k

Keep It Goal 2
Families use reasonably priced services, accounts and products for their savings, checking and other financial transactions.
Common Sense
  • In some rural areas, bank consolidation has reduced access to banking services.
  • Unbanked people pay exorbitant fees to cash checks, purchase money orders and complete other standard financial transactions.
  • Once banked, families pay less for financial transactions and are more likely to save.
  • Being banked helps change people from a paycheck-to-paycheck mindset to a longer-term outlook.
Fast Facts

Check out related Action Ideas and Alerts below! Or view other Keep 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

Combining Tax Prep and Affordable Health Insurance

November 26, 2013 by

A Wealthier and Healthier Tax Time The Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) launch in October brought big changes to the coming tax-filing season.  This year only, health insurance enrollment under ACA will overlap with tax season.  While penalties will apply in future tax seasons, this year, families can enroll in health insurance and get the coverage […]

Filed Under: Goal 2: Families use reasonably priced services, accounts and products for their savings, checking and other financial transactions., Goal 5: Families file tax returns annually., Goal 6: Families secure all tax benefits for which they qualify, starting with those that reward work – the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit., Goal 7: Families know about and take full advantage of the wide range of available public and private services that help reduce their cost of living., Goal 8: Families have ready access to affordable basic goods and services – food, clothing, housing, household goods, and health care., Goal 8: Workers hold jobs that pay wages and offer benefits that support a stable family life., ReFresher Webinar

Prepare to Run a First-Rate Rural EITC Program

November 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Ready Set Tax Prep Webinar Screenshot

Ready… Set… Tax Prep! Note: This webinar was presented in fall 2012.  Some data and figures are out of date, but the stories and outreach strategies remain relevant. For information on maximum credits and EITC qualification rules, see the IRS website.  You can also watch our 2013 webinar, A Wealthier and Healthier Tax Time. It’s […]

Filed Under: Goal 2: Families use reasonably priced services, accounts and products for their savings, checking and other financial transactions., Goal 5: Families file tax returns annually., Goal 6: Families secure all tax benefits for which they qualify, starting with those that reward work – the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit., ReFresher Webinar

Ready… Set… Tax Prep! Prepare to Run a First-Rate Rural EITC Program

November 8, 2012 by

The EITC, in place since 1975, continues to play an important role in providing critical financial resources to hard-working low-income families across the U.S. In 2013, working families filing for the EITC (for the 2012 tax year) will be able to receive up to $5,891, a significant boost for families who are trying not only […]

Filed Under: Goal 2: Families use reasonably priced services, accounts and products for their savings, checking and other financial transactions., Goal 5: Families file tax returns annually., Goal 6: Families secure all tax benefits for which they qualify, starting with those that reward work – the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit., ReFresher Webinar

Broaden Your Rural EITC Scope — RuFES Webinar Mini-Series

November 17, 2011 by

The EITC continues to serve as a critical support for low-and moderate-income families trying to get ahead, by providing them with a much needed a financial infusion. This support assists families in a number of ways, including to help pay off critical bills, get an IDA, purchase U.S. Savings Bonds, and much more. The following […]

Filed Under: Goal 2: Families use reasonably priced services, accounts and products for their savings, checking and other financial transactions., Goal 5: Families file tax returns annually., Goal 6: Families secure all tax benefits for which they qualify, starting with those that reward work – the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit., Keep It, ReFresher Webinar

Prepare to Run a First-Rate Rural EITC Campaign!

October 21, 2010 by

Since its enactment in 1975, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has provided low-income Americans with a financial boost and continues to lift millions of people out of poverty every year.  This reward for work can make all the difference for low-income working families trying to get ahead. Indeed, the EITC also offers a boost […]

Filed Under: Goal 2: Families use reasonably priced services, accounts and products for their savings, checking and other financial transactions., Goal 5: Families file tax returns annually., Goal 6: Families secure all tax benefits for which they qualify, starting with those that reward work – the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit., Keep It, ReFresher Webinar

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

The Nasty Nine: Helping Rural Families Avoid Predatory Lending Practices

March 26, 2009 by

Do the rural families you encounter turn to predatory lenders and products when they need money—and end up in worse financial straits? Here are some resources you can use to guide them to better lending products that can help them stay afloat and get ahead in this economy: A recording of the RuFES webinar on the Nasty […]

Filed Under: Goal 1: Families set short-term and long-term financial goals, and attain them., Goal 2: Families use reasonably priced services, accounts and products for their savings, checking and other financial transactions., Goal 3: Families get loans they need without using predatory lenders., Goal 4: Families reduce their debt burdens and improve their credit ratings over time., Keep It, ReFresher Webinar
RuFES is a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group.
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