Creating Your Own Personal Budget and Balancing Your Checkbook

Abstract

Christine Angelo was going to be released from prison soon, after serving a combined three-year sentence for grand larceny and a probation violation. She was nervous and sometimes overwhelmed by all the things she knew she had to do when she went home, including dealing with her probation officer, finding a job, taking care of her two small children, and paying her court fines and restitution. Many of her wrong choices had revolved around money; there had never seemed to be enough to cover all her bills. She wanted to learn how to create a budget and manage her money better, and to have a plan in place before she was released. She sought out help from a woman in her building who had been a financial planner, and then took the prison's money management class. Excerpt UVA-F-1868 Jun. 28, 2019 Creating Your Own Personal Budget and Balancing Your Checkbook Christine Angelo was soon to be released from prison after serving a combined three-year sentence for grand larceny and a probation violation. She was very nervous about going home and trying to get her life together. She knew she would be on supervised probation for at least three years, so she had to buckle down and focus on doing the right things. Christine had two small children: Joseph, age 6, and Rachel, age 4, who were being raised by her parents. She wanted more than anything to live her life right, take care of her children, and raise them with the same Christian values and morals that her parents had taught her. Although she had strayed from their teachings, during her incarceration she had grown in her faith and come to realize how important it was to her. As she pondered how to be a good parent now for her kids, she knew that the best way for her to lead and teach them was by being a good example herself. During her time in prison, Christine had done a lot of self-reflection and tried hard to address her unhealthy behaviors and addictions. She knew that in the long term she would need the accountability of Narcotics Anonymous (NA) to remain clean and sober. When she thought about going home, she often became overwhelmed as she considered all that she would have to face, such as dealing with her probation officer, finding a job, taking care of her children, paying her court fines, and paying her restitution. . . .