Disclaimer: This post was sponsored, and paid for, by SunTrust. All opinions are my own.
With the New Year upon us, lots of people are thinking about financial goals. In fact, did you know that money-related resolutions are a close second to fitness goals?
People want to save more, earn more, pay down their debts and live a better financial life. The problem is it can seem very overwhelming. After all, not everyone has the same situation or desires, so a one-size-fits all formula simply won’t work.
That’s where SunTrust’s onUp challenge comes in.
They recently invited me to give their interactive financial challenge a try and I was psyched to check it out!
As you all know, I’ve been through a lot of life changes in 2017 which has completely changed my financial picture. Furthermore, after finally reaching the goals I’d initially set for myself many years ago, I’ve been struggling to figure out what my next steps are so this came at the perfect time!
What is the onUp Challenge?
The SunTrust onUp Challenge is an interactive website where they help you create and reach financial goals through a series of challenges.
This interactive game leads you through seven different lands (think levels in Candy Crush). In order to move to the next level, you must complete all the challenges.
At each level, you are met with information and videos that explain what the tasks are, why they are important and how they work. Additionally, you have action checklists and the ability to mind map your ideas so that you set clear goals.
The challenges range from figuring out your values to setting up a savings account to buy a home.
My Experience With The onUp Challenge
I’m going to be honest with you, at first I thought I was going to be too advanced for this. Usually these games cover really basic things so I wasn’t sure how much value I was personally going to get out of it.
I was still willing to try it though. If anything, it could be a great tool for readers and podcast listeners who are just starting out in their financial journeys.
The first step was to sign up for the free onUp Challenge. From there, you are redirected to your account where you can get started.
Determining Your Values
The first challenge is to determine what your values are. SunTrust uses this to help you figure out what matters to you because it’s only from this place that you can create goals and stick to them.
You are encouraged to pick three and your options range from spirituality to date nights. I think I ended up picking about five at which point the challenge helps you narrow it down by finding the one that makes the most impact on you. For me, it was peace of mind and spirituality. Judging by that, the challenge suggested that one of my goals may look like donating to worthy causes.
Moving Through the Levels
After you’ve determine your values, you then begin to move through the levels. As I suspected, they start you off with pretty basic things like setting up savings accounts for your different goals. I moved through those pretty quickly. I also breezed through the debt repayment level because I don’t have any debt.
What I loved was how it helps you figure out what comes after the basics. So, for me, the level that made the most impact was the one about life insurance. It’s one of those things I just haven’t gotten around to because I didn’t totally understand it. Thanks to this challenge, I now have a solid understanding of what it is and why I need it. My next step is to find the right policy for myself.
There was also a level about saving for home ownership. I don’t know if I would buy a primary residence first. I’m more interested in an investment property (because ROI, yo!), but many of same savings concepts still apply.
And perhaps my favorite level was the one that focused on helping people EARN more money. This is definitely the stage I’m in for my life as I focus on increasing my income any way that I can.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think this is a great tool for some people. It’s especially great for people who are just beginning to create financial goals and those of us are more advanced, but still have some ways to go in order to have complete financial health.
It also helped me determine my two main financial goals for 2018: Find a life insurance policy and save for a down payment on an investment property.
Don’t take my word for it though, try it for yourself!
Click here to sign up for SunTrust’s free onUp Challenge!
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