As the Vice President of Business and Community Development
at Navigant Credit Union, Randy
Sacilotto’s job is to be out in the community,
ensuring that the needs of businesses and individuals are being met. Yet Randy’s dedication to serving others
extends well beyond his day job. Indeed, the list of his volunteer commitments
is telling: he is the past President and current Board member of the Lions Club
of Pawtucket, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Project Learn Family
Literacy Center in Woonsocket. And given
his expertise in banking and financial services, Randy was intrigued when he
heard that General Treasurer Gina Raimondo would be launching a financial
empowerment initiative; he immediately emailed her about the opportunity, and
was one of the first volunteers to sign up.
After going through Capital Good Fund’s training, Randy was eager to start meeting one-on-one with Rhode Islanders. That said, going into the program he was “worried that the sessions would be overwhelming for the clients,” and that “their financial challenges would be too great for me to help solve.” Fortunately, Randy’s experience has allayed those concerns. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with eight people thus far, and I’ve been able to help most of them in a meaningful way,” he notes.
Growing up, Randy learned a valuable lesson, one that he has
imparted to his clients: what matters isn’t how much you earn, but rather how
much you spend. He explains: “Growing up
I was always working…Cutting grass, shoveling snow, things like that. But I didn’t manage my money well; I
constantly found myself having to work more just to keep up with my spending.”
In fact, it wasn’t until Randy moved into the banking sector that he put
together a sound financial plan.
Now, as a member of the Coaching Corps, Randy gets to help
others create their own financial plans.
“Finances aren’t really that complicated,” he says. “People don’t want to be judged or
saved. They are just looking for someone
to sit down with them, to compassionately understand their situation and to
acquire the tools and skills they need to get ahead.”
So far, Randy has worked with families to manage student
loans, understand what credit is and how it works, and simply get out of the
cycle of spending more than they earn.
He concludes: “It’s critical that people have an avenue for financial
education open to them. And I’m
confident that once they have that financial plan, it’s much easier to stick to
it and both set and meet financial and life goals.”
Learn more about Treasurer Raimondo's financial empowerment initiatives here:
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