After 20 years of supporting her family by training and racing horses, Pat Smith was stricken with spinal meningitis.

While she recovered from her illness, Pat took a number of jobs, eventually becoming a bus driver for the Head Start program in Eaton County, Michigan.. It was in this job that she learned about Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). Enrolling in April of 2002, Pat attended the IDA program’s financial management classes and although she already had good savings habits, she still learned a lot. “One of the most valuable parts of the IDA program was that I was able to increase my ability to save and to start building assets for myself and my family. The IDA program made a big, big difference to us,” said Pat.

Through her IDA program, Pat saved toward her goal of running a farm where children with disabilities can interact with animals. When Pat found a suitable place for sale, she wrote a letter to the sellers, explaining her IDA and what she wanted to do with the property. They sold to her, even though hers was not the highest bid. After only a year of diligent saving, she purchased the 10 acres of land outside of Charlotte, in south central Michigan.

Now on her new farm, Pat continues to save and to find new ways to cut expenses. She already has brought in some animals and she is sure she has the experience to make her farm work.

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