Save Automatically: America Saves Week

Free Webinar: Monday, Feb. 21st (Time TBD)

Click here to join us for Monday’s FREE webinar! (Sign-up link coming soon)

This year, America Saves Week starts with one of our bedrock principles; make savings automatic.

Saving isn’t easy. There are always going to be more things to do with your money than you have the cash to accomplish, so if you keep your funds too accessible, they’re going to disappear before they can be set aside for the future.

Because we recognize how tough it is to set aside a portion of your income, we have always advocated automatic savings. If your money goes straight to savings, you’ll be less likely to miss it.

How to save automatically

How you set up your automatic savings will vary depending on your situation. How does your income get to you? How often? Come up with a plan along these lines:

1. Set up a direct deposit with your employer—split your paycheck so that your savings never gets to your checking account, but instead goes straight into a separate savings account. You may already do this with retirement contributions, so add emergency and goal savings to your regular direct deposit.
2. You can also talk to your bank and have them automatically transfer funds from one account to another on a set schedule. So, if your paycheck is direct deposited into checking every 2 weeks, have a set amount transferred from checking to savings biweekly.
3. If your paydays are irregular, you could set a specific calendar day every other week to have funds moved from checking to savings. If your transfer to savings isn’t consistently tied to your regular payday, then be sure to do it when you don’t have a lot of other bill payments coming out of your account, and make sure you’re not transferring too much money regularly that will leave you financially short in your checking account.

Remember the goal is to not think about savings, but to have the transfer happen automatically and not be tempted to spend money that you should be setting aside. If you save too much in a given month and are forced to transfer money back from savings to checking, you might be starting a bad habit.

If you don’t have enough money to save, then chances are you have debts that are costing you too much. Pay down your debts to reduce the amount you’re losing to interest and fees every month, and free up some of that income to save. 

Talk to a free debt coach to come up with a plan to reduce debts and free up income for savings, and establish a budget that will leave you enough money to get started towards your savings goals.

Remember when it comes to savings, it’s okay to start small! The most important thing is that you save something and get in the habit of saving.

We’re kicking off this week with day 1 of America Saves Week!

Credit.org is a proud participant of America Saves Week – a campaign coordinated by the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America (CFA), dedicated to helping individuals save money, reduce debt, and build wealth.

Today at 10am (PST), we’re hosting a free webinar about controlling your finances. From budgeting to prioritizing where you spend your paycheck, we’ll help you reach your savings goals!

Monday, February 21st | Save Automatically: America Saves Week

• Learn time-tested strategies to budget, manage and prioritize your paycheck and learn how to take control of your finances by learning to budget your paycheck – before you spend it.
• Duration: 1hr
• Sign up for this webinar (coming soon)

Join us in tomorrow’s session at 10am (PST) to learn how to Save for the Unexpected:

Tuesday, February 22nd | Save for the Unexpected: America Saves Week

• Get timeless information about what’s on a credit report, how it gets there, how a credit score is calculated, and how to develop good financial habits. Learn strategies to budget and take control of your finances by learning to budget your paycheck.
• Duration: 1hr
• Sign up for this webinar (coming soon)