who Will win $10,000?

Join our participants as they reduce debt and increase savings with the help of Summit financial coaches.

TOTAL SAVINGS INCREASE: $49,523 | TOTAL DEBT REDUCTION: $31,748

Join our participants as they reduce debt and increase savings with the help of Summit financial coaches.

TOTAL SAVINGS INCREASE: $49,523 | TOTAL DEBT REDUCTION: $31,748

Meet the season 11 Teams

Emily

Savings Increase: $11,813 Debt Reduction: $2,736

Read Her Story

A lover of yoga and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, Emily is ready to say goodbye to money-related stress and make the same commitment to improving her financial wellbeing.

She admits that sticking to a budget will be the hardest part of forming healthier spending habits, whether that means passing up vintage furniture or skipping an impulse buy on Amazon Prime.

She’s eager to hold herself accountable, especially as a new homeowner – but without giving up all the frills and thrills that put the fun in life.

This motivated goal-setter is ready to lay the financial foundation for her future by increasing her financial literacy and cutting down on careless spending while increasing her savings.

“I’m ready to take control of my finances, so I can feel confident and get the most out of my life,” she says.

Your future is bright, Emily!

Extra Income

November 20, 2019

Emily

This week I had a few opportunities to earn some extra cash, $70 to be exact! Last week I shared a little about picking up a new side gig and my plans for my first paycheck. First paycheck has come! Although it was only for one class I instructed, it will do the trick! The check was just enough to treat my boyfriend and me to some Chinese take-out – something I try to avoid most weeks! Plus, now I have leftovers for lunch.

What do you do with your extra cash?

November 13, 2019

Emily

What do you do when you get extra cash? Whether it be from a commission check, that second job you picked up, or maybe you sold some extra items laying around the house. What’s your next move? What do you do with that money?

This is a question that has come up a lot for me lately. I have had some commission checks from work come my way and I’ve picked up a second “job” (but really, teaching cycling classes doesn’t feel like a job to me!).

Here are some of the things I considered when I had a few extra dollars.

November Budget Set!

November 6, 2019

Emily

November has officially begun, and that means Black Friday, Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up. I did things a little differently this month than previously to make sure I’m going to be on budget.

See the rest of
their journey

Becky & Steve

Savings Increase: $9,495 Debt Reduction: $13,374

Read Their Story

No strangers to the cycle of debt, Becky and Steve know they need to make lasting changes to their financial habits.

The couple has made attempts in the past to get ahead and build a savings, but always seem to find themselves in a familiar place – falling behind on bills and drifting even further into debt.

With their kids Joey (17) and Emily (15) off to college in the near future, they’ll need to get their finances in order, so they can handle recurring expenses like tuition, room and board.

This always-on-the-go family looks forward to re-establishing a solid savings while planning for the future. They know it won't be easy, but they’re ready for the challenge.

“We’re determined to do what it takes to create new, healthy habits and take the stress out of our finances,” they say.

You can do it, guys!

Budget Update

November 20, 2019

Becky and Steve

This week was Steve’s turn to meal plan, grocery shop, and cook all the meals for the week. He did awesome! Actually, probably better than me. He used a rotisserie chicken and made chicken fried rice with part of it and a ginger chicken soup for later in the week. He also made tacos and used some of the meat and other ingredients to make Mexican omelets the next morning. He said it was a little challenging, as he had to make sure he shopped for the sale items, which he doesn’t typically do.

Grocery Budget Changes

November 13, 2019

Becky and Steve

Sticking to our new grocery budget was not as easy as we thought it was going to be. We overspent by $139 last month, which is still $111 dollars less than the food budget used to be, but it made us re-think how we were spending our grocery money for November. A friend recommended the book Profit First by Mike Michalowicz, which is technically for entrepreneurs and business, however, the concepts in it can be applied to personal finances as well.

Overwhelming Medical Bills

November 6, 2019

Becky and Steve

I had my yearly mammogram this past July, and unlike every other year, this year it came back abnormal. I was referred to a surgeon who believed it was best to perform surgery to remove the cells. Of course, this unexpected expense took a dent into the progress we were making in our savings.

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their journey

Emily & Ginger

Savings Increase: $2,193 Debt Reduction: $10,894

Read Their Story

After a long but successful journey, Emily and Ginger secured their family’s legal rights – but at a significant financial cost.

These extra expenses set back their plans and prevented them from thinking long-term when it came to their finances. Instead, their focus turned toward meeting immediate needs like monthly car payments, student loans and a mortgage.

Now both back at work after taking parental leave with their kiddos Luisa (2) and Noa (10 months), Emily and Ginger are looking forward to making their money work harder as they build a brighter financial future.

“We’re excited to learn how to maximize our resources, so we can make our dreams a reality,” Ginger says.

Those dreams include nailing down a budget and building their kids’ college funds — all while serving as an example for queer families like their own.

We know you’ll make it happen!

To do or not to do? That is the question.

November 20, 2019

Emily and Ginger

With a budget in mind, we're often faced with the question, “to do or not to do?" Often, there isn’t a right or wrong answer, but rather aligning our decisions with what gets us closer to our goals. We're constantly negotiating needs verses wants, especially with discretionary line items in our budget. Here are a few examples that I'm sure you can relate to.

Sharing is Caring

November 13, 2019

Emily and Ginger

With a 1.5-year-old and a 3-year-old in our house, sharing is a big topic of conversation these days. Recently, we've been exploring different ideas for how we adults can use sharing to save on costs as well.

Open enrollment and we're not done gardening yet!

November 6, 2019

Emily and Ginger

Autumn brings the changing colors, the first snowfalls, and, in many workplaces, open enrollment season! Our coach helped us to take a closer look at some of the flex spending accounts available through our employers and make some tweaks to our plans to maximize our benefits. The biggest change for us was to enroll in the dependent-care flex spending account for the first time.

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their journey

Jeff & Sue

Savings Increase: $26,021 Debt Reduction: $4,743

Read Their Story

Once comfortable with their financial standing, Jeff and Sue were blindsided by Sue’s breast cancer diagnosis and a string of unexpected expenses in 2017.

Sue is now cancer-free, and the couple is ready to regroup by bringing their never-give-up attitude to Project Money.

With their son, Chris, back home to finish school and cheer on his parents, this fearless family is excited to work with their coach to shift their focus back to planning for the future.

Replacing vehicles, rebuilding their savings and building a foundation for retirement are at the top of their financial to-do list.

Through it all, the family hopes sharing their journey can be in an inspiration to those watching in the community.

“If our experience helps even one family gain control of their finances, we would consider that an incredible success,” says Sue.

Here’s to a successful journey!

Team Jeff & Sue: HACKED!

November 20, 2019

Jeff and Sue

Well, not really. I decided to hijack the blog this week because, believe it or not, some of their “money-consciousness” has rubbed off on the rest of the family! This is Kaitie, Jeff and Sue’s daughter, dropping by to tell you about my weekend.

New Wheels in 2020!

November 13, 2019

Jeff and Sue

One of our future goals is to replace both of our aged, high-mileage vehicles in 2020. In fact, we had initially been making plans to replace Jeff’s vehicle earlier this year. We had started to do some test drives in April and found out that some auto manufacturers had gift card incentives for test-driving some of their vehicles. We actually received a $50 Visa gift card for test driving a Nissan Rouge. As we got involved with Project Money, we soon realized (and with the advice from our coach) that this was not the time to be buying a new vehicle.

Planning & Preparation Goes a Long Way

November 6, 2019

Jeff and Sue

This last week we got a serious wake-up call that winter is right around the corner. We got hit with nearly eight inches of snow and there are still leaves on our trees. Ugh…this is just too early! This is not the order in which things are supposed to happen, but nonetheless, we have to respond. It’s a good thing that Jeff and Christopher got their deer hunting stands on their land last weekend when the weather was nice!

See the rest of
their journey

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