Join our participants as they reduce debt and increase savings with the help of Summit financial coaches.
Jeff and Sue's Journey:
2020: Starting Off on the Right Foot
It’s hard to believe but here we are with only three months left of 2019. We hate to say it, but we are already looking towards 2020. When 2020 rolls around, we want to be prepared.
First off, we are going to check in with our accountant to make sure we are still on track for our federal and state withholdings for tax purposes. Our family size has changed over the last couple of years and we are finally getting a handle on where we should be. Gone are the days where we received deductions and exemptions that come with kids. We are being proactive and already have extra money taken out of our paychecks so we don’t owe as much next year. This last year we hit it almost perfectly! If we see that we are going to be short, now is the time to make those adjustments. We don’t want any surprises come April 15th and it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.
Some time ago, Coach Aidan asked us if we could see ourselves continuing with this after Project Money was over. Yes, we certainly can! As we have said before, this is the first time we have truly had a budget. Summit Credit Union’s Project Money required us to create a budget and set savings goals (which we agree with and like), but that was only till the end of the year. When we review the budget for 2020, our savings goals can now be spread out over a 12-month period instead of the six-month timeframe that we were involved with during Project Money.
This is exciting because it is opening new doors for us. We are able to utilize everything that we have been learning through the Project Money program and put it to good use. Technically, we will have more money available monthly to attain our goals and we will also be able to create some new ones! We already know we want to create a savings account to replace some windows in our home.
We are so impressed with our success so far and cannot believe what we have been able to accomplish with both debt reduction and increasing our savings in the last four months. If we have been able to do all of this in this short time period, imagine what we can accomplish in an entire year! This is mind-blowing!