Those of you who’ve been around a while may remember that last year I was named one of the Savings.com 2010 DealPros, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy and pretty. It also means that through the magic of partnering with a larger organization, I’m now able to bring you even more deals and sometimes extra-super-awesome giveaways and such.
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve been selected for 2011 as well, which means now I feel extra pretty, and all kinds of additional awesomeness will be coming your way here at Want Not, too. But most immediately, I want to invite you to join us in the Savings Pledge.
Over on the Want Not Facebook page (you are a fan of Want Not on Facebook, right?), you may have noticed there’s a new application tab for the Savings Pledge. The theory behind it is simple: Those of us who work to bring you deals and tips want to help you really commit to making a difference in your savings, and we want it to be fun and doable at the same time. Also, we’re doing it, too. In fact, let me tell you some more about that.
The Savings Pledge allows you to commit to saving a certain amount of money each week. It’s not like anyone is going to come to your house and check up on you, or anything, but it’s simply a matter of how saying something out loud sometimes makes it easier to do.
My general philosophy on savings is this: If you don’t have any, you need to make saving money a priority. Set your goal at one month’s worth of living expenses. When you get to that, change it to three. When you reach three, change it to six. There’s lots of different ways to make that happen, but I think what too often happens is that folks overwhelm themselves with the enormity of the end goal and just give up. I like how the Savings Pledge allows you to set a weekly amount; it feels more manageable, particularly if you’ve had trouble saving money in the past.
I, myself, have taken the Savings Pledge. But because I already have a savings fund sufficient to mostly quell my neuroses about money, and because I feel I have been very richly blessed by the community here at Want Not, I’m going to do something else, too. And this is where you come in: I’ve decided it’s time to put my money where my online purchases are, for charity. To that end, from now through the end of 2011, every time I make a purchase online, I’m going to set aside a charitable contribution. How much I set aside each time is up to you—it will be one cent for every reader who takes the pledge, every time I shop online.
For every Want Not reader who takes the Savings Pledge, and leaves a comment here letting me know you did it, I will be donating a penny to charity every single time I make an online purchase for the rest of the year.
Because I’m not made of money, I will cap the per-purchase donation at $10 (which would require a thousand of you to sign the pledge and let me know you did it). I’ll count everyone who signs the pledge by the end of this month. On January 1st, 2012, I will tally up the total and make a lump sum donation to the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, because I believe in thinking globally and acting locally. While I know y’all are spread all over the country, I’m going to use these dollars to make sure people in my community aren’t quite as hungry this winter.
So you sign the pledge, you save some money for yourself, and you increase my charitable donations for the rest of the year. Win-win! Just don’t forget to leave a comment on this post so that I know to count you.
I hope you’ll come join me. Let’s get saving!
OK Mir I signed up 🙂
I have pledged to save. What a great idea.
I pledged!
I pledged to save, too!
Took the pledge
I pledged!
I’m in.
pledged.
I pledged!
I’m in – just avoiding the DD drive thru for an iced coffee a day will make my pledge!
I pledged…not much, but you have to start somewhere!
Pledged
pledged! And as a delivery person for our local food bank, I salute your choice of charity.
Pledged! And kudos to you for donating even more than you already do!
I’ll take the pledge too…but not on facebook (I’m one of the weird onee who doesn’t go on facebook). Thanks for donating to the food bank. I work in one of our safety net programs and food banks, shelters etc need all the help they can get.
I took the pledge.
Pledged
I pledged! Your piggy bank is looking good over there! 😀
I pledged!
I signed!
I tried to take the pledge but the FB page gives me a blocked page message: The URL you requested has been blocked. URL = static.ak.facebook.com/platform/page_proxy.php?v=4
🙁
Done. 🙂
All signed up!
I pledged today! Everyone’s a winner with this deal!
I signed up, too.
Finally signed up! 🙂 Thanks for the reminder!
Pledged!
I took the pledge.
Okay, I got my lazy behind in gear and signed it. A penny for me!
I don’t have Facebook, so I was hesitant to leave a comment until your subsequent post. I’m currently back in school and my husband is a teacher, so our summer has been pretty lean this year. However, I can right now pledge to set aside $5 per week for savings during the summer, and up that to $50 in the fall (depending on how finances are at that point, since that also means I’ll be back in classes and will have books, etc. to pay for). I have cut WAY back on a lot of things since our pay was cut in half (and our expenses increased with the second degree costs), so that seems like a lot to me, but I also know how stressed I have been lately that our savings isn’t increasing any longer, and I really want to battle the feeling that we’re sinking when we aren’t yet. If I have to skip when we need the money, fine, but I really need to feel like I’m doing something as well.
Thanks for the kick in the pants, Mir!
Heh…I signed up several days ago and then…forgot to comment here. I blame the shiny things.
Definitely couldn’t kill me to save a few bucks since my lovely teacher’s salary has been cut… I’m taking the pledge!
I pledged. I need to be smarter with my money and plan ahead for a rainy day!
Pledged!
I pledged…that kid keeps moving toward college, no matter what I do to try to stop him!
Whoops — I forgot to follow up on my pledge on this post!
Okay, you un-scared me and I signed up. 🙂
Your new post made it clearer for me. I signed up!
I pledged!
I’m in!
signed, sealed, and delivered!
I missed this the first time around but have signed up now. Thanks!
I signed up!
Done! Happily, it worked this time.
I couldn’t leave one on facebook, but I pledge to save $25/wk towards savings!
I pledged!
I don’t have a facebook account but I pledge to save $100 a month.
Pledged! Thanks for alerting me to the opportunity.
Pledged
I took the pledge today!
I’ve pledged…….I will start first by cutting back and by using up what I have before purchasing more! 🙂