In this issue:
1. Saver Profile: Markietta Ross, a Success Story
2. Buying a Car? New Workshop Helps You Make a Smart Purchase
3. Different Organizations Embrace Cleveland Saves in Different Ways
4. Cuyahoga County EITC Coalition
5. We've Moved!

SAVER PROFILE: MARKIETTA ROSS, A SUCCESS STORY

Meet Markietta Ross. Markietta is an entrepreneur, a student, the self-proclaimed “bake sale girl,” and a dedicated Cleveland Saver! Markietta's Saver story is the first in a series of profiles we'll be featuring in the Cleveland Saver.  Stories like Markietta's will show the positive impact and real success of making savings and wealth building a part of our daily lives. 

Markietta has been a saver all her life. As a child, she was know as her neighborhood's “bake sale girl,” distinguishing herself from her eight siblings by earning an income from selling homemade baked goods to neighbors and friends. Markietta's family fostered strong savings habits early on. Markietta also inherited from her father a solid work ethic and she is proud of her family's business of selling tamales in Cleveland and East Cleveland.

But even though Markietta is a life-long saver, she credits Cleveland Saves for “opening my mind again to saving.” She learned about Cleveland Saves through a workshop at the Cleveland Housing Network, signed up and started rolling her loose change for Saves' “Roll Your Change Week.” Since signing on as a Saver, Markietta has paid off a car loan, is working on eliminating other debts, and is saving for a home and for her dream of opening her own bakery. Undoubtedly, Markietta is a busy person with a husband and her studies to become a dental assistant. But she still finds time to make saving a priority. The “bake sale girl” has grown up to be a Cleveland Saves success story.  In her own words, Markietta explains, “Participation in Cleveland Saves brought back my past as a saver.”

From Saver to Saver: Markietta's Savings Challenge

Our first featured saver, Markietta Ross, wanted to extend a special challenge to other Clevelanders. Markietta saves 10% of every check which comes her way, expected or unexpected. That means 10% of paychecks, 10% of a special birthday gift from a friend, 10% of a tax refund, etc. She challenges her fellow savers to match her 10% commitment, and she offers some of her favorite personal savings tips to make meeting this challenge easier:

1. Don't check your savings balance frequently. Let the money grow on its own. If you are constantly checking your balance, you will be more tempted to spend some or all of it. Remember, money grows slowly and picks up speed (or in this case, interest) over time.

2. Consider more than one account for savings—different accounts for different savings goals or purposes. For example, you can have one account as a rainy day or emergency fund and another for college savings.

3. Set up an automatic debit from your checking account to be deposited automatically in your savings account. The idea here is to “save it before you spend it,” or “out of sight, out of mind.”

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BUYING A CAR? NEW WORKSHOP HELPS YOU MAKE A SMART PURCHASE

Cleveland Saves is one of five Saves campaigns across the country to pilot a new workshop about buying a car. Whether you are looking to buy a new or used car, there are key strategies to ensure that your next car brings you lemonade and not lemons. For instance, the workshop recommends conducting research about the car you are seeking to buy. Know not only its sticker price, but how much insurance, maintenance, and gas will cost you. Average these costs out over the term of the loan, if you finance, and add it to your monthly car payment. This information will help you to know how much you will need to include in your personal budget. Since its pilot in February 2006, the Auto Saves Workshops have helped nearly 100 individuals know the ins and outs of making this important purchase. Please contact Cleveland Saves through the Moneyline at (216) 325-7126 to learn more about participating in an Auto Saves Workshop.

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DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS EMBRACE CLEVELAND SAVES IN DIFFERENT WAYS

The work of Cleveland Saves is proudly reaching new heights. Our work in the community has enabled Cleveland Saves to provide information about financial products and services to a wide cross mix of the greater Cleveland community. Through our partnerships and collaborations, Cleveland Saves supports a multitude of organizations, and among them are Ohio Savings Bank, the Community of Faith Church of East Cleveland, and Vocational Guidance Services of Cleveland.

Ohio Savings Bank (OSB), one of the many financial institutions engaged with Cleveland Saves, supports Saves by offering a special Cleveland Saves savings account to those who seek to start saving money. In addition, on March 16, 2006, OSB hosted a workshop for its employees on auto savings, one of our newest workshop offerings. Those in attendance found the workshop to be “quite informative.” OSB continues to utilize Cleveland Saves to reach its depositors and to support its employees.

Next, with the guidance of Pastor Jeffrey Sanders, the Community of Faith Church sought to increase the financial knowledge of his congregants. So, on New Year's Eve, the pastor and his membership met and formed a wealth building club which hosts monthly meetings. The club will soon launch a plan to increase its savings with the help of a Cleveland Saves wealth building coach who will advise the group in investing its savings for further asset accumulation. The church membership is now looking forward to investing individually and collectively. It has proclaimed 2006 as its year to become financially stable.

A third organization that has integrated Cleveland Saves in its work is Vocational Guidance Services (VGS). With the insight of Linda Johnson and Tara Redmond, VGS has included Saves as a regular on its workshop schedule for its clients. Offering everything from the Saves motivational workshop to earned income tax credits to credit and debt management, VGS ensures that its clients have gained a broader understanding of financial products and services so that when they gain employment, they can make the most of the no-fee savings account made available to them as well as the guidance offered in establishing their own personal budgets.

Through partnerships and collaborative efforts such as these, Cleveland Saves is sure to meets its mission “to create wealth for significant numbers of low and middle-income Greater Cleveland residents.”

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CUYAHOGA COUNTY EITC COALITION

Through a partnership between the Cuyahoga County Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition and Cleveland Saves, the delivery of the EITC message has tremendously expanded. EITC is a refundable tax credit available to working adults with or without children earning between $13,750 (as a single) and $37,263 (for a family with at least two children).

This past tax season, the Coalition and Cleveland Saves distributed more than 3,000 copies of a new EITC brochure. Also, in December 2005, Cleveland Saves introduced its brand new EITC workshop which has been conducted for the last few months for a variety of community-based organizations. The workshop informs attendees of the benefits available to working taxpayers and instructs those interested in EITC or free tax preparation to contact the Coalition at 211 or (216)436-2000 or through www.refundohio.org .

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WE'VE MOVED!

We've moved! Cleveland Saves has a new home. Our office is now located in the heart of mid-town Cleveland in the Mid-City Office Building at 3631 Perkins Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44114. You may reach us on our new Moneyline at (216) 325-7126.

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Cleveland Saves is a local campaign in which a broad coalition of non-profit, corporate, and government groups helps area residents save and build wealth. Through free information, advice, and encouragement, we assist those who wish to pay down debt, build an emergency fund, save for a home, save for an education, or save for retirement.

Learn more by visiting www.clevelandsaves.org or by calling the Moneyline at 216-325-7126.