emergency fund

30 Day Money Saving Challenge: Save $100 in One Month with Quarters

January 11, 2019 By Jeffrey Strain 4 Comments

Now that the new year is underway, people across the country are striving to make their resolutions a reality. If your goal is to increase your emergency savings (or even start your first emergency savings account), a quick money challenge can be an excellent option. While popular approaches like the 52-Week and 365-Day challenges are great choices, they do require a full year commitment. If you want to start with something shorter, this 30-day money saving challenge might be right for you.

How to Save $100 in a 30 Days

If you want to start slow or simply have a need for a quick $100, you can painlessly get the money you need with a 30-day quarter challenge. This approach is great for individuals who are living paycheck to paycheck, as the daily deposits never exceed $7.50.

On day one, deposit $0.25 in your savings account, the value of one quarter. Then, on day two, you deposit two quarters instead of one, making your deposit into your savings account $0.50 and bringing your balance up to $0.75.

As you proceed with the challenge, you just add $0.25, or one quarter, to the deposit amount from the previous day. On day 10, your deposit will be $2.50. On day 20, you’ll reach $5.00. Finally, your day 30 deposit is only $7.50.

You can also remember the amount by recognizing that the number of quarters you deposit matches the day of the challenge. For example, on day 10, you would deposit 10 quarters, which have a value of $2.50.

At the end of the challenge, you’ll have $116.25 in your account. Plus, if you put the money in a high-yield savings account, you might even earn a little bit of interest too.

If you would rather do the challenge in cash, you can place the appropriate number of quarters into a jar at home instead. However, you won’t earn any interest this way, and you might have to wrap up your change in rolls before depositing it into a savings account.

Want to Save $500 in 30 Days Instead?

If you want to challenge yourself, and pull together almost $500 instead of $100, then use dollars instead of quarters. On day one, deposit $1.00. Then, deposit $2.00 on day two, $3.00 on day three, and so on until you finish the 30 days.

At the end of a 30-day dollar challenge, you’ll have $465 in the bank. Plus, your largest deposit is just $30, the cost of a single fast food meal for many families of four.

Benefits of the 30-Day Money Saving Challenge

While the biggest benefit of completing the 30-day challenge is increasing the balance in your savings account, you also get more out of it than that. Along the way, you are setting good savings habits, helping you create a solid financial cushion in case of an emergency.

Plus, there is nothing to say that you have to stop after 30 days. You could always keep going, increasing your deposit by $0.25 each day until you reach a particular savings goal or hit the end of the year. Alternatively, if you are living paycheck to paycheck, you can start over each month, using the date to guide the size of your deposit. That way, your largest daily deposit never exceeds $7.75, making it much more manageable for anyone with a tight budget.

Consider Money Saving Apps

A great way to supplement your savings is the automated approach with an application like digit.co

Simply sign up and let the program analyze your checking account. The app will then make automated withdrawals which don’t impact your spending and sweeps them to an account you control. It is a super easy way to save money without a lot of effort. Click here to check it out.

In either case, you are creating an easy way to bolster your savings, ensuring that you have a health emergency fund in place at all times.

Do you have a tip for saving $100 a month? Share it in the comments below.

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How to Prepare for Summer Rainstorms and Hurricanes

June 4, 2018 By Tamila McDonald Leave a Comment

A hurricane of the intensity of Harvey or Irma can damage anywhere from 25 percent to 90 percent, respectively of the homes after it hits the mainland. With this year’s storm season also expected to be above average in severity, it behooves you to know how to prepare for summer rainstorms and hurricanes.

The impact of these storms on your home can be mitigated if you prepare for them in advance. Right now is the best time to do that, as the season is technically just beginning.

You’ll want to get on this as soon as possible: Meteorologists expect up to 16 named storms, including at least seven hurricanes. With that kind of outlook, here’s how to prepare your home

Reinforce Your Home

Certain parts of your home tend to be more vulnerable to strong winds and heavy rains. If you reinforce these areas, and you improve the odds of surviving hurricanes and storms with minimal to no damage.

Begin by repairing any damage to your roof. Then reinforce it: Secure your rain gutters and downspouts to make sure they won’t be ripped off by high winds. Additionally, clean your gutters and downspouts to make sure that water flows through them freely.

Check your windows to make sure they are sturdy and consider replacing those that don’t feature the latest technologies, like double panes.

Shutters and Doors

Storm shutters can also be beneficial, as long as they securely lock into place over the windows. If you can’t afford storm shutters, have plywood available so you can cover the windows if a storm rolls in.

You can also strengthen your door by improving the hinges and locks. Make sure your door has at least three hinges and that deadbolts extend out at least one inch.

Replace any builder-grade hinge screws with three-inch wood screws to make sure the underlying framing supports the jamb.

Cover Sliding Glass Doors

Also make sure that any sliding glass doors have tempered glass, and cover them with shutters — or plywood if a storm approaches.

Moving onto other areas, look into upgrading your garage door to one made from stronger materials or improved latching mechanisms.

Look for a garage door that is approved for wind pressure and provides measurable impact protection.

Yard Maintenance

Falling tree branches can cause significant damage to your home and property. So trim your trees, making sure the limbs aren’t close to power lines or your roof.

Make sure to remove any dead branches or trees, as a dead tree is more likely to topple in high winds.

Clear away any debris from your property as well. Any object sitting in your yard can quickly become a projectile object if it is picked up and carried by high winds. By removing any items, you decrease the odds that random debris will strike your home.

For similar reasons, consider getting rid of any gravel in your yard — or replace it with shredded bark. It’s substantially lighter, so while it may fly around during a storm, it won’t cause as much damage.

If you have outside wall openings, like vents or outdoor outlets, make sure they are well sealed. Use a high-quality urethane-based caulk to seal gaps, ensuring water doesn’t seep in.

Buy Flood Insurance

Typically, traditional homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover floods. If you don’t have any flood insurance but live somewhere that may get hit this season, seriously consider paying for it.

Although it isn’t always cheap, foregoing this type of insurance can ultimately be even more expensive. You can’t buy coverage after a disaster strikes, so you’ll want to have it in place before storms come your way.

Flood insurance provides you with funds to help you rebuild and replace your belongings if your home is affected by rainwater, overflowing rivers, and more. If you don’t know where to begin, you can contact your insurance agent. You can also find valuable information about flood insurance on the Federal Emergency Management Administration website.

Create an Evacuation Plan

You’ll want to include in the planning any family or roommates so that you’re ready for all possible emergency scenarios.

Begin by reviewing local government information regarding evacuation areas and current plans. Use that to determine a meeting point in case family members are separated during the storm. Also decide where you might go if you evacuate early — such as the homes of friends and relatives who live outside of the storm areas.

Don’t forget to include pets in your evacuation plan — keep a carrier or leash near the door along with travel-sized pet supplies. Make sure your animal companions have ID chips as well; that way, if they get loose or you can’t retrieve them, you can be reunited after the storm.

Prepare for Summer Rainstorms and Hurricanes

You’ll want to prepare an emergency evacuation kit for these situations — including such things as a first aid kit.

Stock up on bottled water and non-perishable food that don’t require cooking. Make sure you also have pet food and kitty litter or piddle pads available if you have pets.

Once you get started with amassing emergency supplies, it can become an ongoing shopping habit — so you might want to set a budget that you can stick to.

And periodically check to make sure these items are still fresh or working, as the case may be.

If you follow as many of the tips above as possible — and do it soon — you should be ready for any extreme weather that might head your way this summer.

Readers, what have you done to prepare in advance for natural disasters? Or if you haven’t done any of these things yet, what’s kept you from doing so? Please tells us all about it by posting in the comments section.

Looking for more great articles? Check these out:

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52 Week Money Challenge

December 6, 2017 By Alexa Mason 61 Comments

If you’re looking for a great way to start saving money right now that will net you over $1300 in 1 year, we’ve put together an easy system which offers a good amount of flexibility to give you the greatest chance of success. This is a hybrid of the original 52-week money challenge putting more control in your hands to deal with the inevitable financial challenges which come with daily life.

How the 52 Week Money Challenge Works

In a lot of ways, the 52 Week Money Challenge is similar to a game of Yahtzee. There are 52 weeks in the year with a dollar amount corresponding to all 52 weeks. Each week your goal is to try to save the highest amount that is still available from the bottom numbers. While the highest dollar amount is the goal, there will certainly be weeks when you aren’t able to save the full amount. Whatever amount you are able to save each week, that is the number that you write and then cross that number off the bottom.

Click image to enlarge or print here (pdf)Your goal for the first week is to save $52, but even if you aren’t able to reach that amount, you haven’t failed. In this way, it is similar to Yahtzee. Whenever you roll the dice, your ultimate goal is to try to get a Yahtzee, but depending on how things are going with the rolls, you attempt to get the best number you can from the still open hands on your card. In this challenge, you’re doing the same thing, but just with the dollar amounts, you’re able to save each week.

For example, say that you are able to save $42 the first week you begin the challenge. You would X out the $42 at the bottom of the chart and place it in the deposit line for week one and that would also be your balance since it is the first week. In week two you are able to save $18. You X out the $18 at the bottom of the chart and place $18 in the deposit line. You then would place $60 as the balance ($42 + $18) for week two. In week three you’re able to save $52 which you cross off, add and come away with a balance of $112. In week four, you have a tough week and are only able to save a single dollar. You cross it off, deposit the $1 and up your balance to $113.

Because you choose the amount to save each week in relation to your finances (always with the goal to try to save the top dollar amount still available at the bottom of the chart), you don’t fail the challenge just because you have a few rough weeks where you aren’t able to save a lot of money. We all have good weeks and we all have bad weeks and they don’t come about uniformly. By trying to save the most you can each week which takes into account the financial realities of that week, it gives you much-needed flexibility and a better chance of success compared to having a set dollar amount you must save each week that corresponds to that specific week.

Another advantage is that there is no need to begin this challenge at the beginning of the year, but you can start at any time. Week one is the first week you begin (as opposed to the first week of the calendar year). That means that if you come across this challenge in the summer, there is no need to wait half a year to begin. You can start today. Simply designate one day of the week when you will make the deposit and you are ready to go for an entire year from that point.

Get Started, Get in the Habit of Saving

The most important aspect of this challenge is that you simply begin doing it. Even if the first few weeks your saving amount is low, you are getting yourself into the habit of saving. As you become comfortable with that habit, you should find more ways to save that will help you knock off those bigger numbers always knowing that you have some small numbers there as well if finances get tight some weeks. Once in the habit, you may find it easy to save even more. There are also now kids versions of this challenge which replace the dollar amount with quarters, dimes, nickels or pennies depending on how old your child is and the amount that he wants to save.

Print the 52 Week Money Challenge by clicking here. Before you get started, also check out the 52 Week Money Challenge forum group where you can share how your challenge is going with others and both receive and provide support for others participating in the challenge.

Why Should You Save?

January 8, 2016 By Amanda Blankenship 1 Comment

There has always been importance placed on saving money, but why? If you have enough money to pay for what you need, then why do you need “excess” money to put aside? Well, everyone saves for different reasons, and if you are still looking for one, here are a few reasons you should be saving right now.

Vacation

What better reason to save than for a vacation? If you’ve wanted to go away for a while, go on a cruise or visit a city you’ve never been to, it takes some planning (and saving). You can have fun with your money, but you have to save to be able to do that.

Retirement

Even if you are young, it is never too early to start saving for retirement. No one wants to work forever, and most people aren’t able to work once they get older. Putting aside money so that you’re able to retire is important. This is often hard because you won’t see this money for many years, but it will be well worth it.

Emergency Fund

Everyone needs to have a savings account where they set aside money for emergencies. Whether it is an unexpected flat tire, car repair, medical bill or even unexpected charge on your bank account, you should always have some extra money set aside for emergencies. If you do not, many people use their credit cards if they do not have an emergency savings account, which leads to more debt, which is not ideal. Usually, you’ll want to have about $1,000 set aside in this account just in case. This will cover most car repairs and many other emergency situations. Once you use it, you need to work to save it back up.

Buying a House

Another reason to save is so that you can buy a house. Renting a home or an apartment is practically like throwing money out of the window. Sometimes, renting is all someone can afford or all they can get with their current situation, which is fine. However, if you are able to, you should save for a down payment on a home. Owning a home will pay off in the long run, so your saving efforts and the amount you spend on a home will be well worth it.

New Car

Just like a house, you can save to buy a new car, or save to pay off your car. If you currently have a car payment, your budget can become a lot more free if you set aside some money to pay off your car (or buy a car in full if you don’t have one yet). Usually, if you have the full amount to put on the car, the dealership will also strike you a deal, which is another great reason to save.

These five reasons to save are only a few. Everyone has their own reasons for saving, so it is important to discover what means the most to you. Whether it is having an emergency fund, buying a car or saving for retirement, savings is extremely important when it comes to how you are able to spend your time (and your money).

Gas Price Fall Is Helping Put Money into the Pockets of the Working Poor

January 18, 2015 By Jeffrey Strain 2 Comments

Lower gas prices will save average US family $750

While Wall Street may not take kindly to the falling price of oil and the effects it has on the stock market, falling gas prices have been a bonanza for working families across the US. This is the same segment of the population who has benefited the least from the economic recovery over the last five years. For may families, it’s a welcome trend which has allowed them to loosen their budget a bit after having to severely tighten it as gas prices rose a year ago.

It wasn’t too long ago that there were predictions that the falling oil prices would save the average American family about $550 a year. That savings estimate has continued to grow as oil prices continue to fall. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is now predicting the average US household will save as much as $750 this year due to lower gas prices. For families who live in areas of the US where propane and heating oil are used to stay warm during the winter months, they may benefit from an extra $750 in savings on these costs. That means that some families will save as much as $1500 simply due to the lower cost of fuel.

Even better for the family budget is that this is after-tax money saved. It’s much more beneficial to a family than if a person within the family had received a $1500 raise, because there’s no need to pay any taxes on it. This money can be saved, or supplement other parts of the family budget which had to be cut in order to balance the budget when gas prices were high.

While this may not seem like a lot to some families, it is a huge amount to the working poor, and those living paycheck to paycheck. It gives them a little budget breathing room, and the opportunity to pay off debt and begin building savings. The best course of action is for those families who have been on tight budgets to save some of this unexpected windfall for the future. It’s an excellent time to use some of the saved money to build an emergency fund for those who don’t currently have one. This can easily be accomplished with a gas savings challenge.

Another important reason to put away some of this savings is because these low prices aren’t likely to last forever. In fact, while prices are expected to stay low for the near future, they are predicted to rise as the year goes on. As the EIA report notes that retail gas prices averaged $2.14 a gallon on January 12, which was the lowest price since May 2009. They expect these prices to stay in this range for the first quarter of 2015 ($2.16), but then will begin to rise. The report predicts gas prices for 2016 will average $2.72 a gallon. While still well under their all time highs, it’s still a significant increase over what prices are today.

(Photo courtesy of Zepfanman)

The 52 Week Cheap Gas Challenge

January 2, 2015 By Jeffrey Strain 2 Comments

One of the biggest problems many people face with the 52 week money challenge (or any of the many alternative versions) is trying to figure out a way to create extra money within their budget to put toward the challenge. While a dollar or two doesn’t sound like much to begin with, the challenge requires finding $200 in the last month. If a person is living paycheck to paycheck, how are they going to find money to put toward the 52 week money challenge if they haven’t been able to up to this point? The truth is, most people have a number places where they can find some extra money to put toward savings, but even if you believe you don’t have any extra room in your budget to save for the challenge, there’s still an easy solution to your problem.

It wasn’t too long ago when gas prices were well above $3.00 a gallon, and in some places, more than $4.00 a gallon. That’s no longer the case, with a large oil glut which has significantly brought down the price of a barrel of oil (and as a result, gas prices) in the last six months. According to AAA, the average price of gas across the US at the beginning of 2015 is $2.23. It was more than $0.50 more a gallon a month ago (the average price then was $2.76 a gallon), and more than $1.00 a gallon more a year ago, when the average price was $3.33 a gallon.

The 52-week cheap gas challenge simply takes into account that you’re spending a lot less on gas today than you were in the recent past. You managed to survive paying a higher price for gas, so you should be able to continue to survive by paying that amount even today. The goal of this challenge is to take the difference between the two prices and use that to create yourself an emergency fund. It simply works like this.

Step One: Pick a price per gallon as your baseline. A good baseline for most people would be $3.00 a gallon, a price most people were paying just a few months ago. An even better baseline would be $4.00 a gallon. You can choose an amount which works best for you knowing the higher the amount, the better it will be for building your emergency fund. Whatever amount you choose for your baseline, that’s the amount that you will pay every time you put gas into your car.

Step Two: Whenever you go to fill up your car, be sure to note the number of gallons of gas you put into it. Also note the price you pay per gallon (or keep your receipt). The key for this challenge is to always try to buy the least expensive gas you can find in your area, because the lower the price you pay at the pump, the more money that will go toward your cheap gas challenge fund.

Step Three: Subtract the price that you paid at the gas station from your determined gas baseline, then multiply it by the number of gallons you put into your car each week. For example, if you have a baseline of $3.00 per gallon, and you paid $2.23 per gallon when you filled up your car, and it took 15 gallons of gas to fill up your car, the deposit you would make for the first week would be $11.55 ($3.00 – $2.23 = $0.77 x 15 = $11.55). All things staying the same, that would be over $600 put into your challenge account during the year. If your baseline was $4.00 a gallon, your challenge deposit would be $26.55, and all things staying the same, a deposit of over $1,380 at the end of the year. By simply keeping track of the number of gallons you put into your car each week and the price you paid for gas, you will have an easy way to put aside money each and every week of the year.

You can use this printable worksheet for your challenge (click on image to print pdf):

The actual amount of money you save will depend a lot on gas prices throughout the year. If gas prices continue to fall, you will save more money than if gas prices begin to rise again. An added benefit of this challenge is the amount you budget for gas will be constant and not fluctuate during the year. When gas prices rise from their current level toward $3.00 a gallon again, you won’t find yourself in a situation where it’s a squeeze on your budget. You’ve already allocated the amount for every time you fill up the car. We all know gas prices will eventually go up again. This makes the cheap gas challenge a great way to take advantage of the lower prices we’re all currently enjoying, while also realizing these prices aren’t going to stay this low forever.