, “Absolutely. I definitely recommend it to people, because there are a lot people out there who have no clue where to start. When you go through the program, you are taught the whens, wheres, whys and whats of your financial and credit history.  It’s just a great program, because it helps.”