It's Hurricane Season....Can you weather a financial storm?
Virginia Savers:
Check out this article from NEFE (National Endowment for Financial Education).
It includes information on natural disasters and how to prepare for them financially, including reviewing your insurance policies.
Click here for more info on: Weathering Financial Storms
Virginia Saves Piggy Bank Pageant & Photo Contest Winners Announced
Congratulations to all of the sponsoring organizations,
volunteers, parents, and most of all, youth savers that participated in
Virginia Saves 3rd Piggy Bank Pageant and Photo contest.
As we celebrate and promote financial literacy initiatives
in April each year, Virginia Saves appreciates the work by our educators,
community volunteers and family to help teach youth on the benefits of saving.
These life lessons are important for all of us as we seek to help families
and communities become financially fit.
This year, 70 entries were received from 10 communities in
Virginia, including: Charlottesville, Dublin, Newport, Pearisburg, Pembroke,
Portsmouth, Radford, Roanoke and Virginia Beach.
In addition to individual entries submitted directly to
Virginia Saves, we would like to acknowledge the participation from these
groups:
·
Beans and Rice, Radford
·
Beta Chi Omega Chapter Alpha Kapa Alpha
Sorority, Inc., Roanoke
·
Community Housing Partners, Yorktown and
Portsmouth
·
Eastern Elementary/Middle School
·
Girl Scout Daisy Troop #17
·
Greenstone on 5th Neighborhood Network Community
Center, Charlottesville
Virginia Saves and Virginia Saves appreciate the support and
sponsorship of BB&T, Virginia Housing Development Authority and America
Saves. We will be coordinating with sponsoring organization for the presentation of awards.
Teresa Walker
Virginia Saves, Chair
Virginia Governor Recognizes America Saves Week
Virginia Saves Week
February 25 – March 2, 2013
Set A Goal. Make A Plan. Save Automatically.
These are the key components of
America Saves Week, a national effort to encourage personal savings. The Virginia
Saves campaign aligns with the messages and the timing launching on Monday,
February 25 and running until March 2.
Virginia Saves offers numerous
opportunities for individuals to assess their savings status and build their
own plans for greater financial security. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell also
supports the campaign and has issued a proclamation to recognize Virginia Saves
Week for citizens in the Commonwealth.
Key savings strategies include:
·
Save a portion of your refund: Tax time is a great opportunity to boost your savings
using a portion of your tax refund.
·
Pay off high-interest debt: Too much debt can create a barrier to savings. Eliminate high cost credit card payments and
redirect money to your savings account.
·
Save for emergencies: Everyone faces unexpected expenses or
repairs. Emergency funds help you to weather the financial storms of life.
·
Make Savings Automatic: Save regularly through payroll deduction or automatic
transfer to a separate savings account.
Individuals are encouraged to join
the campaign and pledge to save. If you
have previously joined the campaign, we encourage you to re-commit to save and
take the pledge, see http://www.virginiasaves.org/index.php/enroll.
Virginia Savers receive
e-newsletters periodically and access to online tools to help you reduce debt
and watch your money grow. New savers in Virginia will also be entered in a
quarterly drawing for a $50 Visa gift card.
The highly popular Piggy Bank Pageant for youth is also
underway across the Commonwealth. A panel of judges will select winners from
two categories. Cash prizes are supplied courtesy of Virginia Housing
Development Authority. The deadline for
entries is March 31, 2013.
You will also find Virginia Saves
tips on: Facebook, Twitter and Blogspot.
For more information, visit www.virginiasaves.org.
Click Here for Full Size PDF of Governor's Proclamation2013 Virginia Saves Piggy Bank Pageant & Photo Contest
Piggy Bank Pageant
|
Help us
Celebrate Virginia Saves Week 2013!
Create a bank
and send us your photo!
Youth
(ages 4-12) may enter the contest and compete for prizes.
One grand
prize awarded to an organization promoting the Virginia Saves 2013 Piggy Bank
Pageant.
It’s easy to
participate!
Use recycled materials to decorate
your bank. • Sizes up to: 14” x 14” and banks must be able to hold coins.
·
Compete for Prizes (valued at): 1st place - $100; 2nd
place - $50; 3rd place - $25
·
A panel of judges will select the three winners from each category.
·
Judging based on visual presentation, creativity of materials used and
savings goals.
·
Eligibility: Class A – Youth ages
4-8 • Class B – Youth ages 9-12
·
Virginia Schools, youth organizations, church groups and individual
savers welcome to participate!
·
Winners notified by April 15, 2013
For Registration Form, Click Here!
For additional information:
Contact
Teresa Walker or Maron El-Khouri, Virginia Saves c/o VCC
Email: Virginiasaves@gmail.com,
twalker@vccva or mel-Khouri@vccva.org, or
Phone: 804-344-5485 x 120 or 540-260-3126 x 102
See also: virginiasaves.org or Virginia-Saves
on Facebook
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SaveUp No Spending Challenge
Savings Challenge:
Commit to 30 Days of No Spending With SaveUp
BONUS: Join Virginia Saves and we
will send you an email with the special link to earn 100 bonus credits with
SaveUp.
One of
the top New Year’s resolutions is to save more and stick to a budget. Research shows if you can change your
behavior for 30 days you are likely to stick to your goals. Join the SaveUp 30 Day No Spend Challenge – and kick start the New Year right. Be a champion for your personal economic recovery.
·
Choose
any credit card in your wallet and commit to 30 days of no spending on that
card by registering it for the SaveUp No Spend challenge.
·
The
more days you check-in and stick to your challenge the more chances you have to
win the grand prize of $5,000 to pay down your debt.
·
BONUS:
Be a champion for change – share to bring others to the SaveUp No Spending
Challenge and win an additional $5,000 in rewards.
BENEFITS: SaveUp’s Financial Detox helps you in the following ways:
·
Saving
real dollars. Based on compound interest, an average household would save close
to $15,000 in interest over 10 years if it paid down $1,000 now in credit card
debt.
·
It
challenges you to NOT spend on anything but what is needed.
·
It’s
a game – how many days can I go without using money?
·
It
forces you to look at other more creative options than spending.
·
It
makes you become more conscious of your spending habits.
·
It
discourages thoughtless, throwaway purchases and allows you to discover how
little you truly need to be happy.
·
It
encourages planning-ahead-spending and the use of cash or debit cards.
SaveUp
is a great online tool to motivate and reward people while saving and paying
down their debt. As our members save more/pay down their debt, they earn
opportunities to win great prizes like a $5,000 No Spend Fund, or a $5,000 Save
and Share prize. SaveUp users can also organize all their savings and debt in
one place, track their progress, and learn more about making the right
financial choices.
New Year's Savings Strategies
As 2013 begins, make sure to give your finances a checkup and discover if you need to make saving your New Year's resolution. You may discover that you have debt you need to pay down or that you are ready to take the next step in savings. Helping yourself and your family save successfully for the future should be near the top of your resolution list - and it's one resolution you can't afford to break! Remember, you don't have to make a lot of money to save successfully. Start Small. Think Big.
5
Resolutions to Get You Saving in the New Year
1. Get Out of Debt
The best investment most borrowers can
make is to pay off consumer debt with double-digit interest rates. How
to do it: Find places to cut your spending so that you can pay down your debts faster.
2. Save for Emergencies
Having an emergency savings fund may be
the most important difference between those who manage to stay afloat and
those who are sinking financially. In a recent survey, only 49% of families said they
had extra funds (not including lines of credit) available to pay for an
unexpected expense of $1,000. Don't find yourself
unprepared in 2013. How to do it: Save a Portion of Your Tax
Refund. Use the 30 - 40 - 30 plan. Designate 30% of your refund to pay
off debt and catch up on outstanding bills. Earmark 40% for current use.
Use 30% to jump start an emergency fund or long term savings. You can use
form 8888 to split your refund into separate accounts and buy a U.S. Savings
Bond. Bonds are a safe and easy way to save for the future.
3. Save for Retirement
Many employees turn down free money from
their employer by not signing up for a work-related retirement program
such as a 401(k) plan. If they did participate, with a dollar-for-dollar
match they would likely receive an annual yield of greater than 100% on
their investment. How to do it: Participate in a work-related
retirement program or open up a Roth IRA. Already saving?
Increase the amount you save toward retirement by 1% in 2013.
4. Make Savings Automatic
It can be hard to put aside money for
savings. But there is an easy way to save money without ever missing it - Make your savings automatic in
2013.
5. Buy a Home and Pay Off the Mortgage Before
You Retire
The largest asset of most middle-income
families is their home equity. Once these families have made their last
mortgage payment, they have far lower housing expenses. How to do it:
Almost anyone can afford to own a home with proper preparation . Develop a savings plan
to build up money for a down payment at purchase, for moving expenses, and
for post-purchase emergency expenditures such as needed home repairs.
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