This Black Friday, Bro!!! Sis!!! Leave that 55-inch TV, leave that Nintendo Switch or those airpods alone, and offer yourself a gift that has a greater, long-lasting ROI: an interest-bearing savings account.
I don’t mean we should boycott Black Friday. What I mean is:
"Why wait until January 1st, 2023, to begin to implement change to your financial goals?"
Recent data reported that the average person spends between $300-$700 dollars on Black Friday; and the most searched products worldwide in 2021 on Black Friday were Nintendo Switch on sale at most places for $299 and the runner up was apple airpods.
This Black Friday, instead of waiting to buy everything that you’ve been eyeing to go on sale, keep that money and instead invest it somewhere it can grow.
Did you know that there are several financial institutions that offer higher interest rates than your local banks? Companies like Capital One, Discover, American Express, Ally Bank, and Synchrony Bank offer high-yield savings accounts with interest rates from 2.75% to 3.35%- that's way more than the couple of pennies you get from most local banks.
But just in case you are not comfortable with online banking, some traditional banks offer money market accounts that give higher interest rates than a regular savings account, as well as bonds and retirement accounts that everyone needs to utilize in order to have enough money to live off.
Now, here is how you can offer yourself a BIGGER, BETTER DEAL THIS BLACK FRIDAY!!!
1- Get in the mindset of paying yourself first.
When you pay yourself first, it helps you build a secure financial cushion.
2- Start to save with intention.
The focus should be on increasing your wealth by using short-term and long-term money-saving strategies.
For example, the money you were planning to spend this Black Friday (because I hope you were not planning to put those purchases on a credit card), start an emergency fund and/or open another savings account instead with it.
Little by little, start funding your emergency fund and/or your new savings account. These funds should have a specific goal and should be separate from your regular checking and savings accounts.
Think of it like this: if you have a car emergency, a job loss, or you get a roof leak or your hot water heater goes out, or an unplanned trip, will this unforeseeable situation cause you to drain your savings? If that's the case, that's exactly what we are trying to avoid.
3- Calculate 3-6 months of living expenses. How much can you comfortably put aside each time you get paid to build your emergency fund or saving account?
An easy saving tool that I recommend, having used it myself, is The Digit App. It's linked to your bank account, and you can create tabs for different goals (ex: emergency fund or travel). You put how much money you would like to save by a certain date, then the Digit App calculates how much money to put aside each day or week. The cool thing about this app is that it pulls cents and small dollar amounts, so that you don’t even notice what’s coming out of your account. You are also able to transfer larger amounts of money from your bank to the app. This method of saving is also great for people who know that seeing money in their bank account will prompt them to spend. Just move it before you use it :-) This app does not give you compound interest, but it's a great way to save for short-term goals like vacations & Christmas gifts.
Some of us keep falling behind financially because our mindset has been programmed to only work for money, and not make our money work for us as well. From this day forward, get in the mindset of PAYING YOURSELF FIRST, and FUNDING your emergency and savings account, then you won't have to worry about overspending once Black Friday or any other holiday comes.
For more information & tips,
please feel free to contact me
at (561)235-0865 and follow me
on Instagram: @Claudiabox.44
Great article!
Awesome article. Thanks for the reminder and putting things into perspective. Say it louder ..."PAY YOURSELF FIRST" Paying yourself first is a great tool many weren't taught and to this day very few utilize, whilest the wealthy have been using the tool "from the devil was a boy". Nice tip with the digit app a way of starting small but starting is what counts!
It's so important to save with intention, especially now. While it's harder to save in periods of rising inflation, what you do save is earning more. It all balances out if we're mindful. But it can be hard to be mindful when you're shopping for Christmas.
Love that article....I definitely need to cultivate asap the mindset of paying Myself First. I bring my tithe, pay mortgage etc and keep the change for me… got to change that. Thank you for that reminder!