My SaverLife Success Story: From Broke to Financially Woke
SaverLife
In my first blog post about SaverLife, I mentioned that Shana Beal reached out to me about doing an interview with Grace Boorstein about my experience using the program. Shana Beal is the director of communications for the program and Grace Boorstein is the content marketing manager. I chose to do the interview with Grace and it was really a pleasure speaking with her. You can see her write-up of our interview below. Afterwards, continue reading to learn more about their new program called Savers Win!
For those of you who did not read the first post. SaverLife is a savings program that connects to your savings account. The program lasts six months and you can redeem a reward of up to $60 after completing it. To earn the full reward, you must deposit $20 into the account you linked to the program each month. Some of you mentioned concerns about your bank information being secure and I understand those concerns. However, SaverLife uses the same security as Mint and the program never has access to your banking information!
Interview with Grace Boorstein
Meet Jerry: The past few years of Jerry’s life have been a huge financial journey. He started, as he explains on his blog Peerless Money Mentor, as “an active member of Broke Phi Broke” – an exclusive organization reserved for those who have made every possible financial mistake.
But now Jerry is proud to be “financially woke” instead – and eager to share his hard-earned wisdom with others who are struggling to make better decisions with their money. Part of this journey has been learning the importance of saving.
With the help of SaverLife, Jerry has rebuilt his emergency fund and is now able to take advantage of new career opportunities in a way that he wasn’t in the past.
Jerry is open about the decisions that led him to hit “financial rock bottom” a few years ago even while working full-time at a library in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When Jerry needed to buy a car, he went to the dealership intending to buy a used car, but he drove off the lot in a new car after an aggressive saleswoman convinced him he could afford more. He also cosigned a loan for his ex-fiancée and let his credit card debt accumulate after an unexpected medical emergency. On top of this, Jerry’s still paying off student debt.
When Jerry learned about SaverLife on the blog Rockstar Finance, he had already started trying to reverse his financial fates. He was working to live below his means and pay down his debt.
SaverLife helped Jerry “get in the habit of saving and not living beyond my means.” To meet his goals faster, Jerry’s started picking up “side hustles,” including driving for ride-sharing companies and other on-demand apps where he can pick up extra income.
Jerry says that since he’s joined SaverLife, a lot of things in his life have improved. “I’m no longer living paycheck to paycheck,” he says. “I don’t have to be embarrassed about going out with my friends and not being able to pay for it.” He’s even opened a Roth account so he can save for retirement and invest his savings.
For Jerry, the bigger picture is that savings will allow him to take advantage of career opportunities and be more confident. In the past, he had to turn down job offers in other states because he couldn’t afford to move. Now he knows that he has enough saved to take the leap and make smart risks for his future.
“SaverLife is an awesome program,” Jerry tells his friends. “If you haven’t built up savings or you live paycheck to paycheck, it’s a good way to get your foot in the water. Start small, then you’ll be able to save more and reach your goals faster.”
Savers Win!
SaverLife has recently partnered up with Commonwealth to introduce a new program called Savers Win. To participate in the program you must make a pledge to save some of your tax refund. If you follow through on this pledge, you get a chance to win up to $10,000 in prizes! You have absolutely nothing to lose so I encourage you to make that pledge today!
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Author: Jerry
Jerry is a Business Insider Contributing Writer who is obsessed with personal finance. He believes you can improve your financial situation by applying principles taught by the financial independence community to your financial life.
If you are having trouble saving, he recommends that you join the SaverLife Savings program where you can get a $60 reward after six months (no income requirement). All you have to do is put a minimum of $20 a month into a savings account. Easy, right?
For a fun read, check out his article 10 Signs You’re a Personal Finance Addict to see if you are a personal finance nerd.
Before you go, check out the new From Broke to Financially Woke Interview Series.
Also, please subscribe below if you found his content valuable and want to continue following him as he documents his own journey from Broke to Financially Woke!
Great story Jerry. You’ve convinced me to sign up for saver life. I ended up linking it through a savings account. Not sure if it’s possible, but it would be great if you could save in a brokerage account or IRA instead. Once people get past the emergency fund step, they should be thinking about investing.
Jason@WinningPersonalFinance recently posted…Pay Off Debt or Invest Interview 1 (Winning Personal Finance)
Thanks for stopping by, Jason! I am glad you signed up. That would be cool. A prize-linked investment account! What platform do you use to invest? I recently opened a Betterment account for my Roth.
Noone should have to turn down job opportunities because they can’t afford to move! Saving and managing a budget are important.
Fun bit of background to your story here, Jerry. Neat to see some of your first steps to spending less than you earn and where that’s taken you.
It looks like SaverLife has changed around their program a good bit since this was posted, but still an interesting idea. I like these sorts of non-profits that aim to build up financial literacy out in society.
Chris@TTL recently posted…Live Below Your Means: Your Path to Financial Freedom