Bank On Virginia Beach classes are being postponed due to impending weather this week. If you are scheduled to attend the TCC Joint Use Library class on Feb 25th or the Potter's House class on Feb 26th, please watch for updated information about reschedule.
MAKE UP CLASS: Scheduled March 12th at TCC Joint Use Library 6:30 PM
30-40-30 Plan Refund Savings
Virginia Saves has offered us a great tool at tax time called the 30-40-30 plan for refund savings. With this plan you can address past, present and future needs with your tax refund.
Investment Workshop
When: February 23, 2015
Where: TCC Joint Use Library
Time: 6:30-8:00 pm
RSVP: bankonvb@vbgov.com
Matched Savings is Back!
The Interfaith Alliance at the Beach (IAB), an ecumenical group of faith organizations has made it possible for financially challenged families to establish their own emergency fund to keep them from falling prey to high cost alternative lenders. IAB offers a matched savings program in which $150 is offered for Bank On participants who:
1. Establish $150 of their own savings
2. Maintain perfect attendance at Bank On Classes
3. Attend 9 coaching sessions during the Bank On program
4. Complete the Mayor's Action Challenge for Financial Fitness by submitting their Financial Empowerment Passport
5. Are Virginia Beach Residents
6. Have household income less than 400% of poverty.
To get a list of the eligibility requirements for the matched savings program, click here.
1. Establish $150 of their own savings
2. Maintain perfect attendance at Bank On Classes
3. Attend 9 coaching sessions during the Bank On program
4. Complete the Mayor's Action Challenge for Financial Fitness by submitting their Financial Empowerment Passport
5. Are Virginia Beach Residents
6. Have household income less than 400% of poverty.
To get a list of the eligibility requirements for the matched savings program, click here.
Emergency savings provides a layer of protection against the unexpected. Thank you to the IAB for helping Bank On families stay focused and incentivized to stay with the challenge of building a financial plan for financial security!
Free Tax Time Resources
When you are looking for resources at tax time we encourage you to check out all the great help available at www.vbgov.com/eitc. This site has great information about some of the credits that may be yours at tax time, but also free software to prepare your own taxes and locations for free tax preparation.
Average cost of preparing a tax return is nearly $250. $250 is a lot of money when we are gaining financial control and pinching pennies. By saving the cost of tax preparation, we give ourselves a financial boost that can seed our financial plans.
Preparing your own return doesn't have to be as scary as we think. The Department of Human Services hosts IRS trained and certified volunteers to assist you in preparing your own taxes. You have all the help you need. Just visit 3432 Virginia Beach Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA any Friday during the month of February from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm!
Financial Assessment - Beginning of our Financial Makeover
Bank On Virginia Beach is challenging every person to make 2015 be your year for a great financial makeover. The start of any makeover whether it relates to eating, exercise, health or wealth begins by doing an assessment of your current condition. Bank On provides their participants an assessment of income, assets and liabilities. Participants are gathering all the information together to ascertain your starting point so that you can demonstrate your success along the way.
The financial assessment includes getting a copy of your Annual Credit Report. This is the free report you can obtain from any one of the three credit bureaus. Start by getting your report from one bureau and then we will look at your progress later in the program when we pull another midway and then again at the end. The location to find your free annual credit report is www.annualcreditreport.com. By reviewing this report, we have a good list of our current liabilities.
We also obtain our credit scores for free by signing up for either www.creditkarma.com or www.creditsesame.com. These are not the same as a FICO score, but are good approximations. Our credit score is our financial resume to the world proclaiming whether we can be trusted in meeting our obligations.
To get your copy of a financial assessment download your copy of the Financial Empowerment Passport from this blog and turn to page 12 and 13. With the assessment completed you are on your way to seeing your condition change in 2015. Please share with us your experiences as you get started on your financial makeover here.
Setting Direction for Your Financial Makeover.
Day by day we make choices about our future by determining how much we will set aside, how much we spend on today's uses and how much we earmark for paying off the purchases we made in days past. Every day we are determining future success by what we say yes or no to.
Financial Planning begins with determining the direction for your future. Our first Bank On classes challenged participants to outline their goals for the future by writing them down. On the My Future worksheet (you can find your copy under the Resources tab of this blog), we establish what we would like our financial life to look like by the end of this year. We may also have some longer term goals, but it helps to write them down.
Bank On participants also joined Virginia Saves by establishing savings goals for themselves. These goals outlined what you are saving for, how much and how long. Virginia Saves will be sharing some great savings strategies on their Facebook page throughout this month, we encourage you to follow both Bank On Virginia Beach and Virginia Saves on Facebook and Twitter.
Tell us here, what your goals are. What does the future hold for you if you are successful in your makeover? Writing them down is key! Start today!
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