CSU Extension promotes America Saves Week

   Nonprofit, government and business organizations from all around the country have committed to promoting personal savings by joining the America Saves Week effort Feb. 27-March 3.
    America Saves Week is managed by the Consumer Federation of America and the American Savings Education Council. This is an annual opportunity for “organizations to promote good savings behavior and a chance for individuals to assess their own saving status.”
    According to the 2016 annual America Saves Week survey assessing national household savings, just two out of every five U.S. households report good or excellent progress in meeting their savings needs, 52 percent are saving enough for retirement with a desirable standard of living, and only 43 percent have automatic savings outside of work.
    More men (74 percent) report saving progress than women (67 percent), and those with a savings plan with specific goals (55 percent) are making much more savings progress than those without a plan (23 percent).
    CSU Extension has taken notice of this shortfall and wants to support families by helping them become more financially prepared. For the 2017 America Saves Week, CSU Extension will provide newspaper articles, radio broadcasts, social media posts and Piggy Bank Contests with the local youth to share the importance of saving.
    By becoming a part of the campaign, numerous resources are available to plan a special event or activity around saving. All of the resources are available to participants in a toolkit.
    Each day has a saving strategy that is promoted through blogs, emails, newsletters and other media. Topics include: saving automatically, family savings day, saving for retirement, saving at tax time, paying off high-interest debt and saving for emergencies. Simple savings tips such as “Save just $1 a day for a year to get a good start on building your $500 emergency fund” are available to engage participants.
    Bigger events and activities are listed by larger corporations and businesses that are used to engage employees and their communities.
    Everyone can start by taking the America Saves Pledge, followed by assessing their savings progress and going through the saver checklist. Sign up for the #ImSavingFor Photo Contest.
    To take advantage of all that America Saves Week has to offer, go to http://americasavesweek.org/about-america-saves-week.