Step 3: New Zero in Checking

Last week I asked you to do something counterintuitive: give 10% of your income away first, before anything else. If you took that step, I hope you felt what so many others have felt when they start giving first: something shifts. You stop looking inward and start looking outward, and your whole relationship with money begins to change.

This week, we move to Step 3 on the Fuel Gauge, and I want to tell you about a trick I played on myself that changed everything.

A few years into our marriage, Lauren and I had finally balanced our budget. We were spending less than we made, giving 10%, and had even started putting a little extra into savings. Things were looking up. But that extra money kept finding its way back into our checking account. I told myself it was the bank, but deep down I knew it was me.

The problem was simple. When I saw a cushion sitting in my checking account, I stopped seeing it as savings and started seeing it as spending money. I would be at a store and think to myself, well, I have the money. It would not hurt to grab this one extra thing. Does that sound familiar? When we have a little extra, the temptation to spend it is very real.

So I tricked myself.

I saved up one month of expenses and decided that when I saw that number in my checking account, I was broke. That number became my New Zero. Not an actual zero, but a number that meant the exact same thing in my mind: the bank is closed, and there is nothing left to spend.

At the time, my New Zero was about $3,000. When I saw $3,000 in checking, I told myself I had zero dollars. I was broke as a joke. The new couch would have to wait; the extra takeout run was off the table. Seeing that number meant one thing: I had nothing.

Here is how to find your New Zero. Look at your monthly budget and add up everything that goes out in a given month. Every bill, every expense, every category. Once you have that number, round up to the nearest thousand. If your monthly expenses are $4,526, your New Zero is $5,000. If they are $7,124, your New Zero is $8,000. That is the number you are saving toward, and once you hit it, that number means zero.

Now, is this money ever supposed to be touched? The short answer is, I hope not, but life happens. Cars break down, and medical bills show up without warning. When they do, your New Zero is there to absorb the blow without touching a credit card, without cutting your giving, and without going backward on your Fuel Gauge. Just know that if you use it, you owe it back to yourself at zero interest. Give yourself grace; you are well on your way to financial freedom.

I will warn you that this is the step most couples get stuck on. One spouse sees a healthy cushion sitting in checking and starts eyeing it for a thoughtful gift or a special dinner out. The intentions are good, but the agreement gets broken. And when trust is broken between two people working toward the same financial goal, it takes time to rebuild. So agree together on your New Zero, name that number, and hold the line. When you see it, say it out loud if you have to: "broke as a joke; the bank is closed.”

On the other side of discipline and saving lies unbelievable freedom and peace. You will be able to handle an emergency without panic and pursue the life you have been created to live without your finances holding you back.

Your money has a purpose; it is fuel for your journey. Save your New Zero, hold it tight, and keep moving forward.

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Zach Santmier is the owner of Trumble Agency, Inc. and the author of the personal financial course, Increase. He focuses on helping families escape paycheck to paycheck living so they can freely pursue their ideal future.