Announcing the winners of the “what inspires you to save” contest!

Last week we held a contest about what inspires or motivates you to save money.  The response was overwhelming and with many so inspiring and heartfelt entries,  it was very difficult for our team to pick the six winners…

After much deliberation, five members of the Bank On Yourself team each picked their favorite entry – each of these winners will receive their choice of a $25 dining gift certificate or a personally autographed copy of my best-selling book, Bank On Yourself, for themselves or to give as a gift to someone they care about.

And together, the team picked their favorite entry and that person won a $100 American Express Gift Certificate.  (All winners will soon be receiving an email letting them know how to claim their prizes.)

Read on to be inspired by the winning entries…

Karen, who designs all of our blog posts, chose Sidney Bostian’s entry as her favorite, because, “it strikes a personal chord for me and it’s short, sweet and inspirational”:

I save for three reasons: 1) To build financial resources to make myself and my family to be independent with respect to future life choices, 2) To empower myself and my family members to work for the ‘joy of working’, not just to pay bills, and 3) To create resources for charitable activities which would be equal to my charitable impulses.”

Lynn, who heads up the Bank On Yourself Customer Service team, found it “really tough” to pick her favorite, “because there were so many good, genuine expressions in the entries.” But she chose Tom Barry’s comment, “because it sounds like he has such a good heart and is on a mission to help as many people as he can”…

I have children – 2 girls and 2 boys.  They are my life – my inspiration! I also have a deep desire to help children, whether they be sick or homeless or in unhealthy and unloving families, and I have a strong desire to help parents that have been affected by the economy that has caused them to be unable to care for their loved ones. It’s a tall order, and there are many of those that I speak of in this situation, so I pray that the Lord blesses me with the ability to help these people… not just my own but all of God’s children, young and old. Finding a way to grow assets to the extent that I could help as many as possible would make me feel that I have fulfilled God’s purpose for me in this life.”

Brian’s entry was Drew’s favorite (Drew is part of our public relations team).  Brian’s philosophy to be lenders, not borrowers, inspired Drew:

I am determined to provide a solid financial future for my wife and kids. Currently my wife is a stay at home mom and I need to make sure that we show a positive example to other young families. Our family motto is ‘we shall be lenders and not borrowers’ and Bank On Yourself lends itself directly to this motto.”

My exceptionally talented publicist, Michelle, chose Dory’s entry because, “it captures what I feel about savings and it follows the ‘KISS’ theory (Keep It Simple, Stupid), which is what Bank On Yourself is all about.”

What inspires me to save is personal FREEDOM. To have or do what I want, when I want, with whom I want.”

Shannon, who heads up our Social Media team, chose Ryan Dunn’s entry because “it’s the classic ‘would’ve, should’ve, could’ve’ story of opportunities lost – but it’s touching and we’ve all been there”…

“Ever since I was a little boy, my grandpa – who was product of the Great Depression – told me that I should give. ‘Ryan,’ he would tell me, ‘to be successful you need to give 10% to the Lord and 10% to yourself. If you do that all your life, you will be safe and successful in all that you do.’ I have thought a lot about his advice, especially as I have grown older. It made sense to be ready for ‘rainy days’ – and even in my limited experience, those I have weathered in comfortable form, largely because of my ‘banks’.

One day, I met a single gal at the other end of life’s experience from me and my then 22-year-old self. She told me I was wise for working hard and to get myself established while I was young.  She also shared with me a story that ever echoes in my ears, because it ‘dangles’ one of those proverbial ‘carrots’ as to why I set my dollar’s dime aside. She told me how one day when she was young, like me, a salesman had come knocking door to door – much like I had that day.  He was selling stock ownership in a local company and wanted to know if she wanted to participate by giving him $5,000. Well in the 30’s & 40′s, that was a considerable amount of money – and something she did not have available to tender, so she had to pass on the opportunity.  She said, ‘That company was Portland Gas and Electric, and had I given him the $5,000, I would never have wanted for money again.’ But, she hadn’t saved the $5,000, so it wasn’t even an option to begin with.

Savings aren’t just for tight times like grandpa passed through in the depression – they aren’t just for some future retirement plan. They are also for opportunities and possibilities – but those possibilities are only available if there are savings to tender when opportunities ‘knock.’  Come rain or shine, I know that one or the other (or both) will meet me at the front door each day, and I am ready to take advantage of whatever the situation because I give that 10% (and oft times more) to myself that grandpa taught me I ought to, so that I might be safe and successful.”

David – promise us you’ll send us pictures from your wedding in a year… and enjoy your $100 American Express Gift Certificate!

And here’s a runner-up entry…

I really like Craig Yenni’s entry, because it has some important messages, so I’m also giving Craig his choice of an autographed book or $25 dining gift certificate from his very thoughtful post:

“Over the course of the last few years, I have reprogrammed my financial mind. The old programming told me to work hard, fund my traditional investments (401k, stocks, and mutual funds) and buy some term insurance. If I could stomach the ups and downs of the market, I would one day be set and have financial security in my retirement years.

This approach was indeed building wealth in a fantastic way!  Unfortunately, I wasn’t building wealth for my family, but for the stock brokers, mutual fund managers and the tax man. Sadly, they didn’t even send me a birthday card on my birthday.

I realized after seeing failure after failure with this approach, there must be a better way. I started researching, digging, and talking to various people to find this better way. A few years ago, I came across the Bank On Yourself approach and found it to be the most compelling way to achieve what I was after. During all of this research, the reprogramming was well underway.

As part of the reprogramming of my financial mind, I started to separate the concepts of savings and investment. It seems to me, most people are turned up side down with investing before saving. If you don’t have savings, I don’t believe you should be investing. Savings first, then investing is my approach. It is critical that my savings remain predictable and safe. The investments on the other hand are more risky and if it is lost, my plan still works in the end. Savings are the foundation of my financial health and if my investments do well, then it’s icing on the top.

Savings to me is the concept of building capital that I can use to fund college, generate a passive income, borrow for major purchases, and then easily pass on wealth to my family. I not only wish to pass on money to my family but true wealth consisting of the peace and security that comes with saving in a Bank On Yourself policy.

I’ve played the Cashflow game (Robert Kiyosaki – author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad) with my children. The way to win the game is to have a passive income that exceeds your liabilities. Although this is just a game, I am playing it in real life and Bank On Yourself is a huge part of how I will win. By funding my two Bank On Yourself policies, I’m building capital. That capital will one day generate a passive income for me to use when I determine the time is right. Along the way, I can use that capital to fund the major purchases of life. As I’m using the capital, it keeps working in my account unlike taking it out of a traditional bank account or mutual fund.

My new financial mind is programmed to work hard to generate an income, save, share and then invest.”

After reading the winning entries, I’m sure you can see why it was so hard to pick the winners from so many deserving entries.

We encourage you to read them all for inspiration!  And thank you to every one who shared their personal story!