The entrance to Anna Rose Bakery & Coffee Shop in Harrisburg
Abby Traxler, a Lewistown-native, reached out to me because she saw our ‘Be Money $mart’ financial literacy initiative and wanted to get involved. I decided it would be a great opportunity to have a sit-down conversation with her for our very first episode of On the Menu at one of my favorite restaurants in downtown Harrisburg, Anna Rose Bakery and Coffeeshop.
Abby is a full-time financial analyst at The Hershey Company and is Miss Susquehanna Valley, part of the Miss America system, which is the largest provider of scholarships for women. While she represents the title of Miss Susquehanna Valley, Abby shared that she must complete a year of community service as well. She chose to promote financial literacy through her own initiative, Common Cents.
She’s always been passionate about financial literacy, which is why she pursued a career in the finance industry and decided to promote it during her tenure.
Abby Traxler and General DeFoor
As we were talking, Abby shared that she often goes into schools to help students learn about financial literacy. She shared a story about one little girl who was intimidated by school, but having a passionate instructor made all the difference.
“There was a student who I heard from the teacher was struggling with school—she didn’t really like it,” Abby said. “But, she knew the days I was coming in to talk about financial literacy.”
“She knew Miss Abby came in on Mondays, so she didn’t fuss, she didn’t argue, she didn’t fight. She looked forward to coming to school because she was talking about money and learning about something that was interesting to her. These are the skills that they need to learn.”
I then asked Abby what her best advice was for someone who wanted to start a business. She shared, “Start small, and that goes with anything whether it’s budgeting, opening a business, saving for retirement, or just a personal goal that you’re working toward. Start now because time is on your side.”
She also talked about the importance of utilizing the resources that everyone has, sometimes right at their fingertips, to help them on their financial literacy journey.
“It’s so easy to check my bank statement or my credit card statement to make sure there’s no fraudulent activity going on,” she continued. “I would recommend to anyone—use the resources that are available to you.”
And in her opinion, the best way to be financially literate is to stay informed and be realistic.
“When it comes to budgeting, so many people think that you can’t have any joy, or you can’t do fun things, or you have to only spend your money on your needs,” she shared. “But what kind of life would that be? The most important thing is to just be informed. There are a lot of decisions that will be thrown at you but just ask people or do a Google search and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll find.”
New Opportunities and Financial Literacy Lessons
Riley and Zach Mader, owners of Anna Rose Bakery & Coffee Shop
As Abby and I were chatting about financial literacy, I saw the new owners of Anna Rose, Zach and Riley Mader, and asked them to join us. Riley has been a baker at Anna Rose for the last four years and always dreamed of opening her own shop. That dream became a reality when the prior owners of the business decided to retire, and she and her husband had the opportunity to take over.
“The previous owners wanted the business to go to someone they knew they could trust to carry it through,” Zach said. “It took a long time, a lot of debate because it’s a huge financial commitment and a huge lifestyle change.”
The couple shared that they had some financial challenges to overcome, such as navigating the fluctuating price of products or learning when there’s going to be a slow period.
“But, we adapt, we adjust,” Zach said.
And in my opinion, they’re adjusting just fine. Their variety of baked goods including cupcakes, muffins, cookies and cakes are fresh and delicious, and I can’t wait to see how they succeed in the future!
By: Tim DeFoor, Pennsylvania Auditor General