“The goal I am most proud of is improving my credit score. When I saw my debt balances go down, I was thrilled. It was such a huge weight off my shoulders,” shares Johnson, whose next goal is to buy a home. “I am so grateful for PenAir’s Financial Counselors who helped me tremendously along this financial wellness journey. I am so excited to take what I learned during the competition and apply it to my habits for the rest of my life.”
Over the seven-month competition, all NOW participants made significant strides toward eliminating debt, boosting credit scores, and increasing savings. On average, teams were able to save $7,300 and decrease personal debt by $7,500. All teams were coached by a PenAir Certified Financial Counselor. Second and third-place teams this year received cash prizes of $5,000 and $2,500, respectively.
“We are so proud of all our NOW participants this year,” said Lee Morgan, President and CEO of PenAir. “I would like to give special thanks to our PenAir coaches,” Morgan continued. “Their expertise is invaluable and their practical approach to reducing debt and increasing savings will serve our participants well throughout their lifetimes. We look forward to helping more PenAir members transform their finances in our next NOW competition beginning later this spring.”
More information about PenAir Credit Union’s NOW program, including details about this year’s winners, is available at penair.org/NOW. Submission requirements for PenAir’s 2024-2025 NOW competition will be announced in April.