personal savings account

We may be halfway into January, but it’s never too late to make your 2022 financial resolutions or focus

on personal savings. It starts with identifying your short- and long-term goals and building a financial

roadmap. Committing to a personal savings plan doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It can start with

small behavior changes—and as you develop your personal savings muscle, it will get easier and even

exciting over time! Why? Because as you start to realize your vision, you will see your personal savings

pay off!

The first step is getting as clear as possible about what you want to achieve and why. Suppose you don’t

have these answers; set aside some time to reflect on what you want to accomplish in the next three,

five, and ten years. Be as specific as possible. As our partners at GreenPath put it, visualizing a dollar

amount can lead to success — and the amount in your personal savings account in the years ahead.

Activate your goal by writing it down or tracking it in a financial planning app.

After identifying your goals, assess if you can get there with your current income and personal savings

plan. Next, do a budget assessment if you need more income to meet these goals but want to contribute

to your personal savings account more immediately. How much income did you and your family make in

2021? How much did you spend or save? How can you cut back on costs today? Look for the most

manageable expenses in your budget to cut so you can achieve your goals more quickly. For example,

you may review your budget and find you spent money on monthly media subscriptions you didn’t use.

Often expenses attached to dining out and entertainment add up more quickly than we realize—and are

one of the most manageable costs to cut by meal planning and cooking at home.

You will have more control over your financial health as you start to name every dollar and reallocate

costs to personal savings. It will be essential to see your savings contribution as a fixed monthly

“expense” — a non-negotiable in your financial roadmap. We encourage you to consider a few types of

personal savings plans in support of your goals:

1. Emergency or Rainy-Day: We know it can feel daunting to save enough money to cover 3 to 6

months of essentials like rent, food, healthcare, and transportation costs. But if the pandemic

taught us anything about financial planning, it’s that none of us can undervalue the importance

of a rainy day fund.

2. Special savings: Do you need a new car soon? Does your child need braces? Or perhaps you are

planning for a family wedding. First, do a life assessment of one-time costs to come. Then, if you

know the special event, activity, or need is coming in the next few years, create a separate

personal savings account and budget for it as part of your personal savings plan.

3. Retirement & Long-Term: A personal savings plan also includes long-term projections. Based on

your current lifestyle and inflation rate, try to estimate what you will need to live to retire.

The good news is you don’t have to build your personal savings plan alone. Our partners at GreenPath

offer free financial resources and counseling for Spring Bank customers. And if you live in New York City

and need help applying for an ITIN so you can open a personal savings account, please get in touch with

our partners at Ariva. Ariva can also help you take advantage of the Child Tax Credit—free money you

can save if you have kids 17 or younger with a social security number.

Check out 5 Ways to Make Money Resolutions Stick for easy tips to help you create your 2022 personal

savings plan. Learn more about our partnership with GreenPath or how you can start saving with us

today. Open your personal savings account, the Spring Bank Basic Savings, our most popular savings

product, offering competitive interest rates and savings