Woman’s Day helps Riverdale Woman

Woman’s Day helps Riverdale Woman

Like so many other women, Michele Pierce Burns of Riverdale has always been worried about money.

Her 16-year- old son Danson is autistic, and his care took up a large portion of her income until recently.

In addition Michele’s husband Michael struggled to find a full-time job for a long period of time, adding to the family’s financial burden.

She would work hard to earn money, then left dealing with financial matters up to Michael – causing her to stress over the situation indefinately.

Woman’s Day magazine recently choose Burns as a recipeint of their ‘Make A Woman’s Day’ series, which provides assistance to women who are struggling in one particular area of their lives.

For Burns, a 47-year-old with no money put away for retirement, it was her finances that caused her the greatest amount of stress.

WD Magazine paired Burns up with financial planner Eleanor Blayney, and the two sat down to transform the way Burns looked at money.

After the counseling she feels more in control of her financial picture, and doesn’t second guess as much when it comes to making purchases.

Her biggest takeaway was to lose the fear when it comes to looking at your finances.

“I really learned that we aren’t in as bad shape as I thought,” said Michele, who used to be so anxious she would barely look at her bank account. “We all kind of have that fear around our finances, and the more you understand the more calm you will feel.”

Michele has worked two, and sometimes three jobs at a time to support her family, and was accustomed to the stress of not having a financial net.

Now that her husband is working again, and her son is receiving aid through a federal program, the two have developed a plan to put away $1,000 a month towards retirement.

Before organizing her finances and developing a budget, Michele had thought of the money as extra funds but she didn’t know exactly how to use them.

Now she has done the research, outlined a plan for what money she will spend where, and feels infinitely more secure.

“I have an app on my phone now that tracks my whole budget,” said Michele with excitement, “I never thought of using technology like that.”

These tips can be helpful for anyone on a budget, but Michele brought up the point that having a child with a disability comes with its own set of financial harships for families.

“I feel like I’m pretty far along with my son now that he is 16,” said Michele, “ If I can be helpful to anyone in the community I would like to offer my support.”

If you have a disabled child and would like to contact Michele for support or advice feel free to email her at: renae.burton@ymail.com

Link to full WD article: www.womansday.com/life/work-money/a53860/financial-stress

Reach Reporter Madeline Anthony at (718) 260-4591. E-mail her at manthony@cnglocal.com.