On August 23rd we kicked off the Rainy Day Savings program with the newest cohort of participants and in September, we will welcome some additional participants at our September 23rd Interactive Workshop, "Money Habitudes" which will be presented by Truliant Federal Credit Union. We all have a "money personality" type. Understanding our tendencies will help us to develop behaviors that are more beneficial. In this seminar, you will learn what a money habitude is, which habitude type you are and what advantages and challenges you may face during your financial journey.
During our kick off, we shared some FAQs which are listed below.
This information is for Rainy Day Savings Participants. If you are interested in the program and would like to know when we are accepting applications for next year, please email us as rainy-day@charlotte.edu.
How much can I earn in incentives:
As a participant in the program, you can earn up to $200 in incentives as well as other bonus incentives during the year. Each incentive is worth $50.
What are the incentives?
- Attend a Niner Finances workshop (One workshop per semester - September 23rd first date, spring date tbd)
- Complete FAFSA before the priority deadline
- Participate in an one-on-one meeting with Niner Finances
- Maintain a Balance of $475 for at least a month
- Set up a recurring deposit of at least $5/month into a savings account for at least 3 months
What do I have to do each month?
Each month, by the last day of the month, you need to submit your incentive form (if you have participated in any activities that qualify). The form is located here: Rainy Day Submission
Note that you have to complete this by the end of the month (first submission due September 30), however, you can submit it whenever you want as long as you’ve completed the requirements of the incentive.
Even if you don’t have any incentives that you’ve completed in the month, you should still be submitting your bank statement by the end of the month (the link to do so is in the submission form). This is our way of confirming that you are adhering to the terms of the program. Following is a reminder of the expectations / agreements of the program:
Your savings plan
This program was made to help college students build healthy financial habits, but most importantly to establish an emergency fund.
During the program, you have agreed to only withdraw from the savings account that you selected in the case of an emergency. Following are the guidelines for withdrawals.
Withdrawals
- It will be up to me to decide if my expense is an emergency. Program staff are available to coach me; however, they will not prohibit me from taking out money that I need for an emergency I define.
- If I authorize myself to make a withdrawal, I will notify the staff via email.
- If I make a withdrawal the Niner Finances team will send me a survey to complete asking for the reason for my withdrawal.
- If I make a withdrawal I will make a plan to pay myself back.
- If I make a withdrawal to cover an emergency, I may continue my participation in the program.
- I will be dropped from the program if I do not meet my responsibilities as described in this agreement.
What if I can’t afford to save money each month?
It is not a requirement of the program that you save your own money. You can still earn incentives by learning more about money. In addition, being engaged in the program will qualify you for the monthly and other periodic bonus drawings. This can help you to build your emergency fund without you being able to save your own money at all.
That said, a one on one appointment with our team can also help you to develop a spending plan that may help you to find spending leaks and opportunities that may help you to fit savings into your monthly plan.
What if I already had a balance in my savings account and have to use some for non-emergencies?
If you had money saved already and have to use it for your regular expenses or even a different goal that you are working towards, we would recommend that you do one of two things:
- Establish a new savings account that you can dedicate specifically to your emergency savings.
- If your bank allows you to have ‘vaults’ or ‘buckets’ for different savings goals within the same account, please create one for your emergency fund so that its clear you are not using that part of your savings account. That will also be the portion of your savings that will qualify you for the incentive associated with your balance.
Note that this is a good idea beyond the program. Create different savings accounts or ‘vaults’ or ‘buckets’ if they are available so that you can align your savings with your goals. For instance, a savings account for your planned study abroad spring break or a savings account to save for a car, etc.
I didn’t receive the incentive that I submitted! What do I do?
First, if you are unsure why you didn’t receive an incentive, you can email us at rainy-day@charlotte.edu, however, before you do so, please review the requirements for each incentive:
- Attend a Niner Finances workshop (One workshop per semester - September 23rd first date, spring workshop is TBD)
- Attendance at a workshop is straightforward. We will keep track of attendance, however, you still have to submit the incentive through the google form to receive the incentive.
- Complete FAFSA before the priority deadline
- The priority deadline is normally Jan 1st of each year and FAFSA normally opens Oct 1. However, this year, FAFSA isn’t opening until December (exact date tbd) and the school is going to move the priority deadline back to accommodate for a reasonable turn around time for students to complete the form. That said, no one can earn this incentive until FAFSA actually opens and as long as its completed before the school’s priority deadline. You can stay up to date on changes to FAFSA here: 2024-2025 FAFSA Updates. In order to submit this incentive, you will also have to upload a picture of the confirmation screen or email received verifying your FASFA submission (through the incentive submission google form).
- Schedule a one-on-one meeting with Niner Finances
- Meeting with our team one time will qualify you for an incentive, however, staying engaged and working through your financial goals with one of our peers will make you eligible for bonus incentive drawings. Remember our goal is to help you build good financial habits which is what our one on one appointments are for. Each time you meet with our team, please submit the incentive form but know that the $25 incentive is only happening the 1st time you meet with our office.
- Maintain a Balance of $475 for at least a month
- This incentive will be earned after we receive two bank statements showing the ending balance in both months is $475 or more. You have to submit for the incentive using the google form, however, we should have your statements in docu-sign to refer to and confirm that you did meet the requirements.
- Set up a recurring deposit of at least $5/month into a savings account for at least 3 months
- This incentive will be earned after 3 months of statements showing a transfer into your savings each month (not including the incentives that you earn from us). This can be a direct deposit that you are directing to your savings or it can be an automatic transfer from another account. We will reference your statements to confirm you’ve met the requirements after you submit the incentive through google form. Note that with the program starting in August, the first month that you can potentially submit this incentive is the end of October (assuming you set up your first automatic deposit after August 21st when the semester started and this program began.
If you have additional questions, comments, or concerns about your participation in this program please contact us at rainy-day@charlotte.edu