I saw this on FB and I like the overall idea, but someone else came up with the idea to reverse it that way it simulates the process of paying off a loan. Reversing it would also help train people to learn how loans work, and reasons to make a little larger payment every once in a while and how they'd reap the rewards from doing so. I.E., start by saving $52 the first week, then drop $1 every week. That way the stress would lessen week by week. I think it would also increase the likelihood of someone sticking to the habit once a plateau is reached, a.k.a. "comfort zone". The amount someone would feel comfortable sticking with week after week. For example, when they get to week 26 they're more likely to stay around a $26 contribution to the account because "it's a whole heck of easier than the first week at $52". Opposed to the way it's charted, which may also cause someone to halt at week $26 and while they may still stick to $26 a week, they won't have nearly the same amount accumulated.
Yeah. Hopefully on college for my kids so they can become rich kids who can read more, run more and eat more yogurt.
A better idea would be to get a savings account as well as a checking account. Deposits are made to the savings account, and money is transferred to the checking account only to pay bills, and meet expenses.
That's a great idea and would work for some people, but I'd have to guess the majority of people don't have that type of discipline and the lines would get blurred. They'd see the savings account as a way to feed their checking account whenever they see fit. IMO, it's easier to discipline one's self by separating the two. AAMOF, my wife and I have four separate accounts, each set up for different purposes. Two of them are checking accounts for bills that are of the utmost importance. One is for house, cars, insurance, taxes, etc. The other is for petty things like cell phones, cable, groceries, etc. Then there is the college funds and retirement funds. That's above and beyond the 401K's, profit sharing, and whatever else our employers offer. We're penny pinchers and try to stretch a dollar 5 times it's length if we can. You can never be too safe. Always gotta cover your a$$.
I have two accounts. My WAMU turned Chase account I've had forever. I then decided to open an account at a credit union. I pretty split my paycheck direct deposit up 3 ways. Half of my rent per check goes into my Chase Savings account. Then 100.00 gets deposited into my Credit union account. Then whatever is left over goes into my checking account for bills and whatever else. I'm going to hopefully get rid of my Chase account at some point and move everything to my credit union, just a PITA cause my auto bill pays and stuff I have to make sure I got right so I don't miss a bill payment. Might not be the best way, but it works for me.
I have my checking account set to automatically put 20 into my savings every week. That's how I was able to afford to move back home once I had a job here lined out. Granted, the move drained most of that money, but I started right back up and even that small an amount each week adds up.
This may sound strange, but it's an almost painless way to save and see fast accumulation. Everyone has a change jar, but I grabbed a can and started dumping every $5 bill I got in change in the jug. It wasn't missed too much, and it sure accumulated fast. I ended up with over $1800 inside a 6 month period.
I have one of those too. It has about 500.00 in it. But now i rarely carry cash cause I use my debit card so i havent added much to it in a long time.
