How Can I Recover Money From a Scammer? Every year, more and more people fall prey to scams. Data from the Federal Trade Commission shows that in 2021, consumers reported losing more than $5.8 billion to fraud. That’s a 70% increase from 2020. Imposter scams are the most common scams, followed by online shopping scams. What does [...]
Traveling This Summer? Let Us Know Before You Go We’re always watching for possible fraud on your debit card, so please notify us when and where you will be traveling. Also, make sure we have your current cell phone number, so we can contact you if suspicious activity is detected on your account. If we [...]
Don’t hit your own debt ceiling - What a maxed-out card does to your credit score The news today is filled with the U.S. government reaching its debt ceiling, which could freeze benefits for millions of American households and send the economy into a recession if not resolved. On a personal level, you can do the [...]
Four ways debt sneaks up on you—and what to do about it Unless you track your overall spending with every little purchase, debt can ambush you. Fortunately, you can prevent it from piling up; you just need to be aware of the ways in which you spend money. Here are four common causes of debt [...]
Quick Tips for Paying Down Debt Lowering consumer debt can be a great way to raise your credit score, cut down on financial stress, and put you on track for a more financially fit future. However, it can also be challenging to do with rising costs, limited funds, and sometimes overwhelming interest costs. Despite the [...]
Nine Ways to Master Your Money 1. Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals Saving tends to be easier when you have a certain purpose in mind: Saving for your first house, your retirement at a certain age, a child’s college education, or even a trip around the world. The important thing is for your goals to be specific, [...]
10 ways to spend less when shopping online Get what you need without overpaying—or being tricked into overbuying. Key takeaways Retail sites have features that entice you to buy more than you need, but savvy shopping can help you stick to a budget. These tips and habits—including staying focused, carefully timing purchases, and factoring in [...]
Financial Education Webinars All webinars are free and open to everyone - even if you're not currently a Green Country FCU member! Register for the webinar of your preferred time (there’s two each month) but don’t worry if you can’t be there right at 12:30 or 7:30. As long as you’ve registered in advance, you’ll [...]
Cyber Monday Shopping Safety Tips If you’re planning to snag some great shopping deals online, you’ll need to be sure you’re shopping smart. Here’s a quick brush up on some old safety tips to help you make secure transactions on your mobile devices. Stick to Secure Websites Nothing take the happy out of the holidays [...]
Have you ever unexpectedly found out you’re going to have less income? It’s enough to throw you into a panic! The best way to get through hard times is to take a few deep breaths and put a plan together. Check out these common targets for quick and effective expense cuts. Food You might find [...]
How to Teach Your Kids About Money and Credit In this article: When Should Kids Start Building Credit? How to Help Your Child Build Good Credit Habits How to Teach Your Kids to Be Smart With Money Getting Your Kids Started With Credit Cards Can a Child Have a Credit Report and Score? How to [...]
5 Tips to Build (and Maintain) a Good Credit Score Like building a house, constructing a financially stable life requires laying a solid foundation. In difficult economic times like these, though, building that foundation can be a challenge. Good credit remains a core part of any financial foundation. Having good credit can make it easier [...]
Yes, credit cards can be dangerous. But credit cards are also a powerful tool if you know how to use them responsibly. How credit cards work A credit card is a revolving line of credit that allows you to make charges at any time up to the amount of a specific credit limit. When [...]
USING CREDIT CARDS WISELY Join us for a free educational webinar focusing on credit cards! A credit card can be a valuable financial tool. However, before racking up big charges on multiple cards, participants should learn smart ways to handle their credit cards and take a disciplined approach. Register to attend in advance to be [...]
100 Days until Christmas? Now What?! As of today, you have 100 Days Until Christmas, so let's talk about the "B Word": you need to have a budget for Christmas and it is time to create one. Sit down and take a good hard look at your finances to see if you can get through [...]
Swipe Up: Social Media Spending Social Media Day is Jun 30th - let's take a look at one of the biggest ways we spend money. “Swipe up to shop my look!” “Use my code for a great discount!” Click… the items are in my cart… purchase complete… and I received my confirmation email. Real talk: [...]
Teen checking account – 4 tips to keep in mind A checking account can help teach your teen important money basics. Get them started in high school to help them learn money management at an early age. You may have opened a savings account for your children as a way to sock away money [...]
Teens and Money: Checking and Savings Account One of the first steps toward real freedom (and adulthood) is having a checking and savings account in your own name. These accounts allow you to save money, make purchases, and pay bills efficiently. Both, however, require you to take an active management role, so that you can [...]
Money Missteps - A Great Thing to Happen to a Kid? You Spent Your Money on What?! Any parent with a child old enough to have control over money has probably at least thought that, if not shouted it across a dinner table. While the outrage at a teenager spending an entire pile of birthday [...]
13 Interesting Facts about Credit Reports According to a study from the Federal Reserve, the larger the gap between your credit score and your spouse’s score, the greater you are at risk for divorce. Speaking of spouses and credit scores, you can now find a date based on credit score at CreditScoreDating.com. After all, they [...]
Credit Card Makeover A look at our first financial education webinar of the year. Quick - without looking it up, do you know how much you owe on all your credit cards? If you're not sure, it could be a sign that you're getting into credit card trouble. Not knowing how much you owe, or [...]
WEBINAR Credit Card Makeover: Getting Out of Debt Please join us for a free educational webinar. Credit Card Makeover: Getting Out of Debt Credit cards can be a great financial tool, but for some, can lead to debt and financial trouble. This session provides an overview of credit card usage, warning signs of credit issues, [...]
Think back to how you formed your financial habits. Did you learn everything you needed in school? From your parents? If you could go back and talk to your younger self, what financial pitfalls would you tell yourself to avoid? If you have children of your own, you may be wondering how and when to [...]
In the modern world, almost everyone holds a credit card. Reportedly, 7 in 10 American’s have at least one credit card and there are 364 million open credit card accounts in the U.S. as of November 2018. The reach and popularity of credit cards have made it a major target of fraudsters out there. Many [...]
1. Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals Saving tends to be easier when you have a certain purpose in mind: Saving for your first house, your retirement at a certain age, a child’s college education, or even a trip around the world. The important thing is for your goals to be specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-bound, or [...]
First thing’s first: there is no magic solution to raising your credit score overnight. If you have a low score due to, say, bankruptcy (which can affect your credit for up to seven years), boosting it requires a long-term plan of consistent on-time payments and other responsible credit practices. However, a low score due to [...]
If you are familiar with the way credit scoring works, you probably know that avoiding being “maxed out” on your credit cards and other revolving accounts generally impacts your score in a positive way. You might also be aware that the FICO score – the most popular model – dedicates 30% of its score calculation [...]
Credit cards are a powerful financial tool. If you use them wisely, they will help you achieve your financial goals. But as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. Abuse them and you will find yourself in a world of financial hurt. If you recently got your first credit card, here are nine [...]
If you’re not used to reading them, credit reports can make about as much sense as a restaurant menu printed in a foreign language. At least in a restaurant, you can point to what someone else is having. But if you don’t know how to read your credit file, you could make mistakes that could [...]
