Tag Archives: Money Smart

Set Better Goals For the New Year

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Welcome to January. This is the month that most New Year’s Resolutions setting Americans will give up on their goals. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Hear us out.

First, you have to stop calling them resolutions and think of them as goals. More than half of all Americans will resolve to do something and it’s typically something big. We say we will lose weight or save money this year. We say we will stop smoking or get a promotion at work. What we don’t say is how we are going to accomplish these big resolutions.

If there’s something you really want to do, you need two things. The first is passion. If you are not passionate about your resolution the day you make it, you won’t be excited to keep going in six months and probably not even in two weeks.

The other thing you need is to break that resolution down into a SMART Goal. What’s a SMART Goal? We’re glad you asked! This is actually an acronym that you can use to guide your goal setting and make goals that are actually productive. It stands for:

Specific

Measureable

Achievable

Relevant

Time-bound

Specific. You have to make your goal as clear and specific as possible so that you can train your focus on what you really hope to achieve. What do you want to accomplish? Why is your goal important? Who will you need to involve to accomplish your goal? Where will it happen? What resources do you need at your fingertips and what limitations do you need to overcome? If you want to become an early riser in 2022, you need to know why it’s important to start getting up earlier and how you can do it. “I will become an early riser by going to bed one hour earlier than normal, by committing to not hitting snooze and by asking someone in my household to hold me accountable when I don’t get out of bed on time. My reward will be free time to do something I want to do in the morning.”

Measurable. It’s easier to stay motivated when you can track or measure your progress. It helps you set deadlines, stay focused and feel encouraged when you’re closing in on a milestone. If you’re failing to show progress, this isn’t a cue to get discouraged. Instead it’s a nudge to try tweaking your strategy. Measurability is crucial when it comes to things like losing weight. Instead of just saying you will lose fifty pounds, break the goal down into measureable chunks. You might say that you will lose five pounds per month for ten months. A weekly or monthly weigh-in will help you stay on track.

Achievable. You must set realistic goals. Big, lofty goals are fun to say out loud but it’s discouraging to reach for and fail at unattainable goals. Consider your restraints and limitations as you dream of the opportunities. Remember, as you work toward your goal, you still have to live in the world you wake up in.  We all want a big, fat emergency fund to help us through a rainy day. However, we may not have a lot of extra income to save and may need to look for reasonable spending cuts or ways to earn money on the side. “I will open a savings account with the goal of saving $1,200 in 2022. I will save $100 each month by cutting expenses and reducing discretionary spending.”

Relevant. Before setting a goal you need to be sure that it’s relevant to your life and that the timing is right. Is it worth your time? Is it something you want or even need to work on to have a better life?

Time-bound. A deadline is the ultimate inspiration so it’s important to have a target date or a series of target dates. Set achievable milestone dates as well to make your goal more measureable and the process more rewarding. If your goal is to spend more time with family, you need to prioritize getting it on the calendar.  “I will build better relationships with my parents by calling them twice a week and with my kids by planning a weekly outing for the entire family. I will do this for three months and then reevaluate to plan my next steps.”

You don’t need all the answers when you set your goals but you do need to give yourself a framework for getting started and checking in with yourself along the way. It’s that accountability, consistency and constant assessment of how you’re doing that will make all the difference!

Practice Awareness To Boost Your Financial Health

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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.

Tips For Teaching Kids Of All Ages To Save Money

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We recently celebrated Teach Children To Save Month which is an excellent opportunity for parents to start talking to their kids about saving money. As their parent, you want the best for your children and one way to help them get a good start in life is by teaching the value of money and how to save it for a rainy day or for a goal. Learning to properly manage money is as important as learning to read and write but it can be hard to know where to start.

No matter your child’s age, from toddler to teenager, there are some basic principles that apply to any age.

Give Them A Way To Save – Little kids love putting money in their piggy banks. Give them a bank or maybe a clear jar so they can see their savings grow with every nickel and dime they drop in. Older kids respond better to seeing their savings grow in their mobile banking app so help them set up a savings account.

Let Them Earn Money – Older teens may have jobs while younger kids might pick up a few bucks by walking a neighbor’s dog. Even little kids can earn a little by taking on some kind of responsibility at home. Maybe you give your kids an allowance. Regardless of the source, kids needs to have access to some money of their own so they can learn how to handle it responsibly and possibly even learn from a mistake or two while they’re young.

Explain Needs Versus Wants – This can be a tough topic even for adults sometimes but help your kids understand the difference between what they need and what they want. While they need a new coat for school, they don’t need an expensive name brand coat. They need to eat dinner but it can be cooked at home rather than ordering out. They won’t die of boredom if they don’t have the newest Lego set.

Set Goals – Your teenager will want a car someday. Younger kids may want a new toy or spending money for a special occasion. Talk to them about how forgoing a small purchase today will help them reach their goals.

Establish Some Rules – Establish some simple rules for spending and saving. Do they get to spend all their money all the time? How much should they save? This is a personal question for your family but one basic rule of thumb is to save a quarter or a third of any money they receive.

Talk To Them About Costs –There are many costs to spending money. If you occasionally have your child pay for something out of their own money, they will associate buying the thing with seeing their savings level dwindle some. Talk to them about how if they buy this $5 toy, it will take them longer to save for the $20 item they really want. Help them rationalize how badly they want the small thing versus the bigger savings goal.

Talk About Yourself – Don’t be afraid to tell your kids your personal savings story. Do you wish you had started saving money earlier? Help them learn from your mistakes! Are you a great saver? Share with them why it’s important to you and how you prioritize saving. Talk to them about the choices you’re making every day. Help them understand that clipping coupons and buying store brand green beans is how you can afford to take the family on vacation this summer.

Saving money is like a muscle that needs some exercise. The more you save, the stronger your desire will become to make good money choices. It’s much easier to create a savings habit at a young age than to change behaviors in adulthood.

Vinton County National Bank has a number of tools to help you teach your kids the value of managing their money. Learn more about our Youth Savings accounts and Youth Checking accounts to get started.

Budgeting 101

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The hardest part of any budget is getting started. Gather your income and bills and just dive in!

Whether you are a spender or a saver, one of the scariest words in the English language is the word BUDGET. Where do you start? Is it hard to make one? What’s it really meant to accomplish? More importantly, how do you stick to a budget?

First, take a deep breath and know that there is nothing scarier than not knowing what happens to all your money. Your budget is just a tool to help you determine where your money goes. It’s that simple.  

The best way to get started is to work on one month at a time.

Before you begin

Choose your tools – You need to decide if you want your budget to be digital, say in a budgeting app or an Excel spreadsheet, or if you’re going old school with paper and pen. There’s no right answer to this. Some people prefer the pretty graphs and automated math features found in an app. Others find it grounding to sit down with a piece of paper and a calculator.

Gather documentation – To make an effective budget, you must know how much you make and how much you spend. So take the time to gather up all your bills including utilities, rent or mortgage, car payments, insurances, daycare bills, tuition payments, and anything else you pay. Do you have things that you pay less than monthly? You’ll need to plan for annual property taxes or quarterly car insurance too.

Getting Started

Make a list – Make a list of every bill you will pay this month, estimate the cost and add it all up. Now add up your income and take a long, hard look at how much money is left after you pay your bills.

Non-bills –  What else do you buy each month? You will need groceries and gas for the car. Do you have a gym membership? What about clothes, movies, eating out and other fun purchases?  Don’t forget about birthdays, vacations and holiday gifts. Make a list of everything you spend money on. Are there big purchases that you need to save for every month? Do you even know how much you spend on these things? Look back through your credit card and bank statements to get an honest feel for how much you’re really spending on these extras

Pay yourself –Saving money is important so don’t forget to save for retirement and emergencies. Most Americans are woefully unprepared for even a $500 emergency but tucking away a little each pay will help you be ready.

Add it up – Take a moment to add up all these bills, discretionary spending and saving. How does it look? Is your spending outpacing your income? Are you incurring credit card debt for clothes, dining out and vacations? This can be a sobering moment in the budgeting process and will determine your next steps.

The reckoning – How do you feel about what you’ve learned so far? Did you realize you were spending so much on food? Do you see room for cutting expenses? Are you pleased with where you are? For most first time budgeters, there is something shocking about this complete snapshot of their spending habits. Once you reach this point in the process, it may be time to go back and start making some edits.

Working the puzzle – Most Americans are living at or above their means. If this is the case for you, building an effective budget will be like working a puzzle. You may need to look at cutting some costs to make that puzzle fit together more easily.

Looking ahead – If you have large quarterly or annual expenses to plan for, it’s smart to look ahead and consider the best ways to do that. Often, the easiest thing is to budget a little every month and then use automatic transfers from your checking to savings so that you’re not bearing the burden all at once.

Every month – You will need a budget for every month. Eventually, you may find that it’s easy to simply copy last month’s budget with some small changes while other months require more work. It’s often most effective to budget an entire quarter at once so that you get a broader view of your needs.

The Hard Part

The hardest part to any budget is sticking to it. It’s easy to get carried away on vacation or to forget all about it when the kids need shoes. That’s why it’s important to check in with your budget before making purchases and to make needed adjustments. Remember, your budget isn’t carved in stone. It’s a living, breathing document that is most effective when it’s kept updated and when it’s used.

Are you ready to get started with a budget that will put your money to work for you? There’s no better time to start than today!

We also offer tips for sticking to a budget and ideas for saving money when you need to trim some costs.

Teach Your Children To Save

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Full coins in a jar. Saving money. Growing concept.Save money for children and future.

Every spring, our bankers go into local schools to talk with youngsters about saving money. It’s part of a national effort called Teach Children To Save, led by the American Bankers Association. While we can’t go into classrooms this year, we are working to reach out to students in other ways.

With young kids, we talk about why someone might need a bank, why money is safe when kept in a bank, and the importance of saving money. Here’s some food for thought for you to help your kids develop money saving skills and understand the difference between needs and wants.

  • Make saving visual. Piggy banks are wonderful but a clear jar will allow your child to see their savings grow. If your child has a passbook savings account, help them keep their passbook current or even have them draw a chart so they can see their money grow.
  • Help your child see that things cost money. Don’t just tell your child that a toy costs $10. Help them make the connection between that cost and their money by helping them count out their money and show them how their savings decreases.
  • Talk about the difference between needs and wants. We need food, shelter, and clothes. That means we need shoes to wear but we don’t need Nikes. We want Nikes but could wear something cheaper. We need to buy food for dinner but junk food like Oreos are a want.
  • Make them buy some of their own wants so that they can see how hard it is to save money. Use this process to show them opportunity cost. “If you buy this toy, you won’t have enough money to buy a video game later.”
  • Give them savings goals. When they’re small, those goals might be to save for a special toy or game. As they age, those goals can be built on and will mature to save for a car or college.

Saving money is a habit best formed in youth – even if all they have to save is spare change or chore money. The will to save money is like a muscle that gets stronger with use. Developing good childhood habits will serve them well for a lifetime.

 

Things to Buy: After Christmas Edition

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If it feels like you have done nothing but spend, spend, spend this month you are not alone. Sale opportunities began well before Thanksgiving this year and there has been no shortage of opportunities to find great prices online, in big box stores, in small businesses and everywhere in between.

So it may feel like a good time to curb spending and give your debit card a break. But have you thought about how much money you can save later by taking advantage of after Christmas sales now?

Woman with Shopping BagsWinter Clothing– While there have been many sales on winter clothes and accessories this season, the prices will be slashed immediately after Christmas. Retailers will want to move those items quickly to make room for spring apparel.

Fitness Gear – Millions of Americans resolve each year to lose weight or to get healthy. That means January is the peak season to buy fitness equipment, accessories and even gym memberships. That treadmill you’ve been wanting will be a great price throughout the month of January.

Furniture and Mattresses – Furniture manufacturers release new models in February so stores make room for the new by deeply discounting these big ticket items in January. If your couch is starting to wear or it’s time to replace your bed, this really is the time to buy.

Christmas Items – Who can forget the most deeply discounted items of all? Christmas items. Christmas cards, wrapping paper, bows, gift boxes, stationary, table linens, holiday china, candles, lights, trees, decorations …..it’s a veritable buffet of items that will keep until next year for just pennies on the dollar. Stock up now to save money next December!

Electronics – New models of electronics are introduced every January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. That means that retailers begin to discount this current model in February. If you don’t mind buying last year’s tv, laptop or digital camera, you can usually snag a deal just by waiting until February.

Anything in Christmas Packaging – Many companies sell items that are not all that Christmassy in holiday packaging. Dish soap, paper towels, hand soap, candy, baking sheets, silicone spatulas, baking supplies, Ziploc bags, school supplies, body wash, perfume and more often come in holiday packages or gift sets. At fifty to seventy-five percent off, it’s a great time to stock up on items you use every day!