When it comes to capturing economic well-being for U.S. households, the numbers are sobering. According to a survey by the Federal Reserve Board, 23% skipped medical treatment due to cost and 44% of adults could not cover a $400 emergency expenditure.

To address this problem, a national non-profit fintech company called SaverLife leverages engaging technologies and strategic partnerships to convince American households that saving money also saves lives.

“Our mission is to help working American families save money and to invest in themselves and their futures,” said Leigh Phillips (pictured), president and chief executive officer of SaverLife. “We went from serving 6,000 people in a decade to 250,000 people in three years. That shows us there’s a big need and interest in this.”

Phillips spoke with Sonia Tagare, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, in Palo Alto, California. They discussed the evolution of SaverLife from a previous program and the importance of building savings habits early.

Promoting awareness and changing habits

The non-profit, which was previously called EARN, introduced SaverLife in 2017 as a user-friendly, online savings platform that provided insight, support and rewards for saving money. The program became so successful that the organization rebranded under the name in October.

SaverLife has evolved as a model that used data-driven research to promote awareness and change in personal savings habits.

“It was more than a change in branding; it was actually a big shift toward technology,” Phillips said. “We encourage people to save with prizes and cash rewards, so we make it really easy for people to get started.”

Before her leading role at SaverLife, Phillips worked in city government and coordinated a financial empowerment program in San Francisco called Bank on San Francisco. Launched in 2005, the program sought to remove barriers for the “unbanked” — those who were unable to access mainstream financial institutions.

“Today, every single elementary school student in San Francisco has a savings account opened for them by the city and county to encourage families to save early and often for college,” Phillips noted. “We focus on building a savings habit. That’s probably the number one thing we want people to really think about.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s CUBE Conversations.

Photo: SiliconANGLE