Outline:

• Where to open a savings account

• Where to find money to save

• A breakdown of how to get to your first $1k

• What is a savings floor?

• How to set the next savings milestone

How do I build a $1,000 savings cushion?

First things first

• Do you have a savings account?

  • Opening a savings account is often the first step to savings

• Is your savings account at a separate bank from your checking account?

  • Do you technically have a savings account but you never use it? Most likely it’s because it’s at the same bank as your checking account!

  • Try an online high-yield savings account - pays you more interest and keeps your savings truly separate

  • Ally Bank, Marcus, Barclay Savings, Capital One 360

Finding money to save

• Automate savings - even a small amount will help

• Consider saving more than once per month

• Direct deposit into savings account

  • Talk to HR about how to have a portion of your paycheck deposited directly to savings

• Microsavings apps - Digit, Qapital

• Saving windfalls - tax refunds, bonuses, etc.

  • Always put at least half (ideally all!) of any extra income towards savings

• Reduce your bills - see lesson!

• Prioritize savings over credit card payments

Getting to that first $1,000

• How soon do you want to get to it?

  • $33/day or $250/week for one month

  • $11/day or $83/week for 3 months

  • $5.50/day or $39/week for 6 months

• The most important thing is to choose a frequency and an amount you can fit in your budget

Setting your savings floor

• A savings floor is the minimum amount you always want to have in savings, above all else

• Your savings floor can increase as your savings increases

• The “floor” means that if you dip below the amount you set, you put any extra resources towards getting back to that floor

Set the next milestone!

• One month’s rent?

• One month’s bills?

• One month’s living expenses?

• $2,000? $3,000?

• Remember to always maintain a savings floor. That floor can change as you increase your savings