Elle

Today we’re looking at how you can crank up your savings rate while still enjoying this summer!

Bumping Up Your Savings

This week in the community newsletter I asked a question – can you really save half your income?

Think about that for a second.

Why is this important?

Whether you’re paying off debt, saving up to buy a house, start family, travel, or invest more for your future – all of these goals have something in common.

They need money.

How much you save of your income can have an incredible impact on how fast you reach your big financial goals.

Now unless you have a stash of cash under in house or an inheritance, that money is probably coming out of your budget.

Now another quick question – do you know the average savings rate in the U.S. now?

Take a guess.

It’s around 6%.

As you probably guess that’s not going to cut it if you want to knock out any of those big goals soon.

There’s no way around it. If you want to hot those goals fairly quickly, you have to master the art of saving.

But half your income?

That’s a bit much, right?

Don’t let anyone tell that’s not a huge deal because it is.

However, it is possible to start working on bumping up that savings rate and one of my goals this summer is getting you to double yours.

We’re bringing back the summer of savings.
I want this summer to be your best ever. Today on the podcast and throughout the season on this site, I’ll be sharing strategies to help you grow your stash while still enjoying things.

In this episode we’ll discuss:

• A simple path to notching up your savings rate
• Psychological hacks to save more
• Tools that will make your life much easier

Oh and stay tuned until because we’re also bringing back the summer of savings giveaway!

Let’s get started!

Handy Tools to Increase Your Savings Rate

If you’re looking to get ahead with your finances as a family, here are key resources to check out!

• Best Budget and Money Apps: Personal Capital, Tiller, Mint
• Grow Your Stash Faster: High Yield Savings with CiT Bank
• Manage Your 401(k) Easily: blooom
• Automatic Saving: Qapital
• Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money
• Simplify and Enjoy: Financial Freedom for Families

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union! If you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better, come check out Coastal today.

They have competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Support the Podcast!

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast!

• Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share.
• Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher.
• Grab a copy of Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money. My book is designed for a busy couple to set up their finances in 4 weeks. Get tips and tools that have worked for other couples on their journey of building their marriage and wealth together!

Music Credit

Like the music in this episode? Our theme song is by Gentle Regime. Additional music by Lee Rosevere.

Even though it’s about 13 years ago, I remember being stressed at times when planning our wedding.

Just like we heard at the top of the show, as soon as you announce your engagement it can feel like you’re being swarmed with questions about the big day.

But as much as your loved ones mean well, it can be easy to forget how personal this is.

For some, it’s something they planned and dreamed for years while others are looking for a very laid back and casual affair.

It’s a celebration and a promise that you to make to each other in front of your loved ones depending on the wedding you have.

There can be plenty of moving parts which can be overwhelming and stressful.

The two of you need to sit down and start talking about which things you’d like to have and which things are must-haves

You also may have family members who want to help out.

You have venues, vendors, and maybe some out of town guests to make arrnagements for.

Oh and of course paying for it.

Which is why I’m happy Megan Gillikin is on the podcast today.

She’s the owner and lead consultant for A Southern Soiree Wedding and Event Planning so she has plenty of insider tips to help you have a fantastic wedding!

In this episode we get into:

• Establishing your must-haves and wedding budget
• What to do when the family wants to help pay for your wedding
• Ice breakers to get the ball rolling

Hope you enjoy!

If you want to hear from another bride who had a beautiful wedding on a small budget, listen to my interview with Jessi Fearon.

She and her husband Pat managed a sweet and special wedding for $500!

Resources to Plan Your Wedding

If you’re getting married, please check out these resources so you can plan out your special day without going into debt.

• Best Budget and Money Apps: Personal Capital, Tiller, Mint
• Grow Your Stash Faster: High Yield Savings with CiT Bank
• Automatic Saving: Qapital
• Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money
• Pulling Off A $5,000 Wedding in NYC
• The Budget-Savvy Wedding Planner & Organizer: Checklists, Worksheets, and Essential Tools to Plan the Perfect Wedding on a Small Budget
• Planning Your Dream Wedding on a Budget
• Wedding Planning: My Ultimate Lesson in Budgeting
• The Best Kept Secrets to Planning a Wedding on a Budget
• Have a $50,000 Wedding on a $3,000 Budget

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union! If you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better, come check out Coastal today.

They have competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Meet Megan Gillikin 

Megan is the owner and lead consultant for A Southern Soiree Wedding and Event Planning. I also do wedding and hospitality business consulting.

She’s also the host of the fantastic and informative podcast Weddings for Real.

Support the Podcast!

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast!

• Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share.
• Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher.
• Grab a copy of Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money. My book is designed for a busy couple to set up their finances in 4 weeks. Get tips and tools that have worked for other couples on their journey of building their marriage and wealth together!

Music Credit

Like the music in this episode? Our theme song is by Gentle Regime. Additional music by Lee Rosevere.

Need to talk about money, but worried about starting a fight? Learn easy and stress-less ways you two can have the money talk and get on the same page with your finances! 

How to Talk About Money (without Starting a Fight)

While it makes for good TV drama, finding out your spouse has been hiding massive debt is so not the way to start talking about money.

But how do you do that – how do you start talking about money?

Certified Financial Planner and NY Times best-selling author Carl Richards is on today to share some ways you can begin.

In this episode we get into:

• Why it’s hard for most couples to talk about money
• How money dates can keep things light and fun
• Ice breakers to get the ball rolling

Hope you enjoy!

Resources to Help the Money Talk Go Easier

If you two are ready, here are some fantastic resources to make talking about (and managing) money much less stressful!

• Best Budget and Money Apps: Personal Capital, Tiller, Mint
• Grow Your Stash Faster: High Yield Savings with CiT Bank
• Automatic Saving: Qapital
• Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union! If you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better, come check out Coastal.

They have competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Meet Carl Richards

Carl Richards is a Certified Financial Planner™ and creator of the Sketch Guy column, appearing weekly in the New York Times since 2010.

Through his simple sketches, Carl makes complex financial concepts easy to understand.

His sketches also serve as the foundation for his two books, The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money and The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money.

Learn more about Carl and connect at Behavior Gap or Real Financial Advisors.

Keep Takeaways for Talking About Money

Before we close up I want to focus on some key takeaways I got:

• Make talking about money a normal part of your conversations.
• Focus on the WHY before the HOW
• Keep it simple

If you’d like to chat more about getting on the same page with your spouse about money, please join us in our private and free Facebook group – Thriving Families.

Hope to see you there!

Support the Podcast!

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast!

• Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share.
• Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher.
• Grab a copy of Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money. My book is designed for a busy couple to set up their finances in 4 weeks. Get tips and tools that have worked for other couples on their journey of building their marriage and wealth together!

Music Credit

Like the music in this episode? Our theme song is by Gentle Regime. Additional music by Lee Rosevere.

Need to reset your money? Learn how to do some spring cleaning with your finances to start building momentum with your biggest goals!

For some reason, I like to use April is a sort of reminder to review our financial progress. Maybe because of the deadline for taxes.

Or maybe it’s because it’s financial literacy month.

Anyways, during April I’ll poke around all our accounts, including investments to make sure we’re moving in the right direction.

I’ll also review our goals for the year and see if we need to adjust anything.

If you’ve signed up for the community newsletter you got a look at a few of our goals for this year.

We’re looking to:

• Make a dent on our mortgage with extra payments
• Have enough saved up to replace a car
• And for me, I’m working on getting in shape to tackle a 5k obstacle course

And if you haven’t, go ahead and take a little extra time checking your goals and numbers.

Things can be going smoothly, which is awesome.

But it’s not – like you’re behind on a goal or you two can’t seem to make any headway on something, this episode is for you.

We’re going to look at how you can reset things, do some financial spring cleaning, and build up some momentum.

In this episode we get into:

• Why finances are a lot like fitness
• Best resources to get on the same page as a couple and
• How to start paying off debt faster, saving more, and creating your own path to financial freedom and independence

Hope you enjoy!

Resources to Stay on Top of Your Money

Want to learn more about getting a redo on your money? Here are some resources to check out:

• Best Budget and Money Apps: Personal Capital, Tiller, Mint
• Grow Your Stash Faster: High Yield Savings with CiT Bank
• Automatic Saving: Qapital
• Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money
• Debt Pay off Worksheet
• Change Your Habits and Own Your Finances
• Which Debt Payoff Method Is Right for You?
• 3 Steps to Staying Motivated While Paying Off Debt
• 50 Ways to Give Your Finances A Fresh Start
• How to Start Investing (with $1,000 or Less)Paying Off Your Debt Faster as a Couple
• How to Build Wealth While Raising a Family
• Using Snowflakes to Pay Off Debt Faster

Support the Podcast!

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast!

• Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share.
• Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher.
• Grab a copy of Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money. My book is designed for a busy couple to set up their finances in 4 weeks. Get tips and tools that have worked for other couples on their journey of building their marriage and wealth together!

Music Credit

Like the music in this episode? Our theme song is by Gentle Regime. Additional music by Lee Rosevere.