Save a little for a chance to win big!

Families need to save if they are to get ahead.  But it’s hard to get started.

Saving just a little regularly is the best way to go.  That helps families establish a financial cushion, the first Grow It goal of the RuFES Action Framework.

Every year, free tax prep sites look for ideas to encourage low-income families to save a portion of their Earned Income Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit refunds.  Doing so could make a big dent in establishing the financial cushion that low-income working families really need when an emergency or unanticipated expense hits their bottom line.

Indeed, last year, the average Earned Income Tax Credit was around $2,300* (see the average for your state here) while the average savings account balance for low-income families was less than $1,200**.  This year, a national tax-time savings initiative offers a great incentive you can use to encourage rural families to save during tax-time.

SaveYourRefund encourages tax filers to save by giving them the opportunity to win cash – as much as $25,000 – if they use IRS Form 888 to split their refund and save as little as $50 of it.

Want to learn how your rural families can enter the drawing? Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) will profile SaveYourRefund, a national tax-time promotion sponsored by the Doorways to Dreams Fund, in an upcoming webinar on Wednesday, January 22 at 3PM EST. According to CFED, webinar participants will:

• Learn more about SaveYourRefund, including successes from its pilot year and what’s new for 2014.
• Understand the official rules and entry methods of the promotion.
• Learn how to easily integrate SaveYourRefund into the flow or client interaction at a tax assistance and preparation site.
• Get answers to questions from the SaveYourRefund team.

The webinar is free, but advanced registration is required. To sign up, click here.

Wouldn’t it be great if one or your tax clients brought home the prize?

Sources:
* Internal Revenue Service: http://www.eitc.irs.gov/EITC-Central/eitcstats
** For households in the bottom two quintiles; Consumer Federation of America: http://news.pb.com/press-releases/savings-account-balance-decline-for-residents-in-four-electoral-swing-states.htm