A Think Like A Saver Attitude
Melissa has always been thrifty with a #ThinkLikeASaver attitude. This served her family well when her husband lost his job in 2014. Using their savings, Melissa’s family stayed afloat while her husband found a new job.
Related Topics
Melissa has always been thrifty with a #ThinkLikeASaver attitude. This served her family well when her husband lost his job in 2014. Using their savings, Melissa’s family stayed afloat while her husband found a new job. During his job search they used a majority of their savings, but that is OKAY. Savings are fluid! They’re supposed to be used in the case of emergency, and this qualified as such.
In 2016 with her husband freshly employed, Melissa was eager to restart her family’s savings journey. Her first step was to start a new savings account. With $100 cash to open the account, she began visiting the banks in her hometown. To her dismay, she was turned away by three banks simply due to a requirement of a $500 balance or direct deposit to open a savings account. This is common practice at commercial banks and often presents a major hurdle for young and lower-income workers. Or, in Melissa’s case, a stay-at-home mom. “I gave up my teaching career after my daughter was born to save on expenses such as daycare, extra medical, etc.” Direct deposit was not an immediate option because her husband was at work and not there to open the account.
Melissa’s last stop was Garden State Community Bank in Bayville, NJ. This branch participated in America Saves Week in 2016. Always the last week of February, America Saves Week brings together nonprofits, local governments, academic institutions, banks and credit unions to encourage and support effective savings for all Americans. Garden State Community Bank was offering a low-cost savings account as part of its America Saves Week promotion. This was the opportunity Melissa needed.
“After a friendly chat with the branch manager, she was very sorry to inform me of the bank’s policy for opening a new savings account was a minimum of $500 as well. She saw how defeated I looked and quickly started to think of ways I could save money to get to that $500. Then, she remembered she had just received information on America Saves Week and the bank’s saving incentive. She gave me all the info and helped me fill out the proper forms. Boom! I had finally started a savings account after so long!”
Since 2017, Melissa and her family have been saving $250 to $500 a month. They have added two more savings accounts as well. One account is for vacations, one is for the holidays, and the other is a general savings account. Melissa is proud to say, “The last two years our vacations have been fully paid for out of our vacation savings account. Usually with some money to spare, too!” The family is currently saving for a trip to Washington, D.C.
Melissa’s Saving Tip:
As much as we might want to save all our money, we all have to spend it to survive. Food, soap, shoes, clothes, and toilet paper are necessities. Even cellphones and the internet at home are considered basics in household budgets. So how can we save on the things we need?
Melissa saves by shopping on rebate websites like Rakuten, BeFrugal, and Swagbucks. These websites are commonly called cashback shopping sites. If you shop through a cashback site, they will give back a small percentage (less than 5 percent) of what you spend. The trick is to only buy things you are going to buy anyway. Melissa immediately deposits her rebate checks into a savings account. This way she isn’t tempted to spend her rebates frivolously.
To learn more about how cashback sites work and how best to take advantage of them look here.
CHECK OUT OTHER SAVINGS JOURNEYS FROM SAVERS JUST LIKE YOU
Saving Early: Key to Successful Future
By Johnnie Lovett
For Johnnie Lovett, a Young Illinois Saver, saving has been a habit since he was a teenager. “As a teenager, I was responsible for buying certain things with my allowance,” the Illinois State University junior said.
Budget like Nohemi
By Nohemi
Nohemi found out about America Saves a few years ago as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at...
Saving With My Boys
By Kelly
Kelly has made saving a family effort. She started her boys saving early. “Probably 3,” Kelly told us, “w...
Another Dream Realized
By Mary Brown
Mary Brown was already a disciplined individual when she came to Wisconsin Saves coordinator Wisconsin Wo...
The Gift of Homeownership
By Quaneka Willis
Quaneka Willis, a single mother of three children, was receiving rental assistance through the Housing Au...
Transforming “I Can’t Save” to “I Will Save”
You will not believe what it took to completely change my life. About three years ago, the HR Administrator of the corporation where I worked (as a temp with no benefits) forwarded an email to me. Fifteen seconds. One small act of kindness. That's it - that's all it took!
Taking Steps Toward Financial Fitness
By Nicky Vasquez
Nicky Vasquez learned about Virginia Saves when she attended her first class with Bank On Virginia Beach....
Developing a Savings "Game Plan"
By Eunice Diaz
Eunice Diaz, a teacher in Colorado Springs, had been noticing a pattern. Despite the fact that she and he...
Savings #ImSavingForSweepstakes
#ImSavingFor Winner Story
By Pedram R.
America Saves awarded one lucky saver, Pedram R. from California, $750 for sharing his #ImSavingFor story...
Saving Early: Key to Successful Future
By Johnnie Lovett
For Johnnie Lovett, a Young Illinois Saver, saving has been a habit since he was a teenager. “As a teenag...
Don’t Laugh at Saving Spare Change
By Brittany
Virginia Saves saver, Brittany, decided to start saving again when she became a single mother. She thinks many women, and men, can relate.
Put 20 Percent Away
By Melissa
“I am a single mother, and I make ends meet for me and my daughter, but I wanted to put money away for my...
Jump-Starting a Financial Makeover
By Nichelle Johnson
Nichelle Johnson, a single mom with two teenage children, knows what it’s like to stretch a dollar. When ...
Saving With My Boys
By Kelly
Kelly has made saving a family effort. She started her boys saving early. “Probably 3,” Kelly told us, “w...
Saving is a Family Affair
By Jeff
Saving is truly a family affair for Jeff’s household. During America Saves Week 2019, he pledged to save ...
Saving With My Boys
By Kelly
Kelly has made saving a family effort. She started her boys saving early. “Probably 3,” Kelly told us, “when I started encouraging them to save because that’s when they started receiving small bills from family on the holidays.”
Put 20 Percent Away
By Melissa
“I am a single mother, and I make ends meet for me and my daughter, but I wanted to put money away for my...
Saving is a Family Affair
By Jeff
Saving is truly a family affair for Jeff’s household. During America Saves Week 2019, he pledged to save ...
Budget like Nohemi
By Nohemi
Nohemi found out about America Saves a few years ago as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at...
Starting and Continuing a Personal Finance Journey
By Kiara Hardin
When Kiara Hardin, now a junior at Western Illinois University, became an intern with the Chicago Summer ...
Developing a Savings "Game Plan"
By Eunice Diaz
Eunice Diaz, a teacher in Colorado Springs, had been noticing a pattern. Despite the fact that she and her husband were “making good money,” they were spending their entire earnings and “were still struggling at the end of the month.”
Getting Out of Debt
By Tonya Shelton
In 2004, Tonya Shelton was facing financial ruin. Barely making more than minimum wage and having lost he...
Inspired to Build Savings By Starting Small
By Sharon
With little-to-no money in the bank and living on a limited income with her adult daughter, Sharon wasn’t...
From Overwhelmed to In Control
By Debi
In 2017 Debi felt overwhelmed. Her credit cards were maxed, and she wasn't exactly sure how to handle it....
Taking Back Control Over Finances
By Nadine Bialo
After becoming a Virginia Saver and getting help from BankOn classes and coaching, Nadine Bialo took back...
Savings #ImSavingForSweepstakes
#ImSavingFor Winner Story
By Pedram R.
America Saves awarded one lucky saver, Pedram R. from California, $750 for sharing his #ImSavingFor story. Pedram said, “Saving is important to me because it proves I am not willing to buy unnecessary things to please others or to be perceived as successful.”
Saving is a Family Affair
By Jeff
Saving is truly a family affair for Jeff’s household. During America Saves Week 2019, he pledged to save for retirement. But making a commitment and creating a plan to save isn’t a new concept for him.
Getting Out of Debt
By Tonya Shelton
In 2004, Tonya Shelton was facing financial ruin. Barely making more than minimum wage and having lost her home to an unexpected family crisis, Shelton and her family were forced to live in a rundown hotel.
If we feature you in our newsletter, you get $50.
You May Also Be Interested In...
Take the America saves pledge
Make a pledge to yourself and create a simple savings plan that works. Complete the Pledge and America Saves will send you short email and text reminders, resources and tips to keep you on track towards your savings goal. Become part of an entire community of savers. Get started now!
creative ways to fund your savings
Those with a savings plan are twice as likely to save successfully. Taking the America Saves Pledge is a pledge to yourself to start a savings journey and America Saves is here to encourage you along the way. Take the first step toward creating a better financial future. Make a plan, set a goal, and pledge to yourself to start saving, today.
Congrats on completing the pledge!
Take the America Saves Pledge
Make a pledge to yourself and create a simple savings plan that works.
