To start your own savings plan and participate in America Saves Week, sign up on americasavesweek.org.
America Saves Week, which is coordinated by America Saves and the American Savings Education Council, is a week for organizations to promote good savings behavior and a chance for individuals to assess their own saving status, according to americasavesweek.org.
Ball State has been named “Best in the Nation” by America Saves with the most students committing to save for the past three years. For FIN 101 Personal Finance for Fiscal Wellness, students can get extra credit for committing to save.
“Whether we call them goals or not, we all have something we need or want to save for,” said Kathy Stokes, Director of the American Saving Education Council in the 2015 Annual National Survey Assessing Household Savings. “By identifying a goal, whether it’s saving for education, a vacation, a home or retirement, we’re taking an important step. America Saves Week is a great time to establish a goal and take the next step in putting money aside to achieve it.”
Roughly half of Americans are saving five percent or less of their incomes, including 18 percent that are not saving anything, according to a 2015 survey from Bankrate. Only about a quarter of people are saving more than 10 percent of their earnings.
Dan Boylan, a finance professor and the Finance Society adviser who promotes his students in his Finance 101 class to participate in America Saves, said the biggest issue people have when it comes to saving is overspending on unnecessary, short-term things, as well as abusing credit cards.
“In general, a lot of students leave with credit card debt outside of college,” Boylan said. “If you come out of school with a large amount of debt, there might be multiple problems that arise in the future, like not getting a house. It’s important not to take on debt you don’t need.”
Boylan said when people think of saving, they typically only think of money that you put in the bank, but another way to think is by finding cheaper alternatives, which is what he did as a college student. As a result, Boylan said he graduated debt-free with savings left over.
“I needed to pay my way in school, so it was really important for me to save,” Boylan said. “I learned to be self reliant and actually paid my tuition as I went. Saving left me feeling confident and debt-free, making life a lot simpler compared to other students who left with student loans.”
Though saving in college may be difficult, Boylan said having a buddy to compete with helps.
“It may sound kind of goofy but having a friend to play games like ‘Who hasn’t spent any money?’ or ‘Who kept that $20 bill in the wallet longest?’ can really help a student keep up with their savings,” Boylan said. “It may seem like a stupid game but in the end, you’ll have more money and less worry.”
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