After the birth of my third child 4 months ago, I decided to use the Thrive challenge to help me become more active and take control of my finances. I really liked it because it wasn’t a strict program with a rigid set of rules, instead it helps you think about making daily better choices for your own life. You are able to do what works for you and feel really good about it. I decided that I would focus on getting the kids outside every day on a walk with me. I put the baby in the stroller and we all just go. Then I let the girls help me create our grocery list so that we can include healthy foods and snacks that they like. They are eating way better and staying more active. We are saving lots of money, which I set aside for home repairs and necessities. 

  • I’ve lost 20 pounds so far!
  • My girls and I make sure we always have healthy snacks in the house.
  • We did a 21-day no spend challenge and only bought what we budgeted for.
  • Planning our finances together has helped my husband and I feel more secure with our family. 

I love to shop, but not spending extra money really allowed me to see that we could accomplish our family goals without worrying and stressing about our budget. After the 21 days we could see the money we had been saving in our account. Even after all the bills were paid, we had money to fix our roof and make the home repairs we needed. It has motivated us to keep going. We can see all the extra money we used to spend on eating out going right into our pocket. It’s just incredible!  

Muskegonites are making better, healthier choices, seeing big results, and winning big.Stories from Muskegonite winners, such as Kinyatta Shawboose, prove that every individual has the power to transform their life every day through a combination of small, healthier choices and peer-to-peer inspiration. 


The Thrive Challenge has returned to Muskegon County, which was chosen as the first community in the country to participate. This second Thrive Challenge opened for entries on June 1, 2020 and will end on August 31, 2020, with another prize pool of $45,000. Anyone that lives within Muskegon County is encouraged to participate and can enter by visiting https://thriveglobal.com/get-started/walmart.