By Janet Alvarez, Wisebread.com

Meeting financial goals as a family can be challenging. But inspiring your family to help and contribute to a financial goal doesn’t have to be a painful process, especially when the result is an exciting vacation, a car, or college savings. In the spirit of America Saves Week, I’ll share some ideas on how to save as a family for all those items and bucket-list experiences.

America Saves awarded one lucky saver, Pedram R. from California, $500 for sharing his #ImSavingFor story. Pedram said, “Saving is important to me because it proves I am not willing to buy unnecessary things to please others or to be perceived as successful.”

Shopping. Is it a chore? Is it a fun challenge to find the best price for whatever item(s) are on our list? Regardless of how you view shopping, the strategies below may help you shop smarter, so you can put more into your savings account.  

Commonwealth and America Saves are thrilled to announce Esmeralda and Crystal, both of Illinois, as the winners of $10,000 each in the 2019 SaveYourRefund Grand Prize Photo Contest. Esmeralda and Crystal set out to save part of their income tax refunds this year. With the help of SaveYourRefund they were able to turn the tax-time savings moment into a fresh start on a new financial path.

Sometimes when children hear their parents or other adults in their lives talking about cutting spending or saving money, they assume that the family is going through a rough patch. As appropriate based on children’s ages, family conversations about money goals, including saving and spending plans, reassure children. It is also a great way to introduce (or remind) children about the reasons we save.