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San Francisco Teams With Non-Profit To Pay People To Save Money

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The City of San Francisco and a non-profit are teaming up to launch a program to help Bay Area residents save money by paying them cash to do it.

The program by the non-profit EARN is called SaverLife, which offers people a cash incentive to have them start saving a little each month, become financially stable and build emergency savings.

EARN and corporate sponsors are putting up the money for the saving program to address the lack of savings among U.S. families and individuals.

Almost half of all Americans don't have enough savings to cover an unexpected $400 expense, according to the Federal Reserve Bank.

That means sometimes people can't pay their rent or pay property taxes and utility bills.

The Urban Institute estimates that costs San Francisco $24- 54 million a year.

Once participants in the SaverLife program register, they are directed to link their bank account and save at least $20 per month for six months.At the end of the six months, Saver Life will pay you 10 dollars for each month you were able to save money - meaning you get paid $60 for saving your own cash.

There are only 1,000 spots available in the program.  It's open to residents in 9 Bay Area counties' San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Solano, Marin, Napa, Sonoma, and Alameda Counties.

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