#SavingChallenge February 1

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For February the #Coach4adayChallenge is going to a SAVINGS Challenge.

For the more astute readers you may have noticed that I omitted 30 Day for February for the obvious reason there are only 28 days in the month.

When I reread Dave Ramsey “Total Money Makeover” earlier this month I learned something new. For those that don’t know Dave Ramsey has a system that attempts to get people out of debt. I believe you may be able to find the PDF of this book online if you are pinched for cash. FYI I located the book in the library.

His system has “7 Baby Steps” with the first one being create an “emergency saving account of $1,000”. It basically is saying you need to have $1,000 set aside for emergencies. My wife and I adopted his system almost 15 years ago. It is not easy but it works.

Here is a graphic of those 7 Steps.

The new idea for me that I got from Dave Ramsey’s writing was how we should view money. It has three purposes FUN, INVESTING, and GIVING.

So how does the SAVINGS Challenge work. It is going to depend on your situation. I am going to leave the choice of what mechanics you choose to SAVE up to you. What I want all of us to before beginning the challenge to decide is how we will use the SAVINGS. Will it be for spending, saving, or giving away.

I suspect based on research I have done that most Americans need to INVEST. According to a 2017 GOBankingRates survey, more than half of Americans (57 percent) have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts. What is even scarier is that 39% don’t have an Emergency Saving Account of any kind. I am pretty sure that the pandemic has made those numbers even more dire.

Examples of the SAVINGS Challenge to select

1. No Spend Challenge-for the month of February you identify one item and do not spend $ on that item-examples take-out food-coffee-alcohol-cigarettes-ice cream-desserts-snack foods-clothes-shoes. You identify the item and calculate what eliminating that would SAVE you. As a reminder Lent begins on Feb 17th so this might be head start for some people. Take that amount and INVEST have FUN or GIVE away at end of month.
2. The Monthly Saving Challenge-Take you monthly net income and SAVE 10% this month-If you net 600 a week you need to SAVE $240 this month. Pay yourself the 10% first. End of the month INVEST-Have FUN-or GIVE it away
3. $500 Monthly Challenge-will actually be $406 for February-start with a $1.00 a day. At end of the month INVEST-Have FUN-GIVE it away
4. $1,000 Emergency Savings Fund in 30 Days-complete Dave Ramsey Baby Step #1

This Coach4adayChallenge will not be easy. Living your life out from underneath the cloud of debt is a gift you are capable of giving yourself but you have to start.

Start the SAVINGS Challenge and join me.