We just learned about a new challenge that we really want to share with you. If you have been reading our site long, you know that we are a “challenge couple.”
Why do we love challenges? It’s because they are motivating, encouraging, provide necessary organization and….the biggest reason…baby steps.
Accomplishing important tasks in small baby steps is a tried and true method and one that we have applied to every area of our lives. We’ve been following baby steps for our finances, our schedule, our health, our diet, etc. When we take it bit-by-bit, the goal we are trying to accomplish can be assimilated into everyday life much less dramatically and therefore far more successfully!
Let us share some financial statistics with you:
- Over 70% of Americans are financially stressed
- 12% of Americans skip going to the doctor because of financial concerns
- 80% of people admitted that their personal finances keep them awake at night
- 21% of couples who rate their financial stress as at least “somewhat high” are arguing more
- 32% of adults say their finances keep them from living a healthy lifestyle
As you know, we were in over $100k of consumer debt many years ago and could relate to each and every one of the above statistics. We could not go a day without a paycheck, we were behind on our bills and debts and were literally a week or two away from declaring bankruptcy. This time of our lives was more stressful than any other in our lives while living in constant fear and worry.
But after many failed “cold-turkey” type of attempts to regain control, we instead stepped back and made baby-step changes that ended up demolishing that $100k of consumer debt in no-time! Once we finally figured out what worked, we wanted to share with the world the secrets we learned and used to achieve our goals. That is the reason we started our site here and how we became The Thrifty Couple.
And that’s also why we think that the OnUp Movement through SunTrust is such a great idea! They share a common passion to see families and households make the necessary changes to be in a better financial position than they are now. And with that goal they developed a place for all of us to go and make a pledge to take charge of our finances and set a goal because being stressed about money is not acceptable!
They provide a “Mental Wealth Quiz” that will let you know how savvy you are and provide specific tips to your situation to help you reach your goals. You can also create a “personalized spot” with your favorite memories and family times to serve as a reminder of why you are working towards your goals.
So, we have joined the OnUp Movement because there are always things anyone can learn and be encouraged doing along the journey – so no matter where you are in your journey, we encourage you to join too!
And as part of this whole process, we encourage you to make your first goal to join our 52-Week Take Back Your Finances Challenge for a small, weekly baby-step plan to take control of your finances.
Think about how your financial stress interferes with your life? Would you like to be rid of that? Come and join all of us and lets make some changes to reduce and get rid of that stress!
From SunTrust Bank:
At SunTrust Bank their purpose is lighting the way to financial well-being. When you feel confident about your money, you can save for your goals and spend knowingly on what matters most to you.
The onUp movement was created to guide millions of people one step at a time towards a more financially confident life without ever losing sight of the moments that matter along the way.
Join the growing number of people transforming their stress into positive motivation to move onUp.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of SunTrust. The opinions and text are all mine.
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