Savings: Struggles to Success

Interactive Video

[A couple carefully reviewing a stack of bank statements. The woman is holding her temples with a worried expression on her face. The man with a hand on his chin and a concerned expression on his face, peers down at the statements on the table.]

Narrator: Living paycheck to paycheck can make you feel like you are constantly living in survival mode.

On screen text: “living paycheck to paycheck”.

What percentage of people living in the United States do you believe live paycheck to paycheck?

[A Text box appears on the screen for entering a percentage.]

[A pie chart divided in two, 63% and the remaining 37%.]

It might be hard to believe but 63% of the population live paycheck to paycheck.

[A couple smiling while window shopping, carrying several bags of purchased goods. Money falls from the top of the screen into a pile on the bottom left and then slides off screen.]

Even people with big salaries often end up spending it all. For some people earning more money just means there is more to spend.

[A couple at the kitchen table together looking stressed. The man is typing on the computer and the woman is looking at the computer screen while talking on the phone. Text in the top right corner reads “risky and stressful”.]

The snag is that spending every penny you earn can be risky and stressful.

[Three icons: a calculator reading -$76.00, a car with smoke coming from the hood, and a house with a leaky roof.]

Who wants to worry about overdrawing their bank account, or not having enough money for unexpected emergencies like car troubles or a leaky roof.

[A couple sitting at the kitchen table together, discussing the papers they are holding. A circle of arrows spins around the word “saving” before breaking apart. The circle reforms and begins rotating again.]

So, how can you break free from this cycle and start saving some of your hard earned money each month?

[Money falls from the top of the screen and piles up on the bottom right of the screen before some of it fades away. Onscreen text: “easy to lose track of spending”. Two icons appear: a mouse pointer in the shape of a hand selecting a “buy” button and a hand waving a credit card over a tap-to-pay symbol.]

No matter how much you earn money always seems like it’s in short supply. And it can be easy to lose track of your spending. Especially with tap-to-pay and easy one-click online shopping.

[A woman sitting at a table with a stack of bills in front of her. Red stamps on the bills say, “overdue” and “final notice”.]

But if the time ever comes where you can’t make ends meet, or don’t have money saved up for emergencies, not having savings can be stressful and can lead you to make bad financial choices.

[Animation of a spending cycle being broken by a moving object. On screen text: “just getting by”.]

To get beyond “just getting by” you’ve got to find a way to break the cycle of spending all you earn, and start to build up savings.

[A man wearing a winter coat and hat, with coffee next to him, making a purchase with his credit card on his smartphone. Three thought bubbles appear: TV’s with wi-fi symbols, a soda bottle, and a to-go coffee cup.]

Think about things you currently spend your money on. Do you have a recurring cable or streaming service you rarely use? Perhaps you have several streaming services. Or maybe you stop for a soda or coffee frequently.

[On screen text: “Make a list of a few different ways you currently spend your money in a typical week. Four text boxes appear for typing a list.”]

Make a list of a few different ways you currently spend your money in a typical week.

[Answers from the previous slide are shown in boxes on the right of the screen in a vertical list.]

Now, select one of your entries.

[After making a selection, the unselected items disappear, leaving the selected item. On screen text: “How much do you spend on this item?” A box appears for entering a number.]

Think about how much you spend on that item. Enter that amount into the box.

[On screen text: “How often do you buy or pay for this item in a month?” A box appears for entering a number.”]

Then enter how often you buy it or pay for it in a month.

[On screen text displays the monthly and yearly totals of how much the user spends on the selected item.]

Look at how much you spend monthly and yearly on that one item or service! Crazy how quickly those small things add up.

[An empty wallet with two dollar bills next to it. The money slides into the wallet.]

Now, imagine how much you could save by reducing or eliminating that expense.