One day, Janell started taking notice of the creeping rise in rent prices and how close her monthly rent had come to the average mortgage payment. She then came to the realization that her rent was helping to build someone else’s future rather than her own. At that moment, she made up her mind that she wanted to purchase a house and build equity to fuel her financial future. For Janell, throwing money away month to month simply wasn’t worth it.

She made up her mind about her goal but needed some coaching and guidance on how to reach it with the fewest hiccups possible. That’s when she met Erin Smith, the financial wellbeing coach for First Horizon Bank Smyrna (Tennessee). Janell had their first session in January 2021 and deep-dived into her big picture goals, broke down her monthly expenses, developed a budget, and assessed her credit needs. Once they both had an understanding of Janell’s financial story they put a plan in motion with the end goal of working toward a 660 credit score and purchasing a home to save money and to begin building wealth.

Janell started out with a 598 credit score, but she gave herself until her apartment lease ended to put in the work to achieve her financial goals. In addition to a less than stellar credit score she also had no savings account, several charged-off accounts, two new credit cards, and no installment loans — all of which severely impacted her credit. Nevertheless, she and her coach were determined to apply the process and course correct to achieve the life that she wanted. financial wel assistance reaching one on one session in January of 2021 to uncover her goals, monthly budget, credit needs, and put a plan together.

After a few months of hard work and discipline, which included opening a new loan account, keeping her credit card balances low, and focusing on savings Janell moved into a brand new home and exceed her goal of obtaining a 660 credit score landing a 669!