Like many people these days, Memphian Angela Davis-Meeks couldn’t seem to get a grip on her finances. “I’d spend every little dime I tried to keep,” says the 33-year old First Tennessee Bank employee, who is also a wife and mother of two.

Then the RISE Foundation intervened. Davis-Meeks first heard of the organization’s Common Cents program via a mention on the evening news. After learning more online, she enrolled in Common Cents at the University of Memphis’ Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change. The weekly crash course in financial literacy quickly got Davis-Meeks on track.

“One thing we learned in class was that you can’t keep up with the Joneses,” she says. “You see your coworker with a nice car and you’re riding in a little hooptie, and you’re going to want what they have. But those people might have a $200,000 home and nothing in the refrigerator! With this class, you see what you’re bringing in and what you’re spending. And nine times out of ten, you’re spending a lot more than you’re making.”

Founded in 1999 from a collaboration of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, the Memphis Housing Authority and the United Way of the Mid-South, RISE strives to raise the financial I.Q. of local citizens.

Its incentive-based I.P. Village and Goal Card programs focus on elementary, middle school and high school students from low income families. The Responsible Lending Collaborative shines a light on predatory lending practices, and teaches the city’s lowest wage earners about affordable options from grocery shopping to banking. And through its newest program, Common Cents, RISE pairs with area employers to battle the skyrocketing bankruptcy rate.

Common Cents participants learn how to create – and stick to – a budget, says Alisha Tillery, the program’s facilitator. They raise their credit scores and build self-worth. “These lessons are so valuable,” Tillery says, emphasizing that, despite the importance of financial literacy, few Memphians are taught about money by their parents or schools.

Count Davis-Meeks in that group. Raised in North Memphis, she and her husband purchased their first home in Raleigh in 2002. Yet, like so many families, money is tight, and Davis-Meeks would often worry about how she would cope if her Nissan Altima broke down, or what might happen when her husband’s Honda Accord, which has over 200,000 miles on it, finally goes kaput. That’s why Davis-Meeks enrolled in RISE’s Save Up program last March, four months after graduating from Common Cents.

In Save Up, eligible participants (who are employed residents of traditional public housing or Section Eight voucher holders) open a savings account with a partner bank along a specific goal – anything from college course fees or a computer to reliable transportation or a starter home. All account maintenance fees are waived, and, once one-third of the goal is reached, RISE matches the account balance two-for-one.

Since the program’s inception in 2000, 376 Save Up participants have purchased 48 homes and 32 vehicles. “That match is the biggest incentive,” say Davis-Meeks. “The hardest part was putting in the initial $75, but once I did it, it was okay from there. Now, I’m going for the max.” She expects to complete Save Up in March, when she purchases a new car. Make that a gently used car.

“No debt, no note,” Davis-Meeks clarifies. “Something with low mileage that will get me from point A to point B!”