For many of the Capital Area Asset Builder’s clients, the changing of seasons brings on trepidation and anxiety because it means final exams are looming around the corner. But lately it’s not just the college freshmen that have been calling. More adults are calling, too. These adults are juggling part-time jobs, family responsibilities, and attending school.
With the job market less vibrant, at CAAB we’ve seen more adults going back to school to obtain that degree or certificate that seemed less obtainable or significant a few years ago. Many have been able to do that by utilizing a tool CAAB offers called the Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). IDA’s help low- and moderate- income individuals and families in DC make investments in their futures by purchasing homes, starting small businesses or continuing their post-secondary education.
Since the start of the economic recession, we’ve seen individuals put on hold their dreams of buying a home, and many have been forced to re-strategize their savings and investments for the future. As working families began facing the realities of the downturn, they were forced to tighten their belts and tap in to any existing emergency funds. Many also made the wise decision to use this time to go back to school.
While the path to these investments in higher education may have been indirect, they are crucial foundations of wealth building for working families in DC and are vital for the local economy. In an economic recession, opportunities for wealth building can take on different forms, whether through going to college or building credit or taking advantage of the new Small Business Assistance legislation and starting a small business.
In order to make weathering future storms easier and making economic security a reality for low-income families in Washington, DC, now is the time to examine what opportunities exist for asset building and ownership. On Monday November 15, CAAB and the Washington Area Women’s Foundation are presenting a forum at the New America Foundation to address the question, “What is Asset Building for working families in a down economy?” For more information and to register, visit: http://caab.org/news-events/Policy-Summit.php
