A financial cushion offers a soft landing for life’s unexpected turns, and Linda, a 36-year-old medical billing specialist in upstate New York, experienced this firsthand when confronted with a sudden change in her life.
The power of savings during life’s hardest moments
Linda has created a multigenerational support system. Her in-laws reside in an apartment above the family’s detached garage and are just steps away from the home she shares with her active-military husband, their two young daughters, and an energetic hunting dog. She has created a close-knit family, one she knows will continue to be important as they all take turns navigating life’s changes and supporting one another.
This mindset was reinforced earlier in the year when Linda’s father abruptly passed away. When confronted with the emotional and financial weight of losing a parent, Linda quickly realized that having savings isn’t just about money sitting in an account; it’s the ability to respond as needed during times of crisis. While her mind raced about how to manage the expenses associated with her father’s funeral, a financial lifeline appeared when she won $500 from SaverLife’s Save Your Refund challenge. What she initially thought was a mistake turned out to be much more meaningful. The money helped cover funeral expenses at a moment when her family needed support the most.
The money I won through SaverLife came in handy. We were able to give [my father] the kind of celebration of life he deserved.Linda, SaverLife member (NY)
The extra money became a resource that allowed Linda to help her mother with the expenses surrounding her father’s death and give her family the space to honor him. This financial cushion also gave Linda something less tangible but equally valuable: time and peace of mind. It allowed her to step away from work to prepare for her father’s funeral without adding another source of worry to an already difficult time. “Being able to take time off for my dad’s funeral and prepare everything was something I needed. I wasn’t worried about the money, which was nice. It’s one of those sad reasons you should save, but in the end, it took away stress from me in an already very stressful situation,” she said. Because for Linda, the experience emphasized what she has come to value most about the power of savings: Emergencies don’t wait for a convenient time. It’s now a notion she lives by when looking ahead for what might come next for her family.
Preparing for uncertainty
Months after her father’s passing, Linda has stayed motivated to keep building her emergency fund as another transition looms: The remaining four years of her husband’s military career. Although the family expects him to receive military retirement income, Linda knows there could be a period between his service ending and those benefits beginning.
As a self-described anxious person, having a financial cushion helps Linda feel prepared for uncertainty rather than waiting idly for it to arrive. When she saves, she measures financial success by how she feels and by the dollar amount she sees in her account. To avoid feeling stressed when she goes to the grocery store or decides whether or not she should take her daughters out for ice cream, she works to find a balance that gives her the freedom not just to prepare for uncertainty but also to enjoy everyday moments with her family without worrying about how they’ll recover financially afterward. “It’s this weird mix between saving and living life while still being okay, ” she said. “I get anxious when it comes to spending money, and my husband is more like, ‘We’re okay. We can do this.’ Having that support and companionship—having someone to talk you through it—helps, too.”
A positive mindset: Every little bit counts
Linda’s savings mindset has changed since participating in SaverLife’s savings challenges. They have motivated her to start building habits that have continued long after the challenges ended and helped her see that saving doesn’t have to start with a large amount. “The challenges gave me an incentive to save when it was really hard. They helped me realize that even saving a little can add up to something meaningful. I definitely used to have the mentality that saving $10 wouldn’t do anything for me, so why try? Now I think, ‘It’s still something, and it can add up to something else,” she said.
While Linda knows she can’t predict the future, she works to find the necessary balance between building up her emergency savings and finding time with her family to get outdoors, camp, ride four-wheelers, try new restaurants, or simply spend time together. For Linda, she isn’t just saving for the sake of saving; she’s creating room for her family to live and have something to fall back on when life changes unexpectedly.