Thank you for participating in the Grow Your Green Savings Challenge
Hi!
It’s Cash Cat here, and I want to thank you for participating in the Grow Your Green Savings Challenge of 2009. Your hard work in the savings challenge and your activity in the online community throughout the year have really made a difference and has served as an inspiration for other savers. I’m honored that Tech CU was able to be a part in helping you work toward your savings goal.
As you may already know, the Grow Your Green Savings Challenge ended at the end of December with the selection of our Super Saver of 2009. Ron Vogel was the lucky winner of our $1,000 grand prize. Not only did Ron save consistently all year to reach his financial goals, but he also shared his many wonderful money-saving tips with other Grow Your Green members. (You can read them here.)
But Ron wasn’t the only one who was rewarded for saving. From March to November, eight monthly winners received $100 to be added toward their Grow Your Green savings goal. We’re also proud that the campaign was effective in helping our members save more in 2009. Here’s what we were able to accomplish: 34 Grow Your Green Savings Challenge accounts for a total of $17,966 saved!
While this campaign was designed to last for one year, at Tech CU we know that saving money and smart money management should be lifetime efforts. That’s why we’re committed to helping you stay financially fit all year long. If you enjoyed all the useful tips and entertaining articles we had here at the Grow Your Green site, I’m confident you’ll love Tech CU’s main blog, Money Savvy. With articles such as Haitian Relief: Be Generous but Be Careful and Banks Lure Customers with Cash: Deal or No Deal?, you’ll continue to find relevant, insightful and helpful articles at our blog to help you succeed in your financial goals.
Thanks again for participating in Grow Your Green. And remember, we still want to stay connected to you so join the Facebook Tech CU Fan Page or follow us at Twitter/TechCU. That way you’ll continue being the first to learn about Tech CU’s rate changes, promotions and specials.
Until we meet again!
-CashCat
Tech CU awards $1,000 to Super Saver of 2009
Kathleen Litman, vice president of marketing at Tech CU, presents Shih-Shan Tan and Ron Vogel a check for $1,000. Vogel was selected as the Grow Your Green Super Saver of 2009.
San Jose, CA (Dec. 31, 2009) —Technology Credit Union (Tech CU) is proud to announce that Ron Vogel of San Jose, Calif. has been selected as the Grow Your Green Super Saver of 2009 and, as a result, Vogel has been awarded the $1,000 grand prize in Tech CU’s Grow Your Green Savings Challenge.
In March, Tech CU launched the Grow Your Green campaign and online community in an effort to support and encourage members to set and achieve savings goals in 2009. Then on Dec. 15, Tech CU picked the Super Saver of 2009—someone who had been actively saving and participating in the community—and that person would win $1,000 toward their savings goal.
Not only did Vogel save consistently all year to reach his financial goals, but he also shared many of his valuable money-saving tips with other Grow Your Green members. From advice on investing to tips on finding free music and video on the Internet, Vogel regularly contributed to the Grow Your Green community, posting several blog entries each week. (Read them here.)
“We worked hard to win this,” Vogel said, as his wife, Shih-Shan Tan, stood next to him. “This was a team effort. Shih-Shan would look for story ideas and then I would research them and develop them into blog posts. We wrote them with our own experiences of spending and saving in mind.”
One of those experiences, Vogel said, came when he was six years old.
“I loaned my grandfather $20 and a week later, he gave me $30—to cover the full amount, plus interest,” said Vogel. “That’s when I learned that if I was smart with money, I could make more of it.”
Vogel says since then he has tried to share his money management skills with the world. This time it has paid off—literally.
“We knew that more people were being affected by the economy this year so we wanted to help them focus on saving,” said Kathleen Litman, vice president of marketing at Tech CU. “From the start, we designed the Grow Your Green site to encourage comments from, and interaction between, the participants who were saving toward a particular goal. Ron was a major contributor and really cared about helping others. We’re thrilled he’s our Super Saver of 2009.”
And Vogel’s thrilled too.
“I opened the Grow Your Green savings account because I wanted to win the $100 monthly prize,” Vogel said. “That was appealing, but to win $1,000 is an even more wonderful surprise. It’s definitely a great way to end the year. Thank you, Tech CU!”
Q&A with Ramie – GYG $100 winner, November
Ramie proudly shows off her granddaughter, Kara, who was born in October. Ramie is saving for Kara's future.
What are you saving for?
I have a brand new granddaughter, Kara, who was born on Oct. 14, 2009, so I am saving for her. Her parents can give her the necessities but I want to be able to provide her with the “fun” stuff: field trips, gifts, money for college.
She’s my first grandchild so I am excited about saving for her future.
What steps are you taking to save each month?
Luckily, I have developed a pretty good habit of saving over the years.
Whenever I get a tax refund or a bonus, I immediately put it into a savings account so I can earn interest on it. This also helps to keep me from the temptation of spending it. For example, when Tech CU offered the one-day Celebration CD with a 4.00% APY, I immediately took $2,500 to open the account.
What is your biggest obstacle when you’re trying to keep a consistent savings plan?
This real estate market has been a challenge for us. We have some big expenses on our rental properties. I don’t normally dip into my savings but I may need to from time to time for miscellaneous expenses like home repairs and insurance. Otherwise, I am trying to grow my balances.
Has the current economy affected your savings plan at all?
Again, it’s our rental properties. We’re upside down on them but I am optimistic that things will slowly turn around.
Do you have any savings tips for other ‘Grow Your Green’ savers?
My co-worker is a single mother of three. I told her to put away $25 for each child each month. In fact, I told her to open a Tech CU ‘Grow Your Green’ Savings Challenge account. She won’t even miss it and at the end of the year, each child will have some extra money for the holidays.
I think the main thing I’d stress is that you have to stay consistent–even if it’s just a few dollars a week. It really does add up and before you know it, you’ll have a nice chunk for when you really need it.
Also, I wanted to say that you called me on my birthday, so thank you so much for the drawing award! This was a great birthday gift for me!
Q&A with Steve – GYG $100 winner, October
What are you saving for?
We’re just setting money aside for emergencies, anything that comes up. We have several accounts–one for emergencies, one for savings, one for retirement.
What steps are you taking to save each month?
Any time we get a large bonus or amount from, say, a stock cash-out, it goes straight into our savings account. Anything left over goes to bills.
What is your biggest obstacle when you’re trying to keep a consistent savings plan?
Right now we have two houses. We’re in the process of selling one of them so that’s our biggest obstacle when it comes to saving. There are a lot of expenses and the rent isn’t covering the mortgage. Once it’s sold, hopefully we can save more.
Has the current economy affected your savings plan at all?
I think we’ve been good about saving so right now, thankfully, we’re OK.
Do you have any savings tips for other ‘Grow Your Green’ savers?
Put a little away each day, even if it’s just a few dollars. It may not seem like a lot but that money really does add up pretty quickly.
Q&A with Ron – GYG $100 winner, August
Here, Ron is on vacation on a Panama Canal cruise. He loves saving for trips like this!
What are you saving for?
I’m saving for savings’ sake. I’m not working right now–it’s both by choice and by circumstance–so I am trying to save as much as possible.
What steps are you taking to save each month?
There are a lot of things I try to do. We’re budgeting and watching what we buy. We use Quicken to track everything! It’s really helpful. Before I left my job, I had to figure out how much we needed, so we tracked all our expenses for a year. It’s surprising because we spent more than we thought we were spending–especially on things we didn’t need. That stuff–the dinners and lunches, the movies–adds up quickly!
What is your biggest obstacle when you’re trying to keep a consistent savings plan?
It’s all those unexpected needs. For example, our house fan in the furnace went out this summer. That was a $300 expense. So that’s why we’re saving for thing like this that pop up. They always come when you least expect it and it could really be a negative experience if you’re not financially prepared.
Has the current economy affected your savings plan at all?
It hasn’t hurt my savings plan much. However, the company I was contracting for cut my hours last year, and then it shut down in December. That’s had some effect.
Do you have any savings tips for other ‘Grow Your Green’ savers?
Save as early as possible. I did and that’s why I don’t have to work at the moment. If you have stock options and you cash out, don’t blow the money. Sock it away.
Also, if you get stock options from your employer, don’t wait for some home run where you can become a millionaire. You can’t bank on speculation. The market changes faster than you think, and if you wait too long, sometimes you end up with nothing. My biggest advice when it comes to this would be to cash out small increments along the way. There’s nothing wrong with slow and steady savings goals.
Want to hear more of Ron’s advice? Check out his posts.
