g

Grow It Goal 1
Family members establish a financial cushion by regularly building their savings over time.
Common Sense
  • Savings insulates families from bad times and offers them opportunities in good times.
  • Once they get started, low-income people with a goal tend to save a higher percentage of their income than do people with higher incomes.
  • When parents save, children tend to develop the habit.
  • Younger generations have saved less in recent decades.
Fast Facts

Check out related Action Ideas and Alerts below! Or view other Grow It goals here.

Children’s Savings Accounts

May 25, 2016 by

The Basic Idea: Help children, youth and their families save towards the purchase of an appreciating asset upon reaching adulthood so that economic status will not be a barrier to the young person’s path to success. How it works: Children and youth are provided with a specialized savings account that they can access and use […]

Filed Under: Action Ideas, Goal 1: Families set short-term and long-term financial goals, and attain them., Goal 1: Family members establish a financial cushion by regularly building their savings over time., Goal 2: Families use reasonably priced services, accounts and products for their savings, checking and other financial transactions., Grow It Action Ideas, Keep It Action Ideas

Payroll Savings Plans

October 6, 2014 by

The Basic Idea: Encourage families to have savings taken out of their paychecks – making saving easier and reducing the temptation to spend earnings right away.

Filed Under: Action Ideas, Goal 1: Family members establish a financial cushion by regularly building their savings over time., Grow It Action Ideas

Save a little for a chance to win big!

January 17, 2014 by

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 […]

Filed Under: Action Alert, Goal 1: Family members establish a financial cushion by regularly building their savings over time., Grow It

The IDA Match: The Gift that Keeps on Giving in Rural Communities

December 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The holiday season comes with the annual barrage of messages about the great deals and ways to save on gifts. Fortunately, there are more ways to save than just shopping for bargains! In rural communities, Individual Development Accounts are like a gift that keeps on giving. These matched savings accounts provide both a 2-for-1 (at […]

Filed Under: Action Alert, Goal 1: Family members establish a financial cushion by regularly building their savings over time., Grow It

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)

November 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Basic Idea: Create asset-restricted savings programs for low-income families, which include matching government and private funds to further encourage savings. How it works: Families agree to save a small amount each pay period or every month towards purchasing an asset—usually within one to three years. Eligible assets include homes, businesses and higher education—sometimes automobiles and […]

Filed Under: Action Ideas, Goal 1: Family members establish a financial cushion by regularly building their savings over time., Grow It, Grow It Action Ideas

Roll Your Change Week

August 17, 2010 by

Roll Your Change Week (RYCW) is an event designed to encourage individuals and families to start saving. Community members gather the coins they have saved and found in their homes and carry them to a central event location-where volunteers roll the coins for them. People are encouraged to deposit their rolled coins into existing accounts […]

Filed Under: Goal 1: Families set short-term and long-term financial goals, and attain them., Goal 1: Family members establish a financial cushion by regularly building their savings over time., Goal 2: Families use reasonably priced services, accounts and products for their savings, checking and other financial transactions., Goal 4: Families reduce their debt burdens and improve their credit ratings over time., Goal 6: Family members increasingly participate in community activities and hold leadership roles., Goal 8: Family purchasing power, productivity and entrepreneurship strengthens local businesses., Grow It, Keep It, ReFresher Webinar

Rural IDAs

February 26, 2010 by

Earning It isn’t enough to lift families out of poverty—they have to Keep It and Grow It too. Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are one of the most successful and tested ways to help families Keep It and Grow It. But there are special challenges and opportunities when you start and run an IDA program in a rural place. The basics […]

Filed Under: Goal 1: Families set short-term and long-term financial goals, and attain them., Goal 1: Family members establish a financial cushion by regularly building their savings over time., Goal 2: Families find, finance at competitive rates, and purchase quality homes in their communities., Goal 2: Families use reasonably priced services, accounts and products for their savings, checking and other financial transactions., Goal 3: Families build retirement-restricted financial assets., Goal 3: Families get loans they need without using predatory lenders., Goal 4: Families maintain and retain the value of any owned or inherited land and property., Goal 4: Families reduce their debt burdens and improve their credit ratings over time., Goal 5: Children of working families get high quality pre-K-to-12 schooling, and attain higher education levels that improve their family’s economic status., Grow It, Keep It, ReFresher Webinar
RuFES is a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group.
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C., 20036