Credit Repair Glossary

• Community Savings Funds

  A “community savings fund” is an informal savings group set up by a group of friends or neighbors.  These funds are frequently used in parts of Caribbean, African and South American countries where access to formal banking resources may be limited.  Community savings funds are also commonly used in parts of the United States.  Here’s an example of how they work.  A group of ten friends or neighbors may agree to pitch in $100 each, each week.  One of the group members then gets access to the whole amount each week.  So, each week, one member gets $1,000.  This money can be used to pay bills (or whatever the group member wants). 

  Community savings funds are referred to as “sou-sous”, “paluwagans”, or “sociedads” (depending on where you are from).

  In the U.S., strict credit scoring rules and tightening credit conditions make these community savings funds more important for recent immigrants and others with poor credit or no credit history.