Local Savings for Local Communities – Jennifer’s story

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Here at South Manchester Credit Union, we exist to support the members of our local community with fair financial services. We know that saving today leads to a secure future, but you don’t have to take our word for it – hear it from our members.

Jennifer is a long-standing member. In the face of life’s challenges, she has saved with us. Building a strong savings habit over time, Jennifer has put herself in a stronger financial position than when she joined us.

How Jennifer found us

14 years ago, Jennifer had just moved into a property with her two young children and their dad. He was physically abusive and would regularly beat Jennifer. The trauma this caused stayed with her. When she was able to leave, she found herself in need of financial support as the impact of the abuse on her mental health left her unable to work.

We are proud to have been there at the time for Jennifer, to offer financial support.

When she found us, she was struggling to afford Christmas. She had heard of credit unions before from chatting with other parents on the school playground. Jennifer was attracted by the fact that she could access loans with fair interest rates through the credit union.

Kickstarting her savings!

As Jennifer made her repayments, she also kickstarted her savings habit, as we ask all our members to save alongside their repayments at an affordable amount. This meant that after she had finished paying her first loan, she already had a solid savings platform to launch from. From then on Jennifer has kept building on those savings knowing they are there for her during life’s ups and downs.

The value of keeping her savings locked with us

She shared with us that she not only likes the benefit of keeping her savings secure from spending temptation, but she also values the importance of keeping her savings locked away so we can continue supporting other local people.

“I like the way you have locked savings”

“You can see it from my point of view but from your point of view as well, from what you’re doing for everyone, there needs to be a certain amount locked in so that everybody can get loans”

“We’re working with each other”

Jennifer hit the cooperative nail on the head, as a member-owned organisation, we are here to work together to lift each other. She told us why she likes saving with us instead of an alternative

“You’re very open with sharing with people, it’s your friendliness and your kind approach and the way that you do things are quite easy”

Jennifer's words of inspiration

We were inspired by the kind words from Jennifer, we wanted her to inspire others too – that is why we asked her for the advice she would give other people, who may be saving for the first time.

“Set up a standing order and forget about it”

Sometimes, it’s really that simple, we have seen members’ balances grow quietly in the background – before they know it, they have reached an impressive amount of savings or a dream goal of theirs.

What the future holds for Jennifer

Looking to the future we asked Jennifer what her dream savings goal is, she stated saving for her children was the most important goal for her. For Jennifer, it was a case of finding the right account for this goal. After learning that our Young Savers account keeps money secure and locked away until a child turns 16, she plans to open two!

Join Jennifer and others who are saving to secure their financial futures. Kickstarting a savings habit begins with you taking the first step, open a savings account here at South Manchester Credit Union today.

Share this post

Money saving tips

Side hustles
Local money for local people

Side Hustles – Everything you need to know

Reading Time: 4 minutesSide hustles are becoming more and more popular in the UK every day. The good news is, it’s never been easier to start earning some extra income. We’ll run you through all you need to know about side hustles so you can get yourself started. Looking to increase your income?

Read More »

Stories

Stories

Retrofitting your home – Marie’s story

Reading Time: 2 minutesDo you want to reduce your bills? Retrofitting your home and improving its energy efficiency is an effective way to achieve this. Here at South Manchester Credit Union, we can support you in reaching this goal. We offer a Green Loan to our local community – hear how this has

Read More »
Stories

Retrofit your home – Keith’s story

Reading Time: 2 minutesRetrofit your home! It is great for your finances and the environment. Here at South Manchester Credit Union, we offer a Green Loan to support our members through their journey to a more efficient home. Keith is a member who wants to reduce his bills and create a positive impact

Read More »

Financial support

Credit union world

Cost of living support – Cost of Living Emergency Plan

Reading Time: 5 minutesHello everyone – Ryan here. Just wanted to quickly introduce myself before we get started on today’s blog about cost of living support. I’m the newest member of the marketing team here at South Manchester Credit Union. I really am enjoying bringing you guys the best content we can. We

Read More »
Credit union world

Greater Manchester Community Credit Unions united to unveil £15m financial support in Covid recovery plan

Reading Time: 2 minutesIn 2020 eight community credit unions joined together to launch a Covid-19 recovery plan. The plan offered £15m in financial support to millions of people across Greater Manchester. http://youtube.com/watch?v=2-Onp-dell8&t=18s Sound Pound offered financial support The consortium, known as SoundPound, showed communities across the region that there was light at the

Read More »

Credit union world

Credit union world

We have smashed the 5000 member milestone

Reading Time: < 1 minuteSince 2000, we have been driven to provide our community with safe financial services, working hard together to grow and support local people. Recently, we celebrated a massive milestone – 5000 members! We invited Abraham, aka Mr 5000, to Fog Lane for treats and photos. We wanted to learn more

Read More »
Credit union world

We are continuing to make history in our local community

Reading Time: 3 minutes2025 has been a year of growth for The Sound Pound Group of Greater Manchester credit unions, of which we are a founding member. January kicked off with the Annual Bee Bus Ticket launch, our latest offering to our local community. The ticket gives our communities cheaper travel on Greater Manchester buses

Read More »