Pay Off Credit Card Debt And Save For Next Christmas

Posted on January 18, 2022 by vcnbfamily

Did you overspend during the holidays? Let’s talk about how to recover.

If you overspent over the holidays, you are not alone. Surveys show that more than one in three Americans racked up debt buying gifts, plane tickets and party supplies to celebrate this Christmas. After a long season of excess, the decorations are now gone, the wrapping paper thrown away and all that lingers is the massive credit card bill.

So, now what?

The last thing you want to do is just pay the minimum payment on your bill. In fact, when your statement comes, study the section that tells you how long it will take to pay off your balance by paying just the minimum payment. Depending on what you owe, it will be years and maybe decades.

Instead, you need to add up all that you owe and form a plan of attack.

Dedicate yourself to paying off that debt so that it doesn’t snowball into a heaping amount of interest. Get your spouse to buy in to the notion that Christmas pay off needs to be the priority before other spending.
Add up how much you actually owe.
Form a plan of attack to pay it off fast. The longer it lingers on your card, the more you’ll pay in interest.

Well, that sounds easy, right?

It clearly isn’t as easy as 1,2,3. In fact, let’s take a closer look at how to form that plan of attack.

Update your budget to reflect Christmas Debt as a new line item. Don’t have a budget? Now is the time to make one. You need a clear picture of how much money comes in, how much goes out and where it goes. Need help? Find links at the bottom of this article to help you get started.
If your budget is tight, look for ways to cut costs or to make more money. Most households waste money somewhere. It could be through behavioral choices like eating out too much or letting impulse buys get out of control. It could be on big bills like car insurance. Research these expenses by requesting a new quote from your insurance agent or consider refinancing your home if you feel the mortgage payment is too high. Can’t cut costs? Look for a side hustle to help you bring in some extra bucks and knock out that debt quicker!
Stay focused on the reward of knowing you accomplished this goal and that you are about to eliminate that debt.

Once you’ve paid off this Christmas, don’t stop there! Take all that money that you have been applying to your debt to save for next Christmas. Wouldn’t it feel amazing to pay cash for Christmas 2022 this year? Open a VCNB Passbook savings account and set up automatic transfers to guarantee you’ll save the money. When October rolls around and we open our VCNB Christmas Club again, be sure to sign up for this special savings account!

VCNB Resource Guide

Find useful tips and instructions for getting started with your budget and with finding ways to save money!

Budgeting 101

How To Stick To A Budget

Finding Money To Save (Even When You Think You Can’t)

31 Ways To Save Money

Practice Awareness To Boost Your Financial Health

Posted on September 22, 2021 by vcnbfamily

Having a budget and regularly reviewing your financial commitments is a great place to start down the road toward better financial standing.

Being engaged and aware of what is happening in your financial life is the most effective way to improve your personal finances. We have some tips to help you be more mindful of your finances and how your VCNB account tools can help!

First: Know Your Income and Commitments

It is imperative to know how much money comes in every month and where it’s going. The best way to do this is to gather up pay stubs and other income documents. Start by adding up your income. Then make a list of all your expenses and add them up to see how much you have going out every month to create a basic budget. Read our Budgeting 101 article to get started!

Next Step: Get the Right Tools

VCNB offers account holders some user-friendly tools that will make life easier. From checking your balance and paying bills online to turning off your debit card in our mobile app, there are a number of tools for keeping tabs on your finances. Many customers especially love Account Alerts which allow them to receive a text or email for things like when a loan payment is due or each time their debit card has been used. You can even set an alert for when your account drops below a certain balance. Click here to learn more about how the leading technology offered at VCNB can help your financial life!

You’ll also want to review your credit report for accuracy. Download your credit report for free at www.annualcreditreport.com. This document will help you spot errors in your credit history which could impact your credit rating as well as your ability to borrow money, rent a home, qualify for auto insurance or even get a job.

As you’re creating your budget, be sure to put in place some maintenance routines. Have a special place for bills that need attention, automate what you can, and designate a time to pay bills and check balances. While you’re at it, be sure to file or scan any paperwork you need to keep.

What’s next:

These are some basic first steps that everyone should take on the path to financial awareness. Here are a few more.

Start by looking for ways to cut costs. Be sure to apply that savings to paying off debt or to plan for big expenses. Click here for 31 ways you can save money now.

If you know that you spend six hundred dollars on Christmas every year, don’t wait until the holidays and rack up credit card debt. Instead, open a VCNB Christmas Club account to have automatic transfers made from your account into a Christmas Club every two weeks.

Get into the mindset that you will think before you buy and curb those impulse purchases to save strain on your budget. Start thinking about what you want your life to look like and how money can help you strive toward those goals.

Most of all, be mindful and start thinking about how you can put your personal finances to work for you.

Open A Christmas Club Today

Posted on October 9, 2020 by vcnbfamily

Be prepared for next year’s holiday shopping with the 2021 VCNB Christmas Club. Saving a little every two weeks will add up to a lot!

Do you have a savings plan for holiday shopping? Are you tired of running up credit card debt every holiday season? There’s no reason to spend months paying down Christmas debt when you can plan and save with a VCNB Christmas Club.

This is an easy way to save money a little at a time throughout the year. Here’s how it works:

You choose the amount you wish to save.
We divide that amount by 26 payments and transfer that amount from your checking or savings account into your Christmas Club savings account every two weeks.
At the end of the Christmas Club term, your savings will be direct deposited in your checking or savings account in mid-October.

It really is as easy as 1-2-3!

We call it a Christmas Club and many customers do use it for Christmas but some use it for other things – for vacation, for big ticket purchases, or even as a way to beef up their emergency fund each year. This is a deposit only account and there is a $20 fee if you choose to close the account early. That means it’s a great way to save money and not touch it until you’ve reached your goal!

Are you ready to get off the holiday debt merry-go-round? Sign up for your Christmas Club today! As a thank you for opening a 2021 VCNB Christmas Club, you will receive a BBQ Gift Bag containing a bottle of Old Canal Smoke House barbeque sauce and a VCNB basting brush. Old Canal Smoke House is a popular Chillicothe based restaurant with a private line of sauce.

What are you waiting for? Contact your local branch or log into your online banking to sign up today. To do it online, select “Online Forms” at the top of the screen. In the next menu, choose “Christmas Club Application.”

Current Christmas Club customers should expect to receive their Christmas Club savings the week of October 12. Christmas Club gifts can be picked up at any of our local branches after October 15.

Prepare Now For Happier Holidays

Posted on July 24, 2018 by vcnbfamily

There are about 22 weeks until Christmas.

You’re probably wondering why your bank wants to talk about Christmas during the hottest days of summer but there is one really good reason: we want to see our customers have a nice holiday season without accumulating a mountain of debt.

Calculating the Cost of the Holidays Lots of folks wait until November to start thinking about what they’ll buy and how they will fund it. Others just buy without thinking and worry about it when the credit card bill comes in January. We would rather see you start planning and saving now and we’ll tell you why. Without the stress of money worries weighing you down, the holidays will be much more enjoyable. It’s that simple.

Luckily, there are still almost six months left to prepare.

How Much Will You Spend?
First, you need to know how much money you will want to spend. Make a list of each person you buy gifts for as well as other expenses related to the holidays. Do you host a big Christmas Eve bash or do you travel to see the in-laws? Do you make charitable donations during the holidays or send Christmas cards? List all those things too.

Then assign an estimated dollar amount to each person or category and add it all up. That’s the amount you need to aim for saving. If it sounds like too much, you might need to adjust your spending expectations.

Create a Savings Plan
Take your budgeted amount and divide it by the number of pay checks you will receive before Christmas. That’s the amount you need to save each pay. For example, if you plan to spend $500 on Christmas this year and are paid weekly, that means you would need to save about $23 per pay to be ready in time for the holiday.

Think you don’t have extra money to save every paycheck? Keep reading.

There are sneaky ways you can save money. If you budget $100 for your electric bill and it’s just $95, then save the extra $5 instead of spending it. If you have a vice like drive-thru lunches, pack your meals occasionally and save the extra. Save your change and bring it to a VCNB location with a coin machine for easy counting. Be intentional with how you use any extra amount of money, no matter how small it may be, and save it.

Automate That Savings
Whether you join the VCNB Christmas Club or just schedule automatic transfers, automate your savings plan. Schedule an automatic transfer of that $23 every single payday. It will be just like any other bill and you won’t have to lift a finger to make it happen. And while we’re talking about savings accounts, you may choose to open a savings account just for your Christmas spending. You’ll have easy access to your cash when you need it and can just transfer it back to your checking account when ready to spend.

Think Ahead
Stores and online retailers are filled with clearance racks and good sales every day of the week. Keep your eyes peeled and you may be able to pick up a few gifts long before the Black Friday frenzy begins.

Also, if you do travel during the holidays, nail down your travel days and start looking for deals on flights and hotels.

If you have a big family, it may be time to have a conversation with your siblings about gift giving. Do you want to buy gifts for everyone or just for the kids or maybe gifts for couples rather than individuals? We aren’t telling you to be stingy but you may find that some people in your life are relieved to have less shopping to worry over.

Reward Yourself
VCNB offers a Rewards Checking account that literally rewards you for spending your own money. Saving these points throughout the year to redeem before the holidays is another great way to save! Customers who use Rewards Checking receive one point for every $3 spent and 200 bonus points when they have 21 or more transactions per statement cycle. These points can be redeemed for cash back, gift cards, travel and more!

There is a coordinating Visa® Platinum Card that allows you to earn one point for every dollar spent. These points can be redeemed for exciting merchandise, gift cards and travel. Customers who use both Rewards Checking and the Visa Platinum Card can link their points in one account to make redemption a breeze.

Ready to get started? Open online or learn more about Rewards Checking or open that new Passbook Savings to get started with your holiday savings today!

Think Outside The (Gift) Box

Posted on November 12, 2015 by vcnbfamily

Some of the best gifts don’t fit in a bag or a box. Consider giving loved ones experiences, home repairs or other things they will appreciate but that don’t come from the mall!

We’ve been talking a lot about Christmas lately. Holiday shopping with your VCNB Rewards Checking and Platinum Visa® card and how to save with a Christmas Club have been at the top of our minds. But the truth is, a lot of us here at VCNB have been discussing gift giving as well. More to the point, we are all worried and asking the same question. What on Earth are we going to buy our loved ones?

It’s a wonderful problem to have but it seems like everyone we know already owns too much stuff. So many parents complain because their kids have too many toys and nowhere to put more. Adults often don’t need or want very much either.

While we want to give our loved ones a special holiday, we often waste money on the wrong things.

Make no mistake: we don’t advocate skipping Christmas or gift giving. However, if you’re in the position that we just described, buying stuff for the sake of buying stuff, this may be a good time to reconsider your habits and think outside the (gift) box.

In the interest of keeping gifts useful and cutting down on clutter, consider giving experiences rather than things. A zoo or YMCA membership, sports or concert tickets, movie passes, a manicure or a spa day will make the recipient think fondly of you while they’re having fun.

Experience gifts are especially great for families. Rather than buy individual gifts for every person, consider sending the entire family out for an experience together. Other great family gifts might include board games, movies or a gift card for their favorite restaurant.

For young adults who are on their own for the first time, there’s an endless list of things they need or want for their apartment or new house. Consider buying them cookware, bedding, furniture or decorative items to help make their new living space feel more like home.

That elderly person who already has everything is often difficult to shop for. Instead of buying them a thing, give the gift of your time. Take them some home baked cookies with a gift card or voucher for you to take them out to lunch or have them over for a home cooked meal.

There is also a place for practical gifts that save the recipient time or money. Hire someone to deep clean their home, clear their gutters or replace their leaky kitchen faucet. Everyone appreciates a little help around the house!

Gift baskets can also be a practical gift that is presented in such a nice way that it doesn’t seem so practical. A gift basket of their favorite foods would be thoughtful and practical. Note cards, stationery and stamps would be helpful to a shut-in while a colander filled with ingredients for a nice pasta dinner may be welcomed by a busy family.

If all else fails, consider a gift in their name to their favorite charity. There are tons of good causes that would value your donation, no matter how big or small.

One other thing: we recently saw something on social media that sounded really interesting. For those who want to really trim down Christmas for their kids, buy your child something they need, something to wear, something to play with and something to read. It’s a way to still have fun and open some gifts without spending a lot or accumulating too much.

Tell us in the comments below: What are your favorite go to gifts for the most challenging people on your gift list?

Prepare For The Holidays With A Christmas Club

Posted on October 28, 2015 by vcnbfamily

There are two types of people in this world: those who prepare for holidays well in advance and those who don’t. If you’re like millions of Americans, you probably wait until November or December to panic over what presents to buy for Christmas and how to pay for it all.

On the other hand, if you had a VCNB Christmas Club, you could be saving a little money each month and receive a nice sum in October, just in time for holiday sales. However, if holiday saving isn’t your thing you can use a Christmas Club to save for other things. There’s no rule that says you can’t save your funds for a vacation, a new car, home repairs or just for the sake of saving for the future.

A lot of folks lack the self-discipline to save regularly on their own. The beautiful thing about Christmas Club is that we automatically transfer the funds from your checking or savings account into a Christmas Club account. You can access those funds in an emergency but the $20 fee for doing so should be enough of a deterrent you won’t be tempted to withdraw funds for a silly reason.

Best of all, you decide how much you want to save each year and we do the rest. We will divide your savings goal by twenty-six and transfer that amount into your Christmas Club every two weeks throughout the year. Then in October, your funds will be direct deposited into the checking or savings account you designate.

There is no set amount for Christmas Club. We have customers who save as little as $250 a year and others who save thousands.

Ready to get started? Stop by your local branch or click here to open an account today!

Avoid Christmas Debt This Year

Posted on August 6, 2015 by vcnbfamily

Let’s talk Christmas. We know it’s only August but it’s time.

Christmas is now less than five months away. That means in just a few months we will be celebrating this joyous season. What comes to mind? Family traditions, delicious food, stockings filled with candy and buying gifts? The song tells us it is the most wonderful time of the year but that isn’t the case for everyone.

Unfortunately, Christmas also is the most expensive, most stressful and most debt filled time of the year for millions of Americans. As Santa’s Wish List grows every year, so does the amount of debt Americans owe every January. If you typically are still paying for Christmas when Groundhog Day rolls around, now is the time to think about how to avoid debt and the interest that comes with it, beginning this year.

There are several ways you can tackle this problem. The first is to shop year round. If you need generic gifts for co-workers or if you already know what you are giving someone, watching sales and clearance racks is a great way to pick up nice gifts while saving a few dollars. If you buy just one or two gifts a month, when December rolls around you’ll be ahead of the game. Start with after-Christmas sales, to save a bundle for next year.

Another way to go is to begin saving a little bit each month. Start by adding up all your anticipated holiday expenses: gifts, cards, stamps, wrapping paper, bows, food, travel costs and anything else that is an added expense during the holiday season. There are five months until Christmas. Is it possible to save a fifth of the total each month?

If the answer is yes, that’s terrific! Start squirreling away the money today!

If the answer is no, think about how much you can save. Are there expenses you can trim to get you to your goal? Maybe you have something to sell. Maybe you can cut back on the holidays some and lower your savings expectations.

Even if you can save just a small amount of your goal before the holidays, it will give you a leg up when shopping season arrives.

Speaking of savings for the holidays, in October we will begin enrolling folks for the 2016 Christmas Club. You decide how much you would like to save each month and we will automatically take your payments from your checking or savings account. In October 2016, you’ll receive a check from us for the full amount of your Christmas Club savings. There is a $20 fee for an account that is closed early. See an account representative for details.

Imagine starting the year without Christmas debt. It can be done if you get organized and begin in advance!

Simplify Money Management With VCNB

Posted on August 4, 2015 by vcnbfamily

This week is National Simplify Your Life Week. That sounds nice but sometimes simplification is the hardest thing you can do. Between work and family, it often feels like a struggle to just keep everyone fed and on time for school.

Since much of your life hinges on money – paying bills on time, buying groceries, saving money and the piece of mind that comes with knowing these things are done – we want to give you a quick overview of how you can simplify your money.

If you’re a VCNB customer, you have access to several of things that will make your life easier thanks to Online Banking and VCNB Mobile. Accessing accounts electronically really is a lifesaver for a lot of our customers. Need to save money? You can automate it and forget it. Have trouble paying bills on time? You can automate those too! Do you sometimes overdraw your checking account? Get a balance alert via text or email when you go below a certain balance!

Here are some features that will simplify your life:

Save Money
Experts say you should save ten to fifteen percent of your income toward retirement. They also recommend having an emergency fund to help with life’s little surprises. But are you actually saving? Schedule on-demand transfers from your checking to your savings. Better yet, set up automatic transfers to ensure it is done regularly. Automatic transfers can be scheduled for any amount on any day of the month. Just set it up once and watch your balance grow!

Think you won’t be able to leave your savings alone? A lot of our customers use Christmas Club accounts as a means to save. Regular transfers are made from your checking or savings account into a Christmas Club account. Since there is a $20 fee to access those funds before the Christmas Club cycle finishes, most customers successfully reach their savings goal.

Track Money
Do you sometimes overdraw your account? Wonder if your direct deposit hit your account? Forget to make a loan payment? Set up account alerts for these things and more. There are nineteen different account alerts that can be sent via text or email. If you need a gentle reminder that your car payment is due or if you want to know that a check cleared, we will let you know!

Do you have a lot of plastic in your wallet? Between credit cards and store rewards cards, most Americans are carrying a lot of plastic. You can personalize your VCNB debit card to make it easy to find. Upload your own picture or use one of ours for a $5 annual fee! Locating your debit card has never been simpler!

Pay Bills and Spend
It’s a fact of life. Busy people often pay bills late. Whether it’s a lack of time or stamps, or simple forgetfulness, it’s easy to incur a late fee. Streamline your bills with Online Bill Pay. You can put your payments on autopilot and schedule them to pay the same day every month or you can manually schedule payments as needed. Either way, the service is free as long as you use it at least once a month. Otherwise, there is a $3 monthly fee.

If you use Online Bill Pay, you also have access to Popmoney ® personal payment service. Popmoney allows you to send money to anyone with just their email or mobile phone number. Best of all, other people can send you money too! So the next time you split the cost of a gift for your boss you can just send your share via Popmoney. If you buy concert tickets for the gang, they all can send your share to you! The cost is .50 per transaction for the person who sends the funds.

Save Time
Online and on your mobile device, you can save yourself time by checking balances, paying bills and keeping things straight. But did you know you can also save yourself a trip to the bank? Use our mobile app to deposit a check for just .50! You can do this by logging into your mobile account and taking a picture of the front and back of the check. CLICK HERE for complete instructions and details. (W/LINK TO WEBSITE)

Still write checks? You can reorder those online as well!

Keep Us Close
Keep us close – on your computer, on your mobile device, in branch or over the phone. You can also chat with our Customer Service Department during business hours. Just visit our website and click the Green Chat Now button to start a conversation!

Phew! That’s a long list! How do you use VCNB to simplify your life? Tell us in the comments section!

What is a Christmas Club?

Posted on October 20, 2014 by vcnbfamily

Have you heard about our Christmas Club? It’s an easy and simple way to save money for the holidays and we are signing up customers now.

At VCNB, this is a free savings account where we automatically transfer funds from your checking or savings into a separate savings account. You decide how much you want to save and we transfer the funds every two weeks.

You will receive a check for the amount you saved in October 2015!

This is a convenient way to save money gradually and to generate a nice nest egg. For people who find themselves with a mountain of credit card debt every January, a Christmas Club is an especially helpful tool for staying ahead of the spending game.

This year, customers who open a new Christmas Club or renew an existing club will receive a set of three silicone spatulas with a holiday theme. This free gift is our way of saying thanks for doing business with us!

Christmas Clubs can be opened for as little as $250 or for as much as you want to save. Open an account from the comfort of your easy chair by visiting our website or stop by your local office to get started.

VCNB is Member FDIC.

Setting a Realistic Budget

Posted on September 10, 2014 by vcnbfamily

Do you have a household budget? If you’re like most Americans, chances are you don’t. A Gallup poll last year revealed that just one in three Americans prepare a household budget.

However, a budget plan is one of the most important things you can give yourself. It helps you to know where your money is going, helps with savings or other financial goals and it simply keeps you on track so that you don’t spend money you don’t have.

Unfortunately, people who do have budgets often don’t stick to the plan but instead simply have a wish list of how they want their finances to work while they continue spending unrealistically.

So how do you create a realistic budget that you can live with?

The first step is to track your spending. You already know how much you spend on utilities, mortgage and insurance but what about smaller expenses? For a month write down every penny you spend. Five dollars for lunch and thirty for gas add up pretty quick so it is necessary to be realistic about all of your daily expenses. At the end of the month, add up how much you spent.

Now sit down and make a list of all your expenses. It can be a handwritten list or some kind of worksheet on the computer.

Simply fill in the amounts and add up your month’s expenses. Are they more or less than your income? If they are less than your income that’s great! That means you have extra money to save, to dedicate toward debt payoff or to spend.

If your expenses are greater than your income, it is time to look at cutting expenses. Think about extras that you don’t really need like premium cable or a land line that no one in the house uses. Also look at major expenses like car insurance. Can you get a cheaper rate? How much money are you spending in restaurants or on recreational shopping? Are you wasting a lot of food at home? Maybe you are overbuying for your family?

Here are a few other things to keep in mind.

One of the most powerful ways to free up money in your budget is to pay off debt. Credit card bills, student loans and other types of debt may seem impossible to move past but making debt pay off a priority in your budget will help you stay on track and see how it is possible to dig yourself out of debt.

Give yourself a little wiggle room in your monthly budget. For those categories that fluctuate, like your water or electric bills, build a little extra into each month so you are not caught off guard. Also try to anticipate irregular expenses. You know your child’s school takes portraits every November so budget for that expense in November. Instead of trying to pay for all Christmas expenses at one time, tuck away a little into savings each month. A VCNB Christmas Club is a great way to do that!

And of course, build a safety net by saving something every month. Most experts recommend saving at least ten percent of your earnings. If this isn’t possible, just save whatever you can – even if it’s just five dollars a week.

Having and sticking to a budget will help you know where your money goes and will help you live within your means. These acts will eventually help you create a nest egg and pay off debt. Want more information on budgeting? Visit Consumer.gov.

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