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!”
We’ve picked a Super Saver for 2009!
Ron Vogel will receive $1,000 for being Grow Your Green's Super Saver of 2009!
Congratulations to Ron Vogel for being Grow Your Green’s Super Saver of 2009!
Not only did Ron save consistently all year to reach his financial goals, but he also shared all his wonderful money-saving tips with Grow Your Green members. (You can read them here.)
Stay tuned—we’ll have an interview from Ron in the coming days when we present him with the $1,000 check. How’s that for a holiday gift?
Meet all our $100 monthly winners.
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.
