My first memory of “planning” my money was as a freshman in high school. For various reasons, my family decided that it would be fun to do a road trip around the United States–see some relatives, allow me to attend a conference in Texas and in general, spend almost 3 months taking in the sites.
This was unusual for my family, because most of the time, we did either staycations or visited one of two relatives, so the summer trip was either San Diego, CA or Ogden, Utah, depending on which side of the family we were visiting. As a single-breadwinner family, things were always a bit tight.
So for this trip, my mom was very honest. She said, “This isn’t the sort of thing we can just afford, we have to save money to make this work. This means, not going out to eat as much, and doing without some things so we can redirect money to this.” My sister and I were on board, because of course, the sacrifice was theoretical.
To help, my mom got some poster board and drew a big thermometer on it and colored in some of the bulb at the bottom. “This is how much we usually spend on vacations…” and then she pointed to the top of the thermometer, “And this is where we’ll need to be by June 1st to make this work. We can do it, but we’ll need to remind ourselves along the way that this is our priority, okay?”
So we did. Whenever my sister or I wanted to buy something, my mom reminded us of our goal…she would give us a choice: “Do you want to go on an awesome road trip around the United States this summer, or would you rather have a few extra pizzas between now and then? Your choice.”
And every week or so, we’d color in the thermometer an inch or so, to reflect our progress. The money numbers never meant anything to me, but coloring did (in fact, I still can’t recall what the dollar amounts were, that’s how little I cared!).
And we did it. We actually reached our goal, went on the trip and had a great time. I don’t think about the adjustments or the compromises we made to get there; I just remember the end experience.
I realize for many, this is not the norm.
I am grateful that my memories are so positive, but I realize, for a lot of families, it may not be. According to an American Psychological Association survey, 72 percent of Americans say they’ve felt stressed about money at some point in the last month with as many as 50 percent so stressed out they admitted to not being able to sleep (let alone, take a vacation).
And guess what? No one is talking about this stress…and it’s been my experience that this stress takes over everything. It’s hard to dream big when you have something weighing you down.
Sure, when I am meeting with clients, that is a safe space for them…but where in our lives can people get that on a regular basis? A safe space to reconnect to your money and your values? A place to re-set your brain away from the worry/overwhelm and back to grounded in purpose?
At Capital One….that’s where. Okay….that was surprising, coming from me, right? Did that feel a little too infomercial-y?
#BankingReimagined
Hear me out: after doing extensive research into understanding consumers’ increasing anxiety around having control of their personal finances, Capital One is leading an effort to redesign the banking experience and inspire a new era of confidence when it comes to people’s relationship with their money. And they are doing this coming from two different angles: technology and humanity.
Technology + Humanity = Awesome Possibilities
Ahead of more than a dozen Capital One Café grand openings in 2017 – neighborhood hubs where people can work, recharge or bank – the bank is launching a ten-market, consumer-facing tour.
To put it simply…they are driving around an awesome, techy truck to help us realized the possibility of our money. And it’s called the Banking Reimagined Tour.
The tour is a hands-on, interactive, digital experience designed to:
- spark new ideas about money
- help find strategies for the financial road ahead
- give people more confidence in their relationship with their money
I love the way Capital One is making this not *just* about tech (although it looks amazing and I can’t wait to play with it!) but also about human connection. I am sure I’ll be talking more about the Capital One Café experience once it opens in Seattle in the spring, but for now, I am super excited to experience the Banking Reimagined Tour this Friday and Saturday, February 17-18 from 11 am to 6 pm at Westlake Park (Downtown at 4th and Pine).
So what do we get to play with?
Here is a preview of some of the cool techy things Capital One is doing to pull your financial goals out of the theoretical and help people connect more:
- Values and Goals Drill Down > Interactive touchscreen to give you an understanding of how your outlook shapes the way you view money
- Financial Goals HoloLens > YES, you get to play with goals in virtual reality, be in hanging on a beach, buying a home or sending your kids to college.
- Video Selfie Booths > participants can record a message for their future selves with the knowledge they’ve gained from the experience!
Click here for more details: www.capitalone.com/bankingreimagined
I am going to be down there at 1 pm on Friday the 17th so meet the Capital One and get a tour of the whole system, so if you’re around, come say hello!
If my mom were still alive, I am sure she would be super impressed about how far we’ve come from an old, poster board thermometer to help motivate me to reach my goals :o)
Thank you Capital One for sponsoring this post! This is a paid endorsement. All opinions are my own and were not directed by Capital One. To learn more about Capital One, visit www.capitalone.com/cafes OR www.capitalone.com/bankingreimagined