Saving more may be a little easier than you think. Sign up for CNN’s Savings Challenge to find out how

Like many people, you’d probably love to save more to do … well, everything.

But life can be busy and expensive – increasingly so . And your list of financial obligations is already long.

Still, taking just a little time to focus on where you’re at financially today versus where you’d like to be can help you find new ways to boost your savings – or at least get to a place where that can soon be possible.

On October 2, CNN is launching a nine-week Savings Challenge. You’ll get a free newsletter every Friday that offers you a new challenge for the next week to help you build better savings and spending habits in ways that work for your life.

JOIN CNN'S SAVINGS CHALLENGE

These challenges will be part fact-finding mission and part treasure hunt.

We selected a handful of people to work one-on-one with a financial expert on their savings pain points. You’ll get updates on their progress and setbacks in each newsletter.

And you’ll have a chance to submit your own savings questions and quandaries to certified financial planner Douglas Boneparth, who will offer advice in an Ask the Expert section. (You can sign up for the newsletter here.)

Mariza and Geffrey Gordon

Ages: 40 (Mariza) and 39 (Geffrey)

Savings goal: Build an emergency fund and stop living paycheck-to-paycheck

Maansi Srivastava/CNN

Married couple Mariza and Geffrey Gordon recently relocated from Houston to their hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mariza has two young adult sons from a prior marriage, one of whom still lives with the couple while the other is in college.

Geffrey works as a business partner for schools at a leadership development company.

Mariza was working as a plan consultant for a financial services company when the couple applied for the CNN Savings Challenge. But soon after, she learned she would be laid off and would get only two months’ severance.

Other than directing a few hundred dollars toward their retirement savings every month, the couple said credit card debt, college tuition payments and inflation have made saving difficult.

Combined, they said, they are making nearly $1,400 in minimum monthly payments just on their credit card debt.

They also have more than $200,000 combined in student loans; at the moment, Geffrey said, their monthly payments are less than $75 a month.

Savings goal: Eke out a little more in savings for retirement

Jeff Kizer is a middle school algebra and geometry teacher at a private school in California. He also works as an independent tennis coach.

He has one child from a prior marriage.

Having lost a big chunk of his retirement savings in a divorce in 2019, Jeff said he has started saving about 25% of his income, thanks to advice he received when he first started at his school. He gets a 5% employer match on his 401(k) contributions from the school and a 3% match in a plan provided by the tennis facility where he coaches.

Jeff also carries debt. He is paying off roughly $50,000 in federal student loans, which he took out for his master’s in education. He also is paying down a $33,000 personal loan, which he took out when he consolidated his credit card debt.

Jeff lives with his wife in a home she owns. He pays her rent and they share living expenses. The couple generally keep their money separate, and his wife is not participating in this challenge.

Savings goal: Figure out if she is on track to buy a house and eventually retire comfortably

Abbey Graf has saved a sizable sum for her age and income.

Single with no kids, Abbey is a contractor who works full time as a food stamp policy analyst for the state of Wisconsin. But because she is a contractor, she doesn’t have access to an employer-based retirement plan – or any employer matches – nor does she qualify for the state pension system.

To compensate, Abbey has been socking away 25% of her after-tax income across a Roth IRA, a brokerage account and, just this year, a health savings account. Combined, she’s now putting away a little more than $1,200 a month in automated savings, she said.

Abbey also has built up a substantial emergency fund, which could cover her living expenses for more than a year if necessary.

Her frugality stems partly from knowing things happen in life that she has no control over. “What if I can’t work to 65? What if I can’t save for retirement for five years?” she said.

“Everything that is going on… it just feels like things are uncertain.”

和许多人一样，你可能很想多存点钱去做……嗯，所有的事情。

但生活节奏快、开销大，而且这种情况越来越严重。你的财务负担清单已经很长了。

不过，花点时间关注一下你目前的财务状况与你想要达到的财务状况之间的差距，可以帮助你找到增加储蓄的新方法——或者至少让你达到一个很快就能实现储蓄目标的境地。

10月2日，CNN将启动一项为期九周的储蓄挑战。每周五，您都会收到一份免费的电子报，其中包含下周的新挑战，帮助您养成更健康的储蓄和消费习惯，找到适合自己的方式。

加入 CNN 的省钱挑战

这些挑战既是事实调查任务，也是寻宝活动。

我们挑选了几位人士，让他们与理财专家一对一地解决储蓄难题。您将在每期简报中看到他们的进展和遇到的挫折。

您将有机会向注册理财规划师道格拉斯·博内帕斯提交您自己的储蓄问题和困惑，他将在“专家问答”栏目中提供建议。（您可以在这里注册订阅新闻简报。）

玛丽扎和杰弗里·戈登

年龄：40岁（玛丽莎）和39岁（杰弗里）

储蓄目标：建立应急基金，摆脱月光族的生活。

曼西·斯里瓦斯塔瓦/CNN

已婚夫妇玛丽扎和杰弗里·戈登最近从休斯顿搬回了他们的家乡威斯康星州密尔沃基。玛丽扎与前夫育有两个已成年的儿子，其中一个仍然和他们住在一起，另一个正在上大学。

Geffrey 在一家领导力发展公司担任学校业务合作伙伴。

玛丽莎当时在一家金融服务公司担任理财规划顾问，这对夫妇申请了CNN储蓄挑战赛。但不久之后，她得知自己将被解雇，只能拿到两个月的遣散费。

除了每月拿出几百美元用于退休储蓄外，这对夫妇表示，信用卡债务、大学学费和通货膨胀使得储蓄变得困难。

他们表示，仅信用卡债务的最低还款额，他们每月加起来就要支付近 1400 美元。

他们两人共背负着超过 20 万美元的学生贷款；杰弗里说，目前他们每月还款额不到 75 美元。

储蓄目标：为退休多存点钱

杰夫·凯泽是加州一所私立中学的代数和几何老师，同时也是一名独立网球教练。

他与前妻育有一子。

杰夫在2019年的离婚中损失了一大笔退休积蓄，他说，多亏了刚到学校时得​​到的建议，他现在开始将收入的25%左右存起来。学校为他的401(k)退休金计划提供5%的雇主匹配缴款，而他执教的网球馆也为他提供了一个3%的计划匹配缴款。

杰夫也背负着债务。他正在偿还大约5万美元的联邦学生贷款，这笔贷款是他攻读教育硕士学位时申请的。此外，他还在偿还3.3万美元的个人贷款，这笔贷款是他整合信用卡债务时申请的。

杰夫和妻子住在她名下的房子里。他支付房租，两人共同承担生活开支。这对夫妇通常财务独立，而且他的妻子没有参与这项挑战。

储蓄目标：弄清楚她是否能按计划买房，最终安享晚年。

艾比·格拉夫的年龄和收入与她的积蓄相比，已经相当可观了。

艾比单身无子女，是一名合同工，全职为威斯康星州政府担任食品券政策分析师。但由于她是合同工，所以无法享受雇主提供的退休计划（或任何雇主匹配缴款），也不符合州养老金制度的领取资格。

为了弥补收入缺口，艾比将税后收入的25%分别存入罗斯个人退休账户（Roth IRA）、证券账户，以及今年新开的健康储蓄账户（HSA）。她说，现在她每月通过自动储蓄的方式存入的金额略高于1200美元。

艾比还积累了一笔可观的应急资金，必要时可以支付她一年多的生活开支。

她的节俭部分源于她明白生活中会发生一些她无法掌控的事情。“如果我不能工作到65岁怎么办？如果我五年内都攒不下退休金怎么办？”她说道。

“现在发生的一切……都让人感觉充满不确定性。”