At the 2024 EMERGE Financial Health conference, 120 attendees participated in our pre-conference FinX Workshop: Spend the Day in Your Customer’s Shoes, sponsored by Prudential Financial. Taylor Rysdon, a new addition to the Financial Health Network team, participated in her first FinX at the conference. Below, she reflects on her experience and connections to her past.

Pre-FinX

Growing up just south of Chicago, my single mother worked hard to give me a better life than she had. We lived in a mostly white, middle-class suburb, and as one of the few Black kids, we often felt out of place. Even though my mom made a comfortable wage and we didn’t struggle for the essentials, she knew opportunities would be more abundant in less minority-dense suburbs. We know that neighborhoods matter – there is a relationship between where people live and their financial health outcomes. Research by the Financial Health Network indicates that financially healthier people tend to live in neighborhoods with greater access to resources such as clean water and air, safety, high-quality medical care, and places to buy healthy food. Meanwhile, financially vulnerable people are more likely to live in neighborhoods with higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and financial distress. 

With many children across the country preparing to return to the classroom, families are carrying the weight of back-to-school expenses. Increased living expenses make shopping for student needs nearly impossible for underserved populations. Many people often have to decide between feeding their families and purchasing school supplies for their children.

FinX Insights: A Firsthand Account

I took my seat in the FinX workshop, confident that I was fully mentally and physically prepared to walk in the shoes of someone facing financial struggles. I mean, I’ve seen my mom make $20 in cash stretch for more than a week. How hard could it be? Introducing ourselves to one another, my group members and I had no idea what we were in for. Workshop facilitators shared how the half-day, immersive experience would work. Each randomly assigned group received the same amount of time to cash their checks and complete a list of tasks using just the money allotted, but we only had so much time. Our group received a check for $80 and a checklist of tasks to complete in the real-world environment. One of the first missions: public transportation.

We hit the streets of downtown Chicago and quickly realized how time consuming it can be for someone who is financially vulnerable to navigate basic financial tasks. Many don’t have access to mobile check deposits so these individuals often find themselves traveling across town to cash their check. This often results in losing time and spending money to access their funds. Time quickly slipped away from our group as we rushed to cash our check and tackle tasks like buying diapers, getting a money order, and applying for a loan.

It felt nearly impossible for our group to complete all the tasks. The lack of financial resources led to a lack of time, and everything we sought to accomplish felt like it took much longer to complete as a financially vulnerable customer. With a very small budget, we had to focus on the necessities which meant we compromised our preferences. For example, one of our tasks was to purchase $20 worth of groceries for a week. In an ideal world, I would have preferred fresh, organic produce but it was much too expensive. Then I thought about my family of five back home. There’s no way we could survive two days on a $20 budget. My group, like many families navigating low- to-moderate financial circumstances, had to stretch every dollar by opting for large bags of rice and canned beans over pricier options like organic produce. 

My journey with FinX highlighted some harsh realities:

• • Limited time due to limited resources: Many families don’t have the time or means to manage their tasks efficiently. Limited access to high-quality financial services and complicated benefits systems create a time-consuming burden on families who are already facing daily financial challenges. 
  • Financial institutions aren’t fully aware of consumer needs: Effective solutions meet the real, material needs of financially struggling consumers, but many solutions that are currently available fail to do so.
  • Compromised decision-making: Many people have to make quick, tough decisions with limited time, like buying diapers and managing finances during a lunch break. Quick decisions don’t always mean cost-effective decisions.