10 minute read
Community & Events
When we
work together,anything is possible!2
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IN THE COMMUNITY
Our local community is everything to us —not only is it where we live and work, but it’s where we get to interact with our members, as well! This fall we had a number of events that provided connection, financial resources and support, and just plain fun!
Ladies of Team Spero had a blast attending AIM’s Hats Off to Women event, spotlighting AIM’s Women and Children Succeeding Program. Thank you to everyone who came out to our Holiday Budget and Brews workshop! We enjoyed our group discussion and creative ideas on how to save during the season!
Spero Financial is the proud land sponsor of the Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County Women’s Build — a build that empowers women to build a home for a deserving family. Team Spero was on-site learning new skills and making a difference.
At Spero Financial, we are proud supporters of United Way of Greenville County. In 2020, they launched Project Joy and continued it this year — designed to help local families alleviate some of the burdens of the holiday season and fulfill a wish list of essential items. Our Lending Operations Department and Member Solutions Center took this opportunity to spread some holiday hope by sponsoring two families in need!
Women build… Women build homes… communities… and futures!
– Simpsonville Councilwoman Jenn Hulehan
ORGANIZATION HIGHLIGHTS
From Halloween Activities in October to Thanksgiving thanks in November, our team was able to share many great experiences with our members—and our community—this fall! We are grateful for every single opportunity!
Closed for the Holidays:
Jan 17
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
Feb 21
PRESIDENT'S DAY
In the Spotlight
Discover Financial Wellness with GreenPath
Every year, we look at the New Year as an opportunity for change; a chance to better our lives over the next 365 days. For many of us, that includes financial wellness, and becoming financially secure is one of the first steps to finding true financial freedom.
Still, it can be tricky to know where to even start, and how to achieve our financial goals. Enter GreenPath: a national program that can help Spero members begin charting their personal paths toward a more secure financial future. GreenPath is a trusted, national non-profit organization who has been helping people build their financial health for more than 60 years. Through this connection with Spero Financial, Spero members can access all GreenPath services — including comprehensive financial counseling and money management guidance, credit report review, student loan counseling, debt counseling, budget counseling, and housing services — for free. They even offer a Debt Management Program for a small fee to help clients take paying off debt to the next level.
To add to the benefit, because many GreenPath counselors have experienced financial hardships themselves, their recommendations are genuine, and effective in the real world, not just in theory.
There’s no question that GreenPath does what they set out to do. In fact, in 2021 alone, more than 198 Spero members used GreenPath to help them get closer to their financial goals — including paying off more than $70,000 in debt.
“I have personally seen a change in members that reach out to GreenPath for help, because they better understand where they are financially and have a plan set to better their situation going forward,” said Megan Granger, who serves as a Spero Financial Branch Manager in Anderson. Granger recalls the story of a member who had multiple credit cards and was overwhelmed with just making the minimum monthly payments; GreenPath helped set up a personalized debt management plan to make it easier and more effective for the member to manage.
“Programs like GreenPath are important because they give our members the knowledge they need to gain financial freedom, which looks different for everyone,” she added.
To find out more about GreenPath, or to get access to their services, visit our site at spero.financial/financial-coaching and get started today.
WHAT GREENPATH CLIENTS SAY
“GreenPath provided me with accountability and set me up for financial success beyond the program. I was equipped with the tools and knowledge not to end up in the situation again. I was able to manage my household budget, provide transparency to my son, and be able to prioritize and deny unnecessary purchases.”
TELLERLINK
A Fast Pass For Your Financial Needs
As you focus on your goals, we have a goal of our own: to make your banking experience as convenient as possible! With TellerLink’s advanced features, you can deposit cash and checks anytime or connect with a video teller during business hours and skip the line.
Try TellerLink today!
B Y S P E R O F I N A N I C A L
Establishing Goals & sticking to it Answering the Six Questions
For anyone looking to make legitimate changes in their lives, including large goals and creating new habits, goal setting is a way to help them think through what they want, why they want it and how they will make the change actually happen.
Fortunately, there is long-standing science to back the importance of goal setting. In 1979, Harvard MBA Business School produced a study that found that of graduating students, 84 percent had no specific, stated goals; 13 percent had goals but never wrote them down; and the final 3 percent had concrete goals that had been not only thought through, but also written down. Ten years later, the study revisited those same people and found something remarkable: those in the 13 percent made twice as much as those in the majority class, while those elite 3 percenters were making ten times as much as the other two groups put together.
So why is setting goals important? In short: people who set realistic, concrete goals are far more likely to achieve them, and once they do, they become part of an elite group of people who can hit big targets. But while completing big goals can be tricky, planning for them doesn’t have to be. So, in order to streamline the process for you, here are a few ways you can start goal planning for a new year.
1Use the 5W1H method Also called the “questioning method,” the 5W1H is a format used by everyone from journalists to critical thinkers, project managers and many others, and not just for goal setting. This method is a great way to dive deep and break a complex idea down into smaller, more manageable parts, which is what makes it so easy to use. Utilizing the 5W1H method is easy; simply ask yourself the following questions: WHAT. What do I want to accomplish? WHERE. Where will this happen? Is it location sensitive? WHEN. When do I want to do this by? WHY. Why do I want to do this? Why will it matter to my life? WHO. Who all should be involved in this goal? Who do I have at my disposal? Who can help me? HOW. How will I get this done? How do I move forward? As you go through the questions, write down your answers and really think about them. By the time you get to “H”, you should be ready to start putting an action plan together and determining what your next steps will be.
2Make your
goal SMART
As you set goals, how you write them down can have a big impact on how effective you are at achieving them. To give yourself the best chance possible, make sure that each goal you write down (and we’d recommend no more than eight large goals each year), is SMART:
SPECIFIC.
MEASURABLE.
ATTAINABLE.
RELEVANT.
TIME-BASED.
3Break it down Once you have your big-picture goals in place, make sure you break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks, or milestones. For example, if you set a goal to “Pay off three credit cards”, you may want to set milestones at total amount paid off, or even each card. If your goal is to “Lose 10 pounds by the end of summer”, then you’ll want to set out the increments over the first few months of the year. One idea: break down each goal into months — that way you know each month the things that it will take in order to accomplish your goal, and you’ll be able to keep progressing, step by step, to a successful end.
DIGITAL BANKING
Whenever you want. Wherever you are. How’s that for convenience?
As you focus on your goals, we have a goal of our own: to make your digital experience as convenient as possible! Spero’s Online Banking and Mobile App gives you 24/7 access to manage your accounts whenever you want from wherever you are!
Sign up for Online Banking or download the Spero Mobile Banking app to get started!
DEBT-FREE BY 2023?
5 Tips to Get Out of Debt this Year
Debt is nothing new to most people; it’s something that most of us live with in our own lives. In fact, the New York Federal Reserve calculated American consumer debt at $14.56 trillion at the end of 2020, which includes mortgages, car payments, student loans and credit card balances.
For that reason, more and more people are initiating efforts to pay off their outstanding balances, in an attempt to become fully debt-free. Fortunately, because of that, there are a number of unconventional ways that you can pay off those financial obligations.
Here are a few ways to consider. →
MAKE A SNOWBALL
One of the most popular ways to pay off balances is with the snowball method, where you take the list of your accounts and with your excess funds, pay off the smallest balance as fast as you can. Once you have completely paid off that account, take those funds, add them to the minimum payment you were making toward that account, and start working on the next account. As you do this, your excess funds each month will grow larger, allowing you more impact as you tackle the larger and larger balances.
APP UP
There are a number of phone or online apps designed to help you track and pay off debt. As a few examples, check out Truebill to find all those subscriptions on your account, YNAB to set a budget, and Qoins to use your change to pay off debt.
PAY BILLS...MORE?
It may seem counterintuitive, but sometimes making extra payments can actually save you money—and get you closer to financial freedom, as well. For example, by paying your mortgage bi-weekly instead of monthly, you can get in an entire extra payment each year, helping you pay down that big balance quickly.
VISUALIZE YOUR WHY
One of the most important, and overlooked aspects of accomplishing any goal is to be able to understand why you want to do it in the first place. By tapping into your “why”, you have a deeper motivation to actually work toward it and get it done.
DON’T BE TOO RESTRICTIVE
At first, you may be super motivated to pay down debt, and may set big restrictions for yourself—no coffee, no eating out, no extra treats at the store. But as time goes on, those restrictions may seem harder and harder to keep up. Instead, set yourself rewards and realistic goals to keep yourself motivated.
