Just Save It

Beth is working on the Just Save It application with her 13 year old daughter, Sara, who inspired the idea at the drive through at McDonalds after Beth’s first trip to Uganda to visit Light up Life Foundations. Sara requested a milkshake and her mother suggested that she skip the milkshake and instead that they put the $2.50 saved into a jar that they could save for the children in Africa. Sara loved the idea and soon she and her brother were saying “Mom, remember the Africa Jar” nearly every time Beth reached for her credit card. The Africa Jar became filled with coins, dollars and IOU’s written on paper napkins and sticky notes. Saving became a game and “sacrificing” purchases became fun as they watched their Africa Jar fill. Having the jar made them make conscious decisions about prioritizing what they purchased and warmed their hearts as they realized that mindful spending could enable them to effortlessly give more to help others.

The trio decided it would be much easier to keep track of their savings if there was an app on their phone to do so. They also realized that they could have multiple jars and save for various causes or endeavors. Beth hired a developer from Malawi, Africa named Joel F. Gozo, to work with she and Sara to create an application to enable others to experience “saving without sacrifice” for whatever causes or purchases they chose. The beta version for android operating systems is nearly ready for testing.

Future plans for this application involve mass social media campaigns where users can have their SAVE JARS for causes matched, where colleges and universities can offer to match a percentage of educational SAVE JAR contributions if students enroll in their programs, where retail stores can offer discounts for patrons using their SAVE JAR funds at their establishment. The potential for this application to encourage “saving without sacrifice” on individual, family, team, group and business level are limitless. It will turn saving funds for whatever reason into a rewarding “game” where everyone wins, every day, with every conscious purchasing decision.