It’s America Saves Week! Each year, we encourage our community to dedicate this week to pause and do a financial check-in, and this year is no different. Join us this week to get a clear view of where your finances are, where you want them to be, and what small steps you can take to put you on a path forward.
We all have unique circumstances that in many cases, makes it difficult, or nearly impossible for many to save at this stage of their lives. Despite this, we understand that people are still committed to doing the work, taking control of their finances, and becoming more financially stable – in every stage of life.
Saving on Autopilot
Sometimes the smallest things have the greatest impact— like building the habit of saving, even if it’s just a little bit at a time. In fact, saving is a habit, not a destination! Check out this blog post from the America Saves Team, who breaks it all down.
If you haven’t already:
- Set up automatic savings, either through your employer or financial institution.
- Revisit the amount you contribute, if you have already established automatic savings.
- Assess whether you have the best possible account for your savings and consider switching to a high-yield savings account to get the most out of savings.
Whether you choose to split your direct deposit or set up an auto-transfer through your financial institution, you benefit by automatic savings in two ways: first, by establishing the habit, and second by setting and reaching attainable milestones that will be incredibly useful when and if an unexpected expense arises.
Saving for the Unexpected
It happens to all of us: You’re saving for something that you’re really excited about and before you know it an unexpected event occurs, causing you to dip into your designated savings.
Every day, Americans are forced to use money they were saving for something they truly value or credit to pay for an unexpected expense. Check out this blog post from the America Saves Team, who breaks down saving for competing priorities while establishing your savings goal(s).
- Begin to understand your Money Story and Money Values.
- Identify your savings goals.
- Use automatic savings to begin or grow your emergency savings accounts.
Saving for Milestones
How do you save for the big things, like homeownership, retirement, and education, when saving for the small things is difficult? Saving for competing priorities can feel overwhelming, but there are ways to break these big goals down into reasonable, practical steps even if you aren’t where you want to be financially.
- Get a clear view of your financial landscape.
- Establish or revisit your Spending and Savings Plan.
- Learn a practical approach to saving for short, mid, and long-term financial goals.
(P.S. Register for America Saves’ LIVE workshop Wednesday, where they break this all down right alongside you.).
Additional Resources from our friends at America Saves to support you today:
- BLOG POST: Saving for Competing Priorities
- BLOG POST: Saving for Major Milestones When You’re Young & Just Starting Out
- PODCAST EPISODE: Saving for Major Life Milestones
Paying Down Debit IS Saving
Just like having a plan for saving is important, so is having a plan to pay down your debt. Recent reports show that individuals have increased their usage of credit cards due to the ongoing inflation and rising costs of our basic needs like housing, food, and transportation.
Couple that with the return of student loan debt repayment and the interest rates increase, and the ability to pay down debt is exacerbating the savings crisis, hindering the ability to save for emergencies and remain financially stable for many Americans.
- Check your credit report
- Grab your credit score at annualcreditreport.com
Saving At Any Age
Talking about money has been considered taboo for too long, but this mindset could be doing us a disservice. After all, it’s not what you say but how you say it.
You’ve gained valuable insights this week, and the next step is to share those learnings and check-in with your loved ones.
- Talk to family members, whether it be your own kids to older generations, about your money story and goals, including retirement plans, the importance of saving, and responsibly using credit.
- If you haven’t, open up a savings account that correlates with what matters most to you right now.
We hope these tips are insightful, and you’ve been able to pause to do a financial check-in, allowing you to get clear on where your finances are, where you want them to be, and what small steps you can take now to put you on that path.