Stop! Get me off the credit bus | Auckland News | Local News in Auckland

Students caught in the spiral of living beyond their means have hope, thanks to a scheme created by an Albany resident. Sophie Bond reports.

Sheena Lugod avoids shopping malls at all costs. The 23-year-old  is a reformed shopaholic who has  turned her financial situation around in just over a year.

She did it with the help of Miomo, a programme for school leavers that is part boot camp, part motivational messages. Miomo stands for Making It On My Own and Miss Lugod attended  its November 2009 launch programme which she credits with helping her "jump-start" her life.

Miss Lugod's father works for Fletcher Steel, one of several companies offering Miomo scholarships to employee's children. "He thought I had some money problems," she says smiling, "so just as I was finishing university he put me into Miomo.

"I didn't want to admit it but, yeah, I had problems. I would get my $150 a week from the Government, and that's money I have to pay back, but I would just spend it. I never had money for necessities, but could always find it for things I wanted." She says she used shopping to boost her mood.

"At Miomo, I learned the difference between wanting and needing - and that just because you have money you don't have to spend it all at once."

When the programme finished,  Miss Lugod, a Howick resident,  started job hunting and paying off her credit card debt. Now employed as an architectural draughtsman in East Tamaki, she says one key to curbing her spending was to watch less television and avoid magazines.

"They make you want to buy things. Now I save 60 per cent of my income and let myself spend the rest. Even then, I don't always use it all."

And what does her father think? "He's happy," says Miss Lugod. Over the past year she has saved enough money for a four-month trip around the US later this year. "It's an achievement that took a lot of sacrifice."

Miomo was created by Albany resident Yvonne Godfrey, a professional leadership speaker who decided to focus on helping young people transition to adulthood.

Held at Camp Maynard in Paremoremo, Miomo hosts groups of up to a dozen 18- to 25-year-olds for 10 days in a flatting situation.

Workshops with guest speakers cover financial, physical and emotional well-being and participants learn practical skills  like creating a CV, basic cooking methods and doing laundry.

Mrs Godfrey believes every school leaver should have a job and parents shouldn't provide pocket money.

"Within 90 days of leaving Miomo, the person has to be able to take care of themselves without being on the benefit."

The not-for-profit course is not cheap, costing nearly $3000 for each participant, but several companies provide scholarships for their employee's children. Others, such as Warehouse Stationery,  sponsor members of the public and Mrs Godfrey subsidises  many throughout the year.

"I want this to be available to every young person. There's nothing elitist about what we're doing."

She hopes to increase Miomo's frequency to 10 days on, 10 days off by the end of this year and eventually aims to take the course global.

Making it

The next Miomo course runs from February 9-19. For more info, see
www.miomo.co.nz