Roots of Personal Finance Member Spotlight: Erin Cianciolo

Erin Cianciolo, a dance mom of two, knew her family's finances were in trouble long before she took Roots of Personal Finance. They were making a decent income, but living paycheck-to-paycheck. After trying to fix their finances on their own for years, with little improvement, Erin knew they needed help. "It was scary at first, but it got less scary as we learned the skills to manage our finances."

While taking Roots, Erin realized that her family of four was spending way too much on groceries and eating out. "We also were throwing money in the trash because for every night/lunch we ate out, I was having food go bad in the refrigerator because it was uneaten for the meals I had purchased it for." They had spent more than $700 one month and almost $1,000 another month on food alone. That was Erin's wake up call.

Erin and her family made a commitment to start eating at home as much as possible. The biggest challenge was when they traveled for dance competitions, but Erin figured out how to make it work while staying within their budget. She started choosing hotels that offered complimentary breakfasts and packing a cooler of food for the trips. Once the competition season was over in June, Erin decided to challenge herself to cook at home everyday until they left for their road trip earlier this month. 

"There were plenty of nights that I was exhausted and just wanted to run out to our favorite local place for a bunless burger, but my being tired wasn’t worth the $75 tab that generally happens when you have three adults eating out!" Erin accomplished her goal of cooking at home for 48 days straight and has seen a big improvement in her family's finances.

Erin's cook at home plan hasn't just benefitted her family on the financial front. Erin and her husband have lost weight and her son is learning how to cook. 

Here's some advice from Erin to help you with your financial journey: "A simple change can lead to big results. Whether it be cooking at home each night or waiting 24 hours to buy something pretty you see out, or hitting Starbucks one less time a week, those little behavior changes lead to BIG results."