This post is sponsored by Capital One. All reviews and opinions are 100% my own. Partnerships like
these make The Miller Affect possible.

Christmas is finally around the corner guys!!! I have so many incredible memories of Christmas and I feel like every year is better than the last.

Today I wanted to talk about how you can still save money in this incredibly busy (spending) season. It’s never too late to start saving for yourself, for your family, or for your future family.

360 Money Market Account

As you’re thinking about saving money this holiday season, you might want to know about Capital One’s 360 Money Market Account, which is a flexible, fee-free online, mobile and in-person support savings account that offers a superior Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on accounts with balances of $10,000 or more and access to tools needed for long-haul savings growth.

Basically, this account is completely free to set up and it is so easy to use. When you are thinking about putting your money into a safe place, this is the kind of banking system you are looking for. You can easily access it online or on your mobile phone, and there is always someone to assist you over the phone.

And the best news? 360 Money Market gives you one of the best savings rates in the nation! You can earn up to 1.3% APY right now on accounts with balances of $10,000 or more! Find out exactly how much you can earn today!

Capital One is dedicated to helping people align their personal goals with their savings goals in simple, straightforward ways that more easily and naturally fit into their lives. They will help you find what the best method is for you.

For me, this just meant setting it up to where it automatically pulls a little from my banking account every month. This way, I never have to think about how much to put in or if I remembered to do it! This is especially important to me as a contract worker, but I will talk more about that later!

To help plan for financial confidence through saving, come up with an exciting vision of what you are saving for by asking yourself the following questions: What would saving for the future get you? What is it you truly want? Get specific. What does it look like? How would it feel to have it? Who might you enjoy it with? Where are you? What do you see, feel, experience?

Do you have those answers in mind? Then you are ready to start saving!

Who Am I Saving For?

This has been such an incredible year for my family. Troy and I got married, my sister and brother-in-law got to adopt Emmy (who is the joy of my life), and my sister is now pregnant!!

All of these are tiny miracles because you never know where life may lead you or how your life might turn out. We all just feel so blessed each and every day to have one another.

Troy and I have definitely talked about starting a family of our own, but we want to put some more roots down first. I know everyone says ‘there’s no right time to have a child’, but there are a few things we want to accomplish before this happens.

As you may know, I quit my corporate job this year to focus on growing The Miller Affect. Having your own company is so rewarding, but there are definitely nuisances that you don’t have to deal with when you have a regular paycheck. Like taxes for one. Putting aside 30% of my income to pay it to the government is actually REALLY HARD! It was so much easier when my old company did it for me! I used to also have my company draw out funds and put them into my 401k account for retirement. I don’t have that any more so a savings account is more important than ever.

With the Capital One 360 Money Market Account I can put enough away monthly that will help pay for my taxes and retirement down the road. It takes a huge load off knowing I am putting the money aside and it is actually earning interest! It is just super fun and rewarding to see that the amount you are saving is actually yielding interest! Kind of crazy that you can put your money into an account and watch it grow by 1.3% without even having to do anything to it!

I also have my niece to think about when it comes to finances. Troy and opened a savings account for my niece Emmy that we put into almost weekly. My sister recently started shooting for my blog and whenever I pay her for a shoot I put half of that same amount into Emmy’s fund. Emmy is usually either with us for the shoot or she is actually in the photos with me. Seems only right she should also reap some of the benefits, right?

She is so precious and she is going to do big things one day. I want her to have everything she deserves! Adria is currently pregnant with another baby girl, so Troy and will come up with savings plan for her as well! There are also easy ways to combine the accounts if we wanted to do that!

The 360 Money Market Account that Troy and I started will help our future selves, and our future family!

Holiday Savings

While you are out shopping for Christmas gifts, or just looking around at your family and friends as you open gifts, just think about putting any money you saved this holiday season into a 360 Money Market Savings Account! It’s such an amazing feeling no matter who it is that you are saving for! It’s never too early to start investing in yourself, or someone else’s future!

Christmas bring tons of nostalgia every year. It is the perfect time to sit around and tell stories and laugh about things you have done. My mom always tells the story of how when I was five I went through a rampage and just threw off my wrapping paper of my gifts and threw all my gifts out in the biggest hurry. I would then just look at it, push it to the side, and grab the next one. I was finished opening all of my gifts in five minutes and it looked like a tornado had blown through the room, haha! We all have these kind of stories!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays guys!

xox Amanda

Photo by Adria Lea