New Classes for April

Bank On Virginia Beach

Forming new classes in April

Bank On Virginia Beach will begin a new semester in April.  Now is the time to enroll to get in on this great opportunity to create a financial makeover for yourself.  Meet in a class once per month and get one on one help from a personal financial coach as you take steps to complete the Mayor's Action Challenge for Financial Fitness.

Choose from one of three convenient class times:

Bryant & Stratton College
April 8th (2nd Tuesday)
3:30 - 5:00 pm

Meyera E. Oberndorf Cental Library
April 16th (3rd Wednesday)
6:00 - 7:30 pm

Virginia Beach Adult Learning Center
April 21st (3rd Monday)
6:00 - 7:30 pm

To learn more, check out the Flyer visit www.vbgov.com/bankon or call the Financial Empowerment Office at 757-385-3551.

Piggy Bank Pageant

Hey Kids!  Anyone feeling a little creative?  Enter the Virginia Saves Piggy Bank Pageant!  Just create a piggy bank and snap a picture.  Send your enrollment with your picture to Virginia Saves for an on line pageant.  Pictures will be posted to the Virginia Saves Facebook page.  This contest is open to children ages 6 - 16!  ENROLLMENT FORM and RULES can be found at: http://www.vbgov.com/government/departments/human-services/Documents/FE-PiggyBankPageantRegistration.doc

Judging of the piggy banks will take place at CELEBRATING CHILDREN event at Mt. Trashmore May 10th, 2014!  Grand prize is $100 gift card!



SaveYourRefund

More than $1.4 million saved!

As we near the halfway mark of SaveYourRefund 2014, we are thrilled to announce that entrants have already saved more than $1.475 million dollars this tax season! To date, over 1,600 tax filers from 28 states and 74 different tax preparation sites have split and saved for a chance to win.

The SaveYourRefund team has been busy giving out dozens of $100 weekly prizes to lucky savers like Jessie Sheeran (pictured right). Jessie prepared her taxes at Innovative Changes, a VITA site and SaveYourRefund Partner in Oregon. Jessie told SaveYourRefund that “the chance of winning a prize [was] DEFINITELY an incentive” for her to save! Jessie plans to use her savings to buy her first home one day soon. 

Haven't entered yet? It's not too late! Whether you’re preparing your taxes using online software or working with a tax preparer, make sure to split your refund into at least two different accounts or purchase a savings bond when you file.  Then visit www.saveyourrefund.com and enroll for the weekly drawings and the grand prize drawing of $25,000!

Another snow day, another day to review your bank statement.

     March has brought with it storms and snow days; also known as a good time to reconcile your checkbook.  The fact remains that banks give you 60 days to find and report errors so best to get to it. 
     Before you reconcile your accounts, it’s important to be sure that you’ve made all necessary adjustments. When you make adjustments to your checkbook, you identify and correct any items that may not have been properly entered. You also make adjustments to reflect income or payments, bank fees, and credit-card charges.
     You are your best advocate and often the only person looking out for you when reconciling your accounts.  Let this fact motivate you and your family because personal finance is family finance.  It is ok to have your children begin to understand your families' finances;  feel free to have them double check the math!  My kids like to use the calculator to count the change in their piggy banks or do their math homework.  We often listen to music, drink tea and eat cookies.  Mostly we discuss ways we can save money and where we want to go on vacation.  Having rituals and focusing on savings and our goals makes the process a little easier.  What rituals do you have when reconciling your accounts?