Your mission this week: Save an extra $100!

What up, what up!

It’s America Saves Week – Ahhhhhhhh!!

That time of year when all us $$$ nerds hold hands and sing budgety songs throughout the internet! ;) Which I actually tried to record for you this morning, but wouldn’t you know it the dang mic broke midway through and we lost the recordings, womp womp…

So instead you’ll just have to read these fine words I’m about to print here, but feel free to stream some other music to help pump you up in the background… I suggest the classic $ave Dat Money by Lil Dicky which does it for me every time… (NSFW)

“I ain’t parkin’ that unless the meter green homie…

Hair cut several months in-between homie….

Hit the motherf*ckin’ lights when I leave homie…

I’m not in Cali, why the f*ck my company in Delaware?”

(You know it’s bad out there when rappers are telling you to save ;))

But back to the mission today –

MAKE SURE TO BE SAVIN’ DAT MONEY!!!!

Which I know y’all are already doing, being on this blog and all, but it never hurts to be reminded of it every now and then and to continually try upping your game.

And today I want you to do just that by finding a way to save an *EXTRA* $100 by the time the week ends! Not a hundred dollars you were already planning to save, or a hundred dollars that past you earned and will be hitting your accounts this week – but a genuinely TRUE extra $100 that you would have not gotten otherwise, had you not been brave enough to click on this post today ;)

I don’t care how you do it or where it comes from, but by the end of the week I want a screenshot of your account to prove you did it, along with the username and password so I can log in* and double verify!

Or you can just email me and tell me you did it – whatever you’re comfortable with ;)

BUT YOU HAVE TO PROMISE ME YOU’RE GOING TO TRY IT, OKAY??

Pinky promise?

I know we’re all in different stages with this stuff, but $100 can speed up ANY of our $$$ goals so I hope you’ll join us in this and maybe even have some fun along the way…

Here’s our list of side hustles from over the years to get the juices flowing –> 70+ Ways to Make Money on The Side. Or you can literally just walk into your boss’s office and ask for a raise! Whatever it takes!

Just make it happen, and then come back here and tell us you’re a rock star.

For more info on America Saves Week, visit AmericaSavesWeek.org. And for more info on Lil Dicky since I know you’re now curious, visit LilDicky.com. His latest song might just help save the planet.

——
*Do not really send me any of your private information, please… which I hate that I have to spell out here and totally ruin my joke, but there’s always that ONE person!

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28 Comments

    1. J. Money February 24, 2020 at 9:32 AM

      Haha yes… Another classic that needs to be shared in all public schools ;)

  1. Carol in Mpls February 24, 2020 at 9:34 AM

    I’m trying to clean up my technology costs [phone, cable, etc.], so I hope that will achieve some savings. Even if it doesn’t, I want to see things become more streamlined, and as simple as possible. The less complications in life, the better. Oh, and moving some cash into investments!

    1. J. Money February 24, 2020 at 11:11 AM

      100% on all of that…

      Simplicity = peace!

  2. Chadnudj February 24, 2020 at 10:37 AM

    Not sure if it counts since we started the process awhile ago, but just refinanced our mortgage to save over $250 a month — went from 4.5% 30 year fixed (started November 2018) to a 3.75% 30 year (signed the papers on Friday).

    Also cut out Hulu Live recently (will reinstate for college football season) to save $40+ bucks a month, will be replacing furnaces/AC units at our house (which is a huge expense but should cut utility costs monthly going forward — our furnaces were 33+ years old!), and we’ve been really good at packing lunches. And we’re about 6 months away from our oldest starting kindergarten and a year from finishing paying off one of our (low interest) car loans, both of which will drastically save us money in terms of monthly cashflow.

    That’s really our biggest struggle right now, but a temporary one — improving cash flow. We make more than enough money, but covering all our costs WHILE ALSO maxing out 2 401ks/2 dependent care flex spending accounts ($5000 each/$10k total that we use to pay daycare expenses with pre-tax dollars) has made it a bit tight lately, which is why I’m excited to see the cashflow picture improve.

    1. J. Money February 24, 2020 at 11:17 AM

      Oh man, it’s going to get SO much better once your kid is in school!! Provided you’re going with public :) We went from like $2,500/mo for ours down to about $1,000 now with only our youngest in daycare part-time and can’t wait to be completely at $0.00 again… Just gotta make sure to stop having kids! Haha…

      1. Chadnudj February 25, 2020 at 9:43 AM

        Yes, definitely going public — one of the reasons we bought where we did was the excellent public schools. Even with one kid still in full-time daycare and aftercare/summer camp for the kindergarten-bound kid, we stand to save $600-$700+ a month when the older one starts school (and another $600-$700 a month 2 years later when his younger brother starts public kindergarten).

        1. J. Money February 25, 2020 at 10:39 AM

          I’m excited for you!!

  3. Caroline February 24, 2020 at 11:16 AM

    Thanks- this will be my incentive to start a dental fund. We have dental insurance but, wow I am now in the land of crowns and root canals- even with the insurance the portion we are responsible for is considerable!

    1. J. Money February 24, 2020 at 11:18 AM

      Ack – sorry to hear that!! Hopefully it’ll make your quality of life better though once you get it all done!

  4. Amy February 24, 2020 at 12:08 PM

    Who doesn’t love a good challenge? – I work for 2 events companies on the side (on-call) and was asked to help with floral prep yesterday at last-minute. I had just finished a tough workout and just wanted to curl up and watch YouTube all afternoon, but alas, I said yes. So there is the first $75 additional saved ($20/hour), just $25 more to go (which I think I can cut from my grocery/gas spending this week).

    1. J. Money February 25, 2020 at 6:36 AM

      Yayyy!!! Well done!

  5. SWFL Financial Coaching February 24, 2020 at 12:36 PM

    I’m still trying to figure out what was being said in that video. I only understood the words that I wouldn’t say around my wife or mom. I am glad I know how to save money and don’t have to rely on Lil Dicky to tell me.

    I will be saving $100+ when I replace my water softener in the next month instead of hiring it out. I have not done it before, but I plan on doing it.

    1. J. Money February 25, 2020 at 6:37 AM

      Good luck with it! Don’t know much about water softeners myself.

  6. J February 24, 2020 at 1:54 PM

    Does it count if you can’t fully measure it or measure it all just yet? I had some funds over at Edward Jones (part of an old experiment from back before I found FIRE sites) that are in various stages of being transferred over to Vanguard. I just liquidated the first one and started to reinvest in VTSAX. I’ll go from .59% and .57% down to .04% on those funds. Plus, since mine and my husband’s accounts will be closed out we won’t have to deal with the $40/account annual fee anymore. I may end up doing something similar with a really old 401k, too. The EJ funds were some of the highest expense ratios that I was paying with the exception of one fund in my current 401k, and I just switched my contributions to not invest there anymore. So, more savings!

    1. J. Money February 25, 2020 at 6:40 AM

      Smart!!! I bet it’ll feel good – and much easier – having everything under one main roof too! Always annoying to do in the beginning, but then once it’s done it’s done :) So my vote is “yes” on that old 401k too.

  7. Gene Roberts February 24, 2020 at 2:52 PM

    I am exempting myself from this week’s $100 savings challenge.

    Here’s why. I turn 50 this year, so my “max-out” for 401k and Roth IRA combined goes up $8,000. I have set this as my goal and it comes out to more than $150 more EVERY week this year. So, covered!

    On-track so far. :)

    1. J. Money February 25, 2020 at 6:44 AM

      Haha, agreed…

      Kilin’ it, my friend.

  8. Lynda February 25, 2020 at 6:24 AM

    is this in the spirit of your challenge? Waiting for the first £12 ($16.20) to arrive as I reclaimed cash and deposit from an Oyster card that I can only use on London Transport. As they now take “contactless”, I can use that next time I’m there. $83 to go

    1. J. Money February 25, 2020 at 6:45 AM

      BOOM! Keep going!

  9. Chickenwizard's DivBlog February 26, 2020 at 11:09 PM

    I called SiriusXM to cancel my 9 year old subscription. Over time it had crept up to over $300 per year. Every year I forget to cancel before the charge hits.
    So I called to cancel outright. They came back with an offer of knocking the cost down to $60 a year and refunded the difference. BAM, saved $240. And know that I call to cancel next year on my birthday (2/19) before the charge hits again. See what they will offer…

    1. J. Money February 28, 2020 at 3:36 PM

      Nice!!

      So long as you are USING IT, yes??!

      1. Chickenwizard's DivBlog February 29, 2020 at 10:50 AM

        Yes. I have about 4 channels I listen to. And no, I do not feel obligated. IF I did, I would shut it down.

    1. J. Money February 28, 2020 at 3:36 PM

      Hahaha….

      okay, that is good :)

  10. Simon February 28, 2020 at 2:21 AM

    Challenge accepted ;)

    1. J. Money February 28, 2020 at 3:37 PM

      Make it happen!

  11. Diane taber April 8, 2020 at 8:22 AM

    Hi would just love to be able to save a little extra money.every month and keep doing it every year.