Celebrating 500,000 Members: Meet a $1,000 Winner Who Kept Saving

In honor of SaverLife reaching 500,000 members, we reached out to our community members to learn about their financial journeys and how they’ve seen SaverLife grow over the years. 

In 2018, Jonquille took SaverLife’s Tax Time Pledge, promising to save her tax refund. Then she submitted a story about what motivated her to save. To her shock, a few months later, she became one of our prize winners and won $1,000.

“It was a total surprise!” she said. “It was an awesome feeling to know I was being rewarded for saving.” 

Jonquille planned to use the prize money to build her emergency savings fund. But a week after winning, she had some car problems and needed to use the money to pay for repairs. 

Jonquille is no stranger to saving and using her money for emergencies. She found out about SaverLife through a Save $20 Get $10 match program in 2017. 

When she first heard about SaverLife, she thought “I don’t have a whole lot, but I can do this,” she explained. 

At the time, she was going through a divorce and had realized that after she paid her fixed expenses, she didn’t have any money left over. 

“If there was a situation where I needed money, I had to use a credit card,” she said. “I knew I needed to make a change.”

Before joining SaverLife, Jonquille had a savings account but didn’t have much money in it. Now she has two savings accounts—and saves specifically for emergencies like auto repairs. 

“I’ve grown my savings significantly since joining SaverLife,” she said. “I’ve also paid off 4-5 credit card debts and kept those accounts closed.”

The platform has transformed since Jonquille joined. 

“Now there’s a lot more information and educational pieces,” she said. “And there are more opportunities to win $5 or $10. I’m doing the Race to $100, and I’m in the top tier. It’s cool to see where you rank.”

Last March, Jonquille started working from home because of the pandemic. It’s had a significant impact on her finances. 

“I’m not using gas because I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “But my two children are home as well—and with two boys, they can eat you out of the house and home!” 

Despite the challenges of the past year, Jonquille has stayed committed to saving. 

“The emails and text messages have kept me on the path to saving,” she explained.