OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) is working with the Washington Jump Coalition and many other state agencies, non-profit organizations and financial institutions to promote Washington Saves Week as part of the seventh annual national America Saves Week campaign.
“We all are doing our best to stretch our dollars as far as we can, and it’s more important than ever to ensure that includes setting aside funds for tomorrow,” DFI Director Scott Jarvis said. “Making savings automatic makes sure that happens. Even if you have to start small — with five or 10 dollars — that can make a big difference later.”
Only 43% of Americans surveyed in the 2013 Annual National Survey Assessing Household Savings said they “have a spending plan that allows you to save enough money to achieve the goals of your saving plan.” This statistic is a great example of why it’s so important for employers, non-profits and other organizations to join the Saves Week program to promote saving.
America Saves is a national campaign involving more than 1,000 non-profit, government, and corporate groups that encourages individuals and families to save money and build personal wealth. Organizations throughout Washington are coordinating Saves Week activities aimed at offering Washington residents savings resources and education.
Understanding that having emergency savings, retirement funds and being able to manage one’s debt are crucial to Washington residents’ personal financial security, Governor Jay Inslee has proclaimed Feb. 24-March 1, 2014 Washington Saves Week.
The campaign theme “Set a Goal. Make a Plan. Save Automatically.” is aimed at reminding consumers to utilize the automatic payroll deduction options at their place of employment to begin building an emergency fund, create a retirement fund or develop a targeted savings fund for their future.
We invite all Washington residents to participate in Saves Week, Feb. 24- March 1, 2014 by visiting www.americasavesweek.org and enrolling to be an American Saver. Submit your Washington Saves Week event or find an event in your area at http://dfi.wa.gov/financial-education/.
If your organization wants to support Washington Saves and promote the campaign, the Saves Week organizers offer a variety of promotional materials at http://americasavesweek.org/about/asw-toolkit.
A few ways your organization can get involved include:
- Distribute America Saves fliers and brochures and display America Saves posters
- Set up display/area for reading/research and Web access to saving, debt reduction and wealth building
- Host motivational workshops and topic seminars for patrons and employees
- Encourage enrollment as a Saver
- Place America Saves Week article(s) in employees newsletter and patron news
- Enclose an America Saves flier as a payroll stuffer
- Place a link to America Saves/Washington Saves on Web site and internal network
To learn more about the campaign and register, visit the national Web site www.americasavesweek.org or Washington Saves Week at www.dfi.wa.gov/financial-education.
If you would like a presenter to come to your site, DFI and/or Washington Jump member organizations can assist with finding a speaker. Send a request to Lyn Peters at DFI (lyn.peters@dfi.wa.gov), the Washington Jump Coalition (wajumpstart@gmail.com) or contact Amy O’Donnell (aodonnell@wscpa.org).
Together we can show our support and commitment to helping our community members “Start Small, Think Big” and “Build Wealth, Not Debt.”