Jamieson Mackay
CCUFC

Congratulations, you’ve helped your high school senior successfully navigate almost 12 years of school. Once they graduate, they will begin a new chapter in their lives as young adults and either continue with school or enter the workforce. Either way, you can help them make sure they are well prepared financially.

If college is the plan after graduation, make sure your student visits with the school counselor to learn about scholarship opportunities, such as the credit union’s scholarship. Also, even if you don’t think you will qualify, many experts recommend completing the FAFSA. The credit union doesn’t offer student loans, but try visiting SallieMae for student loan sources. Other sources of student loan information: Department of Education | Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corp. | Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

If you do decide to use student loans, we would encourage you to do so wisely and only use the loans to pay for tuition, fees, and books, not living expenses. It is a very expensive way to finance everyday living expenses. Many of our part time tellers are enrolled in college, and they tell us it is a really good job to have during college and helps avoid acquiring too much student loan debt.

Whether your graduate’s plans include college or not, one of the most important things you can give them is a good understanding of money and credit. A case in point. My wife and I both went to college together. Her dad sent her with a low limit credit card from their credit union that he had provided her once she turned 18, and taught her to use it responsibly. I went to college not knowing about credit cards. Shortly after I arrived on campus, I received a mailbox full of credit card offers. I took one and had maxed the card out in no time. At that point, I was working a part time job just to pay off the balance. My wife used hers responsibly and got to enjoy the money she earned from her part time job.

Managing money for young adults is crucial, especially if you as a parent want to make sure they move out of the house and remain in their own place. Teach your student about your household budget so they understand how each paycheck is divided into savings, paying bills, money for nice to haves, such as clothes & entertainment, and money for have to haves, such as food & shelter.

Some of these topics may be difficult to talk about, but the payoff is a leg up financially as your student enters adulthood. Let us know if you have any questions.

Caylee Smith

Every parent’s dream is for his or her child to grow up healthy and successful. Being successful doesn’t happen over night, it takes years and years of practice and instilling the correct behavior, whether that be saving habits, morals, work ethic, etc. Starting these habits at a young age can help your child in the future.

To help our members in this process, we have re-vamped our Sandy Saver’s Accounts. During the month of April you can bring your child in to open a Sandy Saver’s Account, and they will automatically receive a gift card incentive for starting good savings habits. Upon opening their account, they will also receive a stamp card. For every $10 deposited, they will get one stamp. Once they have collected 5 stamps, they get to choose a prize from the treasure chest.

Current Sandy Saver members can also participate. Just ask any Teller or Member Service Representative and they can get you a stamp card.

Most kids want to spend their money as soon as they get it, so this gives them a little bit of an incentive to save instead. Along with the prizes, Sandy Saver members will also receive a birthday card and newsletter in the mail. It is our hope that by instilling good savings habits in our younger generation, they will grow up and have a successful future. Click here for more details on Sandy Savers 2.0.

Jamieson Mackay
CCUFC

I know what you’re thinking. We haven’t even finished this year’s Christmas and this guy wants me to start thinking about next year’s Christmas. If you are feeling anxious about this year’s Christmas and the financial impact it will have on your family and budget then yes, I want you start thinking about next year’s Christmas so that you can reduce next year’s stress level.

An obvious solution is our Christmas Club account. This account is set up so that you add to it throughout the year and then in early November, the funds are put into your savings account so you can use them for your Christmas shopping. An obvious solution but saving money each month can be difficult for many of us. Families are already saving for other things such as recommended emergency savings and they don’t want to tie up the money in a Christmas Club account in case they need them sooner.

So let’s think outside the box a little bit. Many will use loans or credit cards to finance Christmas spending. If done wisely and prudently, there is no issue with doing that. For some, however, loans or credit cards can be out of reach due to poor credit history or no credit history. In those cases, we do have an option available to almost everyone. It is our credit saver loan which is secured by a term share account funded by the credit union and tied to a loan paid off over time. Once the loan is paid and the term share account reaches the term, the funds belong to the member to use as they need.

Another way that you can spread out the cost of Christmas is to buy presents throughout the year and put them away. This is how my wife handles it and I’m thankful she does. It means that our family doesn’t take the financial hit in one month and I usually don’t have to do much Christmas shopping. No matter how your family pays for Christmas, the most important thing is to plan ahead and make decisions as a family. Good luck and Merry Christmas this year and next year.

What should you do when you experience a financial hardship?

Shannon Harms Collections Manager

The most important thing to do is communicate. Have you ever ignored a call about a past due bill? Don’t wait for creditors to call. Be proactive and take the time to contact your creditors and explain your situation. If your creditor is knowledgeable of what is going on they are prepared better to help you. Take the time to contact all of your payees in the beginning so there are more options available to assist you.

You also need to communicate with the stakeholders in your household. Let those in the household who make purchasing decisions know about the situation. Pretending that everything is fine means those in your family won’t know that they need to change their spending to not make the hardship worse.

GCEFCU is here to help out when an unexpected situation occurs that leaves you unable to pay your loans. Pick up the phone and call us and we will get through your financial hardship together. We will assist you in finding the option that is right for you and your situation.

Seleni Lobo
Member Service Representative

Technology now a days is so advanced compared to how it was decades ago. With mobile apps on our phones we are so used to having easy access to our checking and savings account that we feel that there is no need to balance our checkbooks anymore. But, did you know that when you write out a check or making an electronic purchase that go through as “credit” it will not show immediately on your checking account through your mobile app? Before you know it, you are paying on overdraft fees because you forgot that you made out that check or that online purchase. By balancing your checkbook you not only know how much money you have left to spend but you can also see where your money is going, which comes in handy when budgeting. It’s quick and easy to do and will help you avoid overdraft charges along with insufficient funds fees.

The easiest way to do this is just write in every purchase and amount as you make them, keep all your receipts to go back and verify the amount you wrote in is correct. When convenient, at least once a week, you can sit down and balance your checkbook by subtracting any purchases made or adding any deposits made. Keep in mind that your checkbook can be used for any checks written but also for any purchases made with your debit card, cash withdrawals or deposits made in person and any debits or credits made electronically. There’s even an app for that if you prefer.