READY, SET, SAVE: SAVINGS CHALLENGE UNDERWAY

Local Latino family learns financial skills and could win $10,000

Every payday, Yahaira and Carlos Rodriguez do what most young married couples do: try to figure out how to make ends meet. "It's hard," says Carlos, a gym teacher at Roger's Saint Academy school. "We like to take vacations, [but] with the cost of living being so high, we have a hard time saving."

They're not alone. Millions of American families are going through the same thing. But for the next nine months, the Rodriguez family will have their financial life put under the spotlight. The Rodriguez family is one of six families selected by Educators Credit Union and YMCA to participate in the Savings Challenge, a program that rigorously teaches participants how to save money by scrutinizing their every financial move. The family who saves the most by May will win $10,000.

The idea to start the Savings Challenge program came from Wally Rendón, outreach representative for Educators Credit Union in Racine, who had seen the same program implemented in El Paso, Texas. While exposing a family's entire financial situation isn't something a lot of people are willing to do, Rendón says it's an effective way to teach them - and others - useful financial skills. Jeffrey Collen, CEO of YMCA Racine, hopes that participating families "learn to better handle their finances."

That's what the Rodriguez family hopes, too. "We want to save enough to buy our first home and be able to learn valuable skills about money that we can teach our children in the future," says Carlos. To learn how you can participate in the Savings Challenge at home, visit http://www.ecu.com