Shaping Networks and Community
0 of 7 activities locked in
Skipping this module may affect your future success in the program. However, you can return at a later time to complete this if you wish.
Activity 34 — How Each Flock Member Builds a Network
Look at all four if you like — but lock in the one closest to you before moving on.
Pick the style closest to you to continue.
Activity 35 — Make Your List
One line per place — no minimum, no maximum.
Activity 36 — Spot Your People
Add at least one person or role to each section below.
Activity 37 — Your Network WIP
Without looking back at your list above, check off anyone who comes to mind for each level below.
Activity 38 — How Networking Actually Works
The 6-step relationship-building framework, and how to use your network in a job search, lives in its own slide deck, not on this page.
Review the Networking slide deck before continuing.
Activity 39 — Finding Your Community Organization
Pick the search style that fits, then type in your interest.
Notes while you search
Jot down anything worth remembering as you look around — names, first impressions, anything to compare later. This is just for you to refer back to.
Research Your Organization
Activity 40 — Make Contact
Draft a short, professional introductory message — who you are, the organization, why it fits you, and what role you'd want.
Did you take the Give & Grow™ assessment earlier in this program?
Track Your Outcome
Tori's Checkpoint
What Tori recommends, based on knowing what's ahead — the choice is always yours.
You can identify who's in your network, make at least one genuine connection, and see the network hiding in your daily life. Completion, not a score, got you here.
Are you ready to move on, or do you need to modify any of your locked in responses?
Skipping this module may affect your future success in the program. However, you can return at a later time to complete this if you wish.
Activity 41 — What Do You Already Know About Money?
No right or wrong answers — this personalizes what comes next.
Do you currently receive an allowance?
What do you mostly spend it on?
Are there any living costs you already help pay? (choose all that apply)
Activity 42 — What Do You Think Things Cost?
Not a test — just a starting point. Hold onto these guesses, we'll come back to them.
Activity 43 — What Independence Actually Costs
Independence is not a feeling — it's a budget. Here's what the numbers actually look like for a single adult in the US right now (2025–2026).
Transportation costs can be much more variable than other living expenses — where you live, whether public transit is available, and what a job requires can swing this number by hundreds of dollars a month, often in ways people don't factor in until after a job offer is already accepted. That's worth a closer look on its own.
Transportation, real monthly costs
- Personal vehicle (payment + insurance + gas + maintenance): $600–$1,000+/month
- Public transit (fixed monthly pass): $50–$150
- Rideshare (daily use, ~20 workdays): $300–$600+/month
- Bicycle or walking: low cost, weather/distance-dependent
- Paratransit: ADA-mandated for eligible individuals with disabilities
Personal Items, real monthly costs
- Phone (plan + data): $30–$80/month
- Toiletries & hygiene: $20–$40/month
- Clothing (replacing worn items, not a full new wardrobe): $30–$60/month
- Subscriptions & entertainment: $20–$50/month
- Small emergencies / incidentals: $20–$50/month
Activity 44 — Quiz: Budget Basics
Activity 45 — Income: Where Money Comes From
Earned income — wages, salary, tips, commissions — is subject to federal, state, and local taxes, plus FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Here's what entry-level earned income looks like by career area (2025–2026, national estimates):
Every state and the federal government has a minimum wage employers must pay — you get the higher of the two.
Activity 46 — Job Benefits and Government Supports
This content lives in its own slide deck (this is where the Room 3 slide deck ends) — not duplicated here.
Review the Job Benefits & Government Supports slide deck before continuing.
Activity 47 — Quiz: Income & Government Supports
Activity 48 — Connecting Your Interests to Income Goals
Pick a career area to see its wage range and compare it to your own budget picture.
How Each Flock Member Approaches Money
Activity 49 — The Grocery Budget Challenge
You're on a first-job income of $1,400/month take-home, in a one-bedroom apartment. Set your own weekly grocery budget below, then plan a real week of meals you'd actually eat within it.
Starts at $75 — a medium/middle-of-the-road weekly budget, not a requirement. Change it to whatever fits the plan you're building.
Running total: $0.00 / $75.00
What surprised you?
Activity 50 — What's Your Lifestyle?
Tap a card below to land on a lifestyle scenario — the average monthly cost for that lifestyle will appear in the purple box beneath the cards as you click through your options.
← Review your hourly wage from Activity 5
What would it take?
Below is an estimate only of what a lifestyle of your choice may cost on an average basis. Please consult with local information (google it) to determine if this number is high or low for your geographic location.
Activity 51 — Plan an Activity
Plan a realistic activity or event on a budget you set yourself.
Tap a category below to add an expense line for it, or add your own.
Running total: $0.00 / $500.00
Activity 52 — Life Skills + Plan + Budget = The Life You Want
Tori's Checkpoint
What Tori recommends, based on knowing what's ahead — the choice is always yours.
Do you understand what independent living costs, where income comes from, and how your interests connect to a realistic financial plan — even if that plan is still forming? Completion, not proficiency, is what unlocks Room 4.
| Level 1 | Money is one of the most important rooms in this building. Stay a little longer — the numbers are worth understanding before you leave. |
| Level 2 | You have a clearer picture of what things cost. Room 4 is waiting. |
| Level 3 | You know what your life will cost, where income comes from, and what your next step looks like. Room 4 is open. |
Are you ready to move on, or do you need to modify any of your locked in responses?
Clears everything you've answered in Room 3 so you can start it fresh. Cannot be undone.