Make a Payment Rates About Careers Contact Locations

Ready To Take The One-Month No-Spend Challenge?

March 4, 2019 So you've spent the last year crossing projects off your to do list and you’re ready for a new project to tackle? We have just the thing: The One-Month No-Spend Challenge! What’s that you ask? Think of it sort of like a cleanse for your wallet. Here’s how it works:
Step 1. Get your family/spouse/significant other on board. Your best-laid plans can be derailed in an instant by someone else’s spending. Make sure anyone with access to your plastic cards and checking/savings accounts knows what’s up and supports this adventure. Step 2. Look at your monthly spending. If you’ve been following along with this blog, you may have already done that; if you haven’t you might want to try it for a month to get a better handle on where your money is going. Tally up all the things that you absolutely must pay for in a month: the mortgage, car payment, groceries, utilities, phone bill, school fees, your retirement savings, etc. This amount should not include date night, coffee runs, etc. Yes, we know those are important, but you can give up almost anything for a month. Step 3. Determine how much money you could reasonably save this month. Subtract your “musts” from your take home pay and see what you have left. This is the amount of money that you could consider saving this month. Hopefully that amount is something kind of exciting: a number you’d be pretty darn happy to sock away in your rainy day fund. Yay you! But maybe that is a lot less than you would have guessed, which might mean you need to take a closer look at your lifestyle and fixed expenses. Why not set up an appointment to talk with one of ? They’re a great resource and will work with you to get your finances back on track. Step 4. Put that money in your savings right now! Go ahead: pull out your phone or take a minute to head to . Move that money from your checking account into your savings. Doesn’t that feel nice? Step 5. Deal with the reality that you just put your fun money in your savings account. We know it’s hard to say goodbye to movie night (out) and lunches from the food cart, but breathe deep and think about the cleanse analogy: this is temporary and you’ll feel so good when you’ve done it. But how will you get through the next month without the little extras? Hey, no money doesn’t mean no fun! Most cities have lots of free things to do – go online and poke around. Check out a park or neighborhood you’ve never explored before. Do some volunteer work.  Step 6. Expect the unexpected. There will be something during the month that you didn’t expect or budget for, but we know you can problem-solve anything that comes your way. Borrow tools, barter with friends, Google substitutes – you can do it! You’ve got this savings stuff covered! Good luck! You might also be interested in Financial success isn’t how much money you have — it’s feeling good about what you’re doing with the money you have. Here are some tips on how to prioritize your debts and bills, negotiate with creditors and get your late payments back on solid ground. Even in these challenging times, there's  whole lot of good happening! At Summit, we've always believed financial success happens together and that's been truer than ever this past month. Here's what "together" has meant for our community. Navigating finances after college is hard, but you can take it one lesson at a time. Get tips for managing money and paying off student debt after graduation. Navigating finances after college is hard, but you can take it one lesson at a time. Get tips for managing money and paying off student debt after graduation. If you’re not sure if something is a scam, it’s ALWAYS better to act like it could be! Fraudsters are always coming up with creative new ways to steal from you and quick to take advantage of a crisis. Here are some of the most popular recent scams to watch for. With a little planning, you may be able to actually save a little money during the holidays. Check out these tips to keep costs down without missing out on the holiday fun. Some scams go right for your money; others try to get you to part with personal information – like account numbers, Social Security numbers, passwords, and personal identification numbers (PINs). Find out what you should look for and how to protect yourself. The holidays can be stressful & that’s why it’s important to prioritize your self-care. Use these tips to reduce stress without draining your bank account. Your home is your castle, your refuge and—let’s face it—a place where it can be very easy to sink a big chunk of money. Which is why you’re always on the lookout for “sweet spots”:  those home improvements that add comfort, safety or a little zing of style while you’re living in your house and will boost the asking price when it’s time to sell. And if you can find a way to save money on those improvements or cut home expenses at the same time, well that sweet spot just got a little sweeter! Featured Products Certificates Checking Accounts Home Equity Loans Home Loans Business Banking Certificates Checking Accounts Home Equity Loans Home Loans Business Banking Financial Education Upcoming Events Programs Tools & Calculators On-demand Webinars Podcasts Upcoming Events Programs Tools & Calculators On-demand Webinars Podcasts About Equity in Money™ About Summit Careers News Community Giving Equity in Money™ About Summit Careers News Community Giving Help & Support Contact Us Member Support Center Schedule an Appointment Find a Branch Contact Us Member Support Center Schedule an Appointment Find a Branch Please read the following before proceeding to: The website you are about to visit is solely the responsibility of the merchant or other party providing the site. The content of this third-party site, including materials and information, is solely the responsibility of the provider of the site. The Credit Union is not responsible for any such third-party content. Any transactions that you enter into with a vendor, merchant or other party that you access through this third-party site are solely between you and that vendor, merchant or other party. The Credit Union does not endorse the content contained in this third-party site, nor the organization publishing the site, and hereby disclaims any responsibility for such content. The Credit Union Privacy Policy does not apply to this third-party site, and for further information you should consult the privacy disclosures of the third-party site. NCUA Insurance Estimator Privacy, Security & Accessibility Rates, Fees, Terms & Disclosures Routing Number *  The Wisconsin's #1 Mortgage Lender designation is based on the number of loans in 2022, gathered from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data compiled annually by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The results of the data were obtained through the LEI: 254900NTAC4H10MGSU23 **  SBA Lender of the Year Award for Credit Unions as awarded by the Small Business Administration of Wisconsin in 2023. Copyright 2024 © Summit Credit Union. All rights reserved. If you are using a screen reader and are having problems using this website, please call 608-243-5000 for assistance. Insured by NCUA