Winner of Fox Cities Financial Makeover Challenge Announced 

There were plenty of tears, hugs and smiles as four families shared the struggles and successes they experienced over the past several months as participants in the first Fox Cities Financial Makeover Challenge.

Kevin and Lisa Mroczkowski of Appleton were declared the winners during an April 20 awards program at the Goodwill Community Center.  Of the four finalists, they had come the closest to meeting their financial goals before the April 15 deadline.

Kevin and Lisa Mroczkowski of Appleton were declared the winners during an April 20 awards program at the Goodwill Community Center.  Of the four finalists, they had come the closest to meeting their financial goals before the April 15 deadline.

“I have learned so much from this program,” Lisa Mroczkowski said.  “It’s been life-changing for me and my family.  Thank you all very much.”

As the first-place winners, the Mroczkowski family was awarded a $1,000 cash prize.  The other three finalists – Adam and Stephanie Jackels of Freedom, Shari Martzahl of Menasha, and Tim and Rita Braun of Neenah – each received a $250 cash prize.

The Challenge, which began Dec. 1, 2008, was designed to help local families improve their financial situations.  Each finalist met regularly on a one-on-one basis with their assigned counselor FISC to set goals and build strategies to increase their savings, reduce their debt, and reduce their expenses. 

Lisa Hintz, vice president of Lakeview Credit Union, which was one of the partners for the Financial Makeover Challenge, noted that all four finalists did extremely well in turning their financial situation around in a relatively short period of time.  Hintz reported that, in total, the finalists paid down $13,586 in debt and accumulated $16,844 in new savings.

“We hope this Challenge helps people understand that you don’t have to wait until you’re in dire straits before you seek help,” she said.

FISC counselor Ginny Schroeder had worked with Kevin and Lisa Mroczkowski throughout the Challenge.  In recapping their progress, Ginny noted that this winning couple is “following the FISC spending plan by increasing savings, paying off debt, communicating, and bringing their family on-board to make this work.  Everyone, even Mom and Dad, get a weekly allowance.” 

Lisa Mroczkowski told the people gathered for the awards program how grateful and relieved she was when she found out her family was chosen to participate in the Challenge.  “There were a lot of sleepless nights because my husband didn’t know how bad it was,” she said.  “I learned that many people are in this situation, that a budget can work, and that kids can live without stuff.  We are living within our means, which is a big thing.  My goals for our family are to be debt free, and that will probably take two years.”

Mary Novak, FISC’s Counseling Services Coordinator, said many people have been inspired by the efforts of the Financial Makeover Challenge finalists and by their stories.  Goodwill produced separate videos about each of these finalists, and the videos can be viewed on FISC’s Web site at www.fisc-cccs.org.

In addition to FISC and Lakeview Credit Union, the following Fox Cities partners cosponsored the Challenge:  Appleton Area School District, Appleton Public Library, Best Advantage Credit Union, Brillion High School, Capital Credit Union, Catholic Charities Budget Counseling (Green Bay Diocese), Citizens Bank, Community First Credit Union, Fox Communities Credit Union, Fox Valley Technical College, Freedom High School, Hortonville High School, Kaukauna School District, Kimberly School District, Little Chute High School, Neenah Joint School District, Pitney Bowes, The Post-Crescent, Postal Annex – Menasha, Prospera Credit Union, School District of  New London, School District of Shiocton, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Unison Credit Union, UW Extension – Outagamie County, and Watters Financial Group through the Community Foundation.

Financial Makeover Progress Report

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