BEAVERTON, Ore. – First Tech CU was so impressed with the performance of all four families in its “U-Turn Challenge” financial makeover contest, it awarded the $10,000 grand prize to each one.
The four households were selected from more than 350 applicants from around the Pacific Northwest who wanted to make a financial U-Turn by cutting their debt, increasing their savings and managing their family budgets.
"Each family had unique nuances and situations occur throughout the year that both helped and hurt them in the competition," said Deborah Colby, vice president of marketing for the $2 billion credit union. "In the end, we had a hard time picking a clear winner because they all made amazing strides completely unique to their own situations. We were stuck! So we did the only thing we felt was fair – we chose all of them!"
The four First Tech-selected households that participated in the U-Turn Challenge throughout 2009 documented their financial successes and challenges on their own blogs at
At the start of the U-Turn Challenge, First Tech assigned each household a team of financial experts, led by a coach who helped them get on the road to a better financial life and potentially win the competition. The coaches focused on every aspect of each household’s financial situation, including budgeting, credit management, home buying, paying for college, planning for retirement, insuring for the future and much more.
