How to Become Super Savers This Year
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Whether you're saving for emergencies, a vacation, or a house, you have to have some way to stash away that money.
We'll look at some popular savings hacks and how to find the best savings option for you!
Becoming a Super Saver
Are you saving up for something big this year? If you are, you have plenty of company.
Fidelity released its 2020 New Year Financial Resolutions Study and found that 53% of those surveyed who were planning on working these finances had saving more as their goal.
That’s great news considering on average, we’re not really saving enough.
According to GoBankingRates when they asked more than 5,000 adults their savings balance, 58% had less than $1000 saved and 32% admitted to not having anything at all in their savings.
That is a really vulnerable position to be in.
So if you want to turn things around and really ramp up your savings, I think you’ll enjoy today’s episode.
I’m sharing the best tips and stories from one of the super savers and favorite guests I’ve had on this podcast.
Financial educator and Journey to Launch creator Jamila Souffrant and her husband saved over $80k one year while living in NYC!
More interestingly is how she was able to get him on board. Great ideas on how to approach not just the process, but enjoy the journey together.
Joe Mecca from Coastal Credit Union and another super saver is also back on to break down his goals for this year and how he’s saving for them.
In this episode we’re looking at:
- why your savings rate matters
- Where and how to get started with savings in your budget
- how to set things up so you’re automatically saving more while still enjoying life
Let’s get started!
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Resources to Save More This Year
Want to start boosting your savings rate? Here are some resources to check out:
- Best Budget and Money Apps: Personal Capital, Tiller, Mint
- 5 Days to $5K: It’s my free weeklong course to show you how to find, save, and make extra money so you can save your goals faster!
- Free 401(k) Analysis: blooom
- Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money
- How We Doubled Ours in 3 Years
- 17 Money-Saving Strategies We Used to Triple Our Savings Rate
Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!
Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union. If you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better, come check out Coastal today!
We’ve been Coastal members for a few years have been happy with their services.
They have wonderful services and accounts to make saving easier including their competitive money market accounts!
Why Your Savings Rate Matters
What do I mean when I say ‘savings rate'?
Some think savings is just what you have in your bank account, but isn’t necessarily true.
Your savings rate also includes what you’re setting aside long term – like any investments you have for retirement or related long term accounts like your health savings account. Or if you’re taking advantage of options like a flexible spending account.
The idea is here with tracking your savings rate is that you’re putting your hard-earned money to work for you.
When you take your saving from a typically advised about 10-15% to a larger portion like 30% or more, you’re not only hitting your goals faster, you’re also shifting your mindset.
Mindless spending gets replaced by conscious spending. You’re more thoughtful because now you understand the options you have with your money.
That can be powerful.
Now there are some couples who do start off big, but in many cases, it’s a process.
Like Jamila, you may be a natural saver, but your spouse may not be.
So what can you do to encourage them to save more?
Start with defining your why.
Define Your One or Two Big Goals
What are the big goals that you two are trying to save up for? Besides the financially savvy moves of an emergency fund and maybe a house downpayment, is there anything you want to save for that will enrich your quality of life?
Are you looking to include more travel this year? Would you like to explore a new hobby or dive back in with your current one?
Whether you or your spouse are natural savers or not, it’s important to give your money a job and a purpose that aligns with what you value and prioritize.
Over a series of conversations, Jamila was able to nudge her husband towards increasing their savings considerably to get them moving towards financial independence.
For Joe, it’s a mix of the practical and the fun. He's saving up for his next car and several trips around the country.
Finding the Money in You Budget to Save More
Now, though, you’ may be stuck with a question I get from many – where exactly do we get this ‘extra’ money so we can save more?
I cover in more detail in my free 5 Days to $5K course, but there are a few ways you can tackle this –
- You can cut expenses
- You can be strategic with your spending
- You can earn more on the side
One of the low hanging fruits when it comes to ‘finding’ money is looking at where is the money going now.
As Joe points out, there’s one area in the budget, where many couples could get take a second look at – food.
And of course, you don’t have to stick with just one strategy.
How to Automatically Save More
One big help for couples is making sure that once you have your spending plan in place, you then can automate into your system.
Support the Podcast!
If you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful, here are some ways to support it.
- Spread the word. If you have friends who could boost their savings, please share this episode with them on social media or just email the link!
- Leave a review. Every review helps! Please share your honest feedback on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.
- Visit our Couple Money Toolkit for more info on available apps, tools, and services to master your money together.
- Become a Patron.
Special Thanks!
Like the music in this episode? Our theme song is by Gentle Regime. I also want to thank Lee Rosevere for music in this episode.
