Reagan Elkins, 19, of Chickasaw, Okla., has this advice for other young Americans: Save your clams.
“Saving My Clams” is the title of a music video that won Mr. Elkins first place in the “Lights, Camera, Save!” video contest, sponsored by the American Bankers Association’s Education Foundation to promote America Saves Week.
He beat out eight other teenage finalists with a catchy rap song that features shots of him, along with his brother Noah, singing and dancing at different locations, including the drive-through lane at a bank branch. He submitted the entry through the First National Bank and Trust Company.
(Reagan Elkins is the official winner because he submitted the video, Meghan French, an ABA spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail: “While videos may feature more than one student, they are not always a part of the collaboration/production process.” )
The song features lines like, “He’s wealthy, ‘cuz he saves his money. He’s got a bunch of dough, it ain’t even funny.”
In a telephone interview, Mr. Elkins, now a college student studying film and video as well as a drummer in a Christian band, said he had always been a saver, squirreling away funds he earned at jobs like mowing lawns. “I love to save money,” he said.
As the winner, he gets a $3,000 savings fund. An additional $1,500 will be donated to a charity, the JumpStart Coalition, which promotes financial literacy. (The contest ordinarily gives funds to the school district of the winning student, but Mr. Elkins was home schooled).
The other finalists include the video “One Ice Cream Cone, Please” which contrasts two savers — one who diligently stuffs his money into a succession of piggy banks and ends up with money for college, and another who fritters his away and is left with some change for a frozen treat.
Although America Saves Week is over for this year, the America Saves campaign is continuing; you can use savings tools on the program’s Web site year round. Only about half of Americans have a formal savings plan that lets them achieve specific goals, according to a new report from the Consumer Federation of America, which coordinates the savings campaign.
Also, on the campaign’s Web site, you can take the “pledge to save,” in which you can choose a savings goal and sign up for automatic reminders and tips to help you stay on track and review your progress. More than 300,000 people have taken the pledge, according to the campaign.
If you think it will help, you can print out an America Saves poster, write your goal on it, snap a photo of yourself with it and post it on the campaign’s Facebook page. The page includes people holding up signs saying things like, “Debt free,” “Trip to Alaska,” “Law school” or “My daughter’s education.”
Do promotions like this inspire you to save?
Article source: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/rapping-about-saving-money/?partner=rss&emc=rss