February 21-28 is designated as America Saves Week, a week where financial bloggers encourage people to take financial action through saving, debt reduction, and wealth building.
The personal savings rate has risen above 4% recently, but most Americans are still not saving adequately for retirement, and most lower-income households do not have adequate emergency savings for unexpected expenditures like a car repair. But with more societal encouragement and support, more Americans can be persuaded to build wealth, not debt.
For my contribution to America Saves Week I thought I would share a personal story of a simple strategy that I use to save a portion of my income.
My personal checking account is with Arizona Federal Credit Union (AZFCU). Opening a checking account at AZFCU requires first opening a “share” savings account with a minimum of $25.00. One doesn’t have to contribute further savings to this share account in order to keep the checking account open. It’s just a requirement for being a member, and it can also be used for overdraft protection.
I also have a piggy bank at home. When I empty my pockets upon changing my clothes everyday, I feed the pig with my leftover change from that day. When the piggy bank gets full, I rolled up the coins and periodically deposit them into my share account at the credit union.
I’ve been saving my change for approximately five years now. I don’t contribute anything to this account except my spare change, and use this share savings account for the sole purpose of seeing just how much I can save over time with this strategy. It’s not a lot of money, but with time and consistency, I’ve managed to save just under $2000.00.
Now, I know that your probably saying to yourself “$2000.00?!, that isn’t squat”. If so, then you’re right. But it doesn’t take a significant effort on my part and doesn’t cause me undue financial hardship. It also shows that even a few cents here or there can become a significant level over time.
So, what are you going to do during America Saves Week? Take action.
Post a Comment