Credit Union Services

Last night the local news promo made it sound like they had a huge financial secret to reveal.
It was not news to me but maybe it might be news to you. So here is my consumer report on credit unions and how they work, and how you can benefit by them.

If you are looking for money to borrow, try a credit union where the lending rates may be lower than a traditional bank.

Credit Unions may pay higher rates on savings accounts and CDs and offer interest on checking accounts.

Our credit union has CDs that you can add to over the period of time you have taken it out for.
For instance, if I put $1000. into a CD for a year, within that year, I can add another $1000. to it.
This is very convenient if you are saving up for something. They also have a "bump up rate" meaning that if I am paying attention to their rates and the interest rate goes up on a one year CD, then I can request that rate be applied to my current CD. You need to pay close attention to this in order to get it.

Our credit union also has other services too like the various types of loans you can take out -- personal, car, mortgages, Home Equity loans (this will be attached to your mortgage/deed and costs are just like you taking out a regular mortgage).
They also offer investment opportunies, retirement plans, low interest credit cards, educational seminars, insurance, and much more, like fast friendly service.

A couple of other things -- our VISA credit card has a low interest rate on it however, we have to spend $2000. per year in order to keep it at that rate and for free (no annual cost). I put all my utility bills, oil, gas, and medical bills on the VISA so that this fee will add up. We also have a 30 day grace period so if I plan right, I charge things AFTER the shut off date per month and get 45 days to pay the bill (when the next bill comes and the next due date on that bill). We also get 2% cash back every January from the previous years purchases over the $2000. they require you to spend. Paying the bill off every month means no finance charges and in the end, we make money off them. Ben Stein calls people who do this, 'dead beats" because the banking industry pays us verses us paying them interest, fees, or finance charges.

Free checking at our credit union happens if you have a set balance in your overall total of accounts always. Fall below that balance and they charge you the monthly fees applicable.

We can pay bills from our account and transfer money from one bank to the credit union or from the credit union to that bank. There is no charge for moving money into our account but there is a charge ($2.00) for moving money out of the credit union into another bank account.

If you have a mutual fund, you can do automatic deposits from your credit union account to your mutal fund on a regular basis usually at no charge.

Automatic paycheck deposits are a welcome and sometimes earn you extra perks such as discounted interest rates on loans or an increase interest rate on a CD.

ATM fees -- if there is not an association at the ATM you are using, the fees can be high so watch out for that. (I think ours run around $4.00 per transaction, so we don't use it.) If you take money out of the ATM at the bank or network associate, then there is no transaction fee. Pay attention to where you go.

Credit Unions use to be only for people who worked in certain kinds of places or industries. Now anyone can become a member or maybe a relative can become a member of your credit union or you of theirs, or you live within a certain area that the credit union covers. Credit Unions are owned by the members who stash their money into accounts so this reduces their overheads because they work for you, not investors who make money off of profits.

Credit Unions are FDIC secured and are non profit organizations.

Credit unions offer more than you think and you can save money and benefit by them if you are a good financial planner. Check out your local credit unions and see what sort of services they have that you many benefit by and start saving more of your hard earned money today.