FNBO Direct Savings Challenge

FNBO Direct originally challenged a group of five people to pay themselves first and the president of FNBO Direct is now expanding the challenge to Americans at large.

FNBO Direct Pay Yourself First

I think it’s great that FNBO Direct is encouraging people to save more money and to pay themselves first.  Here is how they describe it:

“You pay your bills every month, maybe even through automatically scheduled payments. However, there might be someone you’re forgetting to pay – yourself. Paying yourself first is an important step toward a more secure financial future.”

Certainly it’s not a new concept but FNBO Direct reminds us that if we direct deposit money into our savings account before we use our paycheck to pay our mortgage, credit cards, and other monthly bills then we’re more likely to save some of it instead of spend it all.

Savings Challenge

I think that we as a country are saving more of our money now that the last few years have reminded us of how uncertain our financial situation can be. 

Financial experts were telling us we needed to save more and use credit less back five years ago but not many people listened.  Unfortunately it’s taken a major financial downturn to remind us of some basic rules of personal finance, such as:

• Spend Less than You Earn
• Save & Invest to Leverage Compound Growth
• Diversify Your Savings & Investments
• Build an Emergency Fund for Rainy Days (Years)

Now that times are tough many people have less money to put towards paying themselves first.  Understandably if you lost your job your primary concern is paying your mortgage or rent each month.  However, for those of us fortunate enough to have missed the job cuts it’s not a bad idea to automatically put aside some money each month to help save for whatever our economic future holds.

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

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