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13 Life Hacks to Reduce or Eliminate Medical Debt

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Almost every American faces medical debt at some point in their life. So you’re not aloneiStock_000009697836_Large if you’re scared of the prospect of medical debt damaging your personal credit and causing you to go into a financial crisis when you least expect it.

Fear not! There are ways to avoid having your financial dreams derailed by a medical emergency, an unexpected procedure, or unnecessary medical expenses. Here are some life hacks we came up with that can help you reduce or eliminate medical debt:

  1. Stick to Doctors Within Your Network – If your plan requires that you visit doctors within your network, stick to those doctors so you don’t have to pay out-of-network fees.
  2. Pay Your Medical Bills In Full –Chances are you will receive a discount. Many hospitals offer a 10% discount when you agree to pay your bill in full.
  3. Don’t Switch Plans to Visit a Doctor Out-of-Network Once – You can save money if you only have to visit an out-of-network doctor once a year. Changing your plan for the sake of one service can result in higher health insurance plan premiums over the long term.
  4. Opt For “Minimum Essential Coverage” Instead of Expensive Health Insurance Plans – If you’re cash strapped and healthy, a minimum essential coverage may be your best option. These plan usually only cover preventative care and other basic medical services—not hospitalizations and outpatient surgery.
  5. Utilize Charity Care Programs – Your hospital may offer discounted services to low-income people. It’s a little known secret that you can apply for charity care programs that may reduce or eliminate your entire bill if you qualify. To get started, just call the hospital that has billed you and ask them if you can apply for their “charity care program”.
  6. Find Out What’s Covered by Your Health Insurance Provider – Before you schedule a medical procedure, find out what’s covered and at what rate. If you determine the cost will be high, talk to the referring doctor about lower cost alternatives.
  7. Request a Payment Plan – If you owe a medical bill that you are not able to pay in full, you can usually get on a payment plan with lower minimum payments. As long as you continue to pay the bill monthly, the debt should not show up on your credit report. All you have to do is call to make arrangements before the debt becomes delinquent.
  8. Use Urgent Care Centers – Find out if urgent care centers are included in your health insurance plan network. They often charge a flat fee for labs, therefore you won’t have unexpected bills later on. They can also help with a variety of problems that don’t require hospitalization, which will also save you money in the long run.
  9. Ask for Prescription Samples or Coupons – Some prescriptions are free at pharmacies such as Walmart and Meijer. When filling your prescription, ask the pharmacist if any samples or coupons are available.
  10. Combine Doctor Visits to Save Money – When visiting your doctor, make sure they address multiple issues at once so you don’t have to go back for repeat visits.
  11. Get Refills on Prescriptions from a Family Doctor Instead of a Specialist – For example, if you go to a dermatologist to get a prescription for acne, instead of going back to the dermatologist for a refill on the prescription, it may be cheaper to go to your family doctor or a general practitioner to get a refill.
  12. Research the Costs of Certain Procedures/Appointments – Research the costs of procedures and appointments ahead of time so you can choose the lowest cost provider.
  13. Apply for a Grant from the Healthwell Foundation – You can apply to receive financial assistance with covering your medical bills. If approved, they may cover $6,000 per year in medical insurance premiums (for certain diseases). Visit https://www.healthwellfoundation.org/ for more information.

Courtesy of Accel Financial Counseling, Destinations Credit Union‘s financial counseling partner.

Rethinking Your Money With Apple Math

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When it comes to your finances, it can seem like all the advice you get is deadly boring, unbearably abstract or both.  For example, when it comes to paying off debts, how can you be expected to make a dent without first having a spreadsheet that compares all your credit cards and loans with columns for principal, interest rate, fees and maybe even frequent flyer miles?  It’s intense. At the same time, when it comes to spending, you’re no better off. How do you compare the value of a fancy dinner to buying a new outfit for the kids?

In 1986, The Economist created “The Big Mac Index” as a way to compare currency values across eras and national borders.  The index shows how many hours of labor it takes to earn the cost of a Big Mac. So, if it took you 10 minutes to earn the cost of a Big Mac last year and it takes you nine minutes today, you are – in theory – better off than you were before. That’s true whether those gains come from getting a raise, moving to a town with a lower cost of living or improvements in McDonald’s supply chain to save consumers money. While the value of a dollar changes over time, the value of a Big Mac to a hungry customer remains constant.
We’re going to use the same Big Mac concept here, but we’ll use it to explain personal finance. If you’re a fan of Apple products, fabulous. If not, feel free to substitute other luxury goods of your choosing.  As an added benefit, if you’re looking to talk about money with a young person, you may find the Apple index to be a helpful tool for starting a conversation.  After all, that young person is probably staring at their phone, tablet or laptop right now. 
The price of luxury 
If you’re carrying an iPhone, it’s probably the most expensive thing you carry every day.  You might not think so, because you might be used to those two-year contracts that artificially decrease the price of a phone by several hundred dollars.  In reality, though, a lot of companies, from your service provider to the handset manufacturer, stand to make money by concealing the price from consumers.
Even then, you could be skeptical.  “After all,” you might say, “I’m currently wearing a very expensive watch.  This Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch is the same model as the one that’s been on the moon.” Or maybe you’re glancing at your Hermès Clemence Birkin purse, believing no phone could cost as much as a bag for which a noble alligator gave its life.
Actually, it does.  You see, when a person buys a luxury watch, he or she usually expects to hand it down to their son, daughter or whomever so they may stay in a family for generations.  The same is true for Hermes bags, particularly because they have to last long enough to get back to the top of the waiting list.  A Hermes reservation can last a family for generations, too.  A $10,000 watch or bag that lasts 100 years actually costs $100 per year.  Similarly, a basic two-year phone contract typically came with a $200 credit toward a phone purchase, so even a free phone on that plan costs $100 per year, the same as an Omega watch or Hermes bag.  A $649 iPhone 6s costs more than three times that much. 
The price of five bucks 
Most phones sold this year don’t have 2-year plans.  Instead, AT&T, Verizon and many of their competitors offer plans that can be canceled at any time, with the cost of the phone spread over two years or more, disguising the total price of the product.  After all, the difference between spending $25 per month and $30 per month seems negligible. If you’re already writing a check to your service provider for $200 worth of data, talk, taxes and fees every month, what’s another five bucks, right? Of course, that difference over two years comes out to $120.  If you have three lines on your account, the bill comes to $360.
When are you planning on paying off that smartphone?  When do you expect to not have to pay another phone bill?  The smartphone manufacturers assume a two-year lifecycle, and intentionally do not design their phones to last forever. Five years ago, one of the best selling phones was the original Motorola Droid. Go back another year, and it’s Nokia at the very top of the sales charts, capping over a decade of the company’s dominance.  It’s hard to remember that environment, but it included 3G networks and sliding keyboards.
Phones have short shelf-lives, so you can probably expect to make payments on a phone for most of the rest of your life.  If you made that $5 payment into your savings account instead, that would be around $16,000 in time for your retirement.  That’s an expensive five bucks.
It’s not a Big Mac, but hopefully the iPhone works just as well to explain the value of money when it’s difficult to understand.  Buying a product that lasts a lifetime can actually be quite affordable in the long run.  On the other hand, a mindlessly squandered five dollars can be quite expensive.  We’ve got a lot more lessons from the Apple index coming up, so stay tuned! 
Sources: 
https://www.therealreal.com/designers/hermes  
http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index  

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/1543014  

http://www.omegawatches.com/watches/speedmaster/moonwatch/dark-side-of-the-moon/catalog  

The Effects of China’s Market Crash On Typical Americans Like You

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Predicting the future of international finance can be a fool’s errand. Fluctuations in a small aspect of a small market can ripple in untold ways, changing the environment all the time, like the proverbial butterfly responsible for all of those hurricanes.

Unfortunately, shrugging in the face of the unknown is really uncomfortable when it comes to finances. When we need to know how it will affect us, we go to financial advisors.

What about when we don’t have any specific investments in either area?  How might it affect us then?  Below are some of the people likely to be affected by the economic news of China’s struggles last week.  Some it will hurt, some it will help and some we’ll have to wait and see. 

You might be hurt if:
Your portfolio is heavy on retail brands.  In the last decade or so, American demand for retail goods slowed at the same time Chinese demand grew, so many of our corporations recorded sales growth that was largely or exclusively based on Chinese consumers.  Yum! Brands, Intel, McDonald’s and Starbucks all rely on Chinese consumers for between 15 and 20 percent of their revenue, and the Chinese middle class just got hit with back-to-back market crashes.  We won’t really know which companies were hit the worst until sales figures and quarterly reports start coming out, but you should identify which stocks you own that are heavily invested in China and see what they plan to do to keep afloat.
 Your income is directly related to manufacturing.  Banks around the world are stockpiling dollars because American currency seems much safer than a Euro that’s dealing with a crisis in Greece or any Asian currency that is inextricably tied to China.  As a result, the dollar has increased in value about 3% in the past month.
That sounds great, but a strong dollar makes exporting more difficult and makes imports cheaper, both of which make it harder for American manufacturing firms to compete with overseas factories. The Obama administration, like the Bush administration before it, has repeatedly pushed China to strengthen its currency for this reason, but has little to show for it.  Some financial analysts suggested the Asian free trade agreement signed last month was meant to prevent exactly this kind of situation: Chinese market insecurities resulting in problems for American manufacturing.
You might be helped if:
You own a business.  Whether your company is big or small, a strong dollar gives you a leg up right now.  Obviously, you can order stock from overseas, knowing it will cost less and pocket the profit.  It might be time to think bigger, though.  If your dollar is worth 3% more than it was a month ago, that means any loan you take out will come at a discount.  If you wanted to buy a $10,000 piece of equipment from China but scoffed at the interest rate, you can cut it considerably right now. 
You own a home.  It may not be obvious at first, but everything in your home goes through China. Your car had parts manufactured or assembled there, your clothes, your furniture … everything. You’ll feel the effects of Chinese firms trying to get sales every time you go to the store and possibly until Black Friday.

But you could also get a great deal on home fixtures and appliances very soon. Chinese factories need the cash, and with their domestic housing bubble bursting, you’re the only one left to buy that amazing new washer/dryer.  What if you moved up your remodel to this fall?  You could be looking at glorious home goods at ridiculous prices.

Talk to Destinations Credit Union about automobile and personal loans. Get one of the lowest loan rates in the Baltimore area in addition to the cheaper cost of the goods you want to buy.  Let’s see if we can help you capitalize on this opportunity. 


Sources:

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/24/barack-obama-fast-track-trade-deal-tpp-senate

Rebuilding An Emergency Fund

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A significant financial crisis can wipe out your emergency savings.  If this has happened to you, rebuilding your savings must be a priority. 

All the best financial experts agree you need to keep an emergency fund. Keeping 3-5 months of living expenses in a savings account, certificate account, or investment account can be the difference between a temporary hardship and a life-long debt trap. Using that money instead of credit cards or short-term loans is a lot less expensive in the long run.

There are many reasons why you might need to use that money. It could be from an unexpected expense, like a medical bill or a car repair. It could also be job loss that forces you to tap out your savings. Whatever the cause, it’s a whole lot cheaper to pay for it out of savings than to have to borrow, and it’s much less embarrassing than having to beg friends or family to cover your bills.
In the midst of a stressful crisis, it can be hard to focus on the positive. It’s important to take a moment to congratulate yourself for having the foresight to manage your problem. Things could be much worse than they are now. In addition to all the stress you’re currently feeling, you could have a big ball of debt to add to it. It’s not because of luck, it’s because of good planning.
Despite that relief, you’re not out of the woods yet. Without savings, you’re in a position of significant insecurity. Another crisis right now, even a very minor one, can cause financial problems that will create a ripple effect on into the future. You could find yourself in a much worse position in three months’ time than you are now.
Getting back to a position of financial security should be your highest priority. That means rebuilding your emergency fund as quickly as possible. These three steps will have you back on track before you know it.

1.) Make an emergency budget – and stick to it! 
Without an emergency fund, you’re one blown tire, one missed shift or one broken arm away from a financial catastrophe. That’s why an emergency fund is so important. Cut spending wherever you can. If you can do without cable for a few months, call and suspend service. Temporarily cutting back on media, clothes, and other discretionary spending is also a great idea.
Also, consolidate your savings. If you’ve been saving for a vacation, a new car or some other big ticket item, stop putting money into those “buckets” until you rebuild a few months’ living expenses. Once you return to having a decent cushion, you can get back to saving for your other priorities.  Visit a Destinations Credit Union Member Service Representative to see if there are higher rate options for your saving or if refinancing a loan from elsewhere could cut your payment amounts.
If these cuts aren’t enough, finding money in more extreme places might be helpful. If you can, spend a few months taking public transportation. If it works out well, you might find yourself thinking about selling your vehicle for another quick infusion of cash.
Remember, a budget is only as good as your commitment to it. If you make extreme cuts that you can’t keep, you’ll end up spending even more because you feel entitled to it. Make sure your budget is realistic and humane! 
2.) Build income wherever you can 
There’s no secret about building your savings. You can only save the difference between your income and your expenses. In your budget, you worked on the minimizing expenses part of that equation. Now, it’s time to turn your attention to the income side.
Raising your income at work could be as easy as asking for a raise. It could also mean taking additional hours or picking up extra shifts from co-workers. You don’t have to do so for the rest of your career, just for a few months until things get better.
You may also need to boost your income outside work. Selling old clothes and books can be a source of quick cash. Picking up freelance or contract work can also be a way to earn extra money. It’ll create a stressful few months, but it’ll be worth it to get back to security. You might also make connections that could help your career over the long term. 
3.) Build a backup plan 
The worst thing that could happen right now would be another crisis with no way to pay for it. You may not have the money to deal with it, but you’ve still got your financial smarts. It’s time to make a plan. 
Think about what you’d do now if you lost your job, even without your emergency fund. Make a list of phone calls you can make to find temporary work. Who in your network do you know who could use your skills on a temporary or contract basis? Do you know anyone who, if you absolutely had to, you could call for a quick loan? 
There are a few other questions to ask. What stuff sitting around your house would you sell if you had to? What does your food budget look like with $50 taken out of it? It’s easier to make these decisions when you’ve got the time and space to reflect on it. Making these choices with a past due notice in hand is much harder to do. 
Hopefully, you’ll never have to use these ideas, but you’ll feel better for having thought about them beforehand. It’s also something pro-active you can do instead of worrying. Taking action, any action, to remedy your situation can help fight the stress involved in insecurity and get you in a better head space. That alone is worth the effort. 

SOURCES:

Five Reasons To Use A Credit Union Instead Of A Big Bank

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Many people go to a big bank because they’re easy to find.  Those banks spend billions on advertising and building branches on every corner.  Becoming a member of a credit union takes a little more work – finding one that you can join takes a little bit of research.  But, it’s easier than you think.  Most people in the United States are eligible to join a credit union.  You can find one through work, or where you live, or through organizations you belong to.

Last year, 2 million people between the ages of 18 and 35 joined a credit union. 28% of credit union members are under 35 while 54% of them are under age 50. The tools of technology are making it easier to see the value that credit unions offer.

Don’t just take our word for it. Do your research and see for yourself how credit unions compare to for-profit banks. Consider these five categories:

1.) Ease of service

Here’s a fun game. Call a corporate bank with a simple request, like checking the balance of a savings account. Count the number of irritating phone tree menus you have to sift through before you could talk to a real person who could answer your question. You win when you get frustrated and slam the phone down in anger!

For-profit banks have earned a reputation for cumbersome customer service and out-of-touch policies. Getting information on financial services, like credit repair or auto loans, means sitting on hold for hours. Credit unions, on the other hand, provide easy-to-use services and real, live human beings who can answer questions, make recommendations and help you understand the complicated world of finance.

2.) Lending practices

For-profit banks answer to corporate owners. They expect a predictable, stable rate of return on their investments. This demand puts a straitjacket on lending and ensures those practices never deviate from a pre-determined formula. Take income, multiply by credit score, divide by 2, that’s the interest rate they’ll charge.

However, let’s pretend you just got a new job, so last year’s tax returns aren’t a good indicator of how much you are earning. That’s not in the formula, so it doesn’t matter. Credit history ruined by an old medical bill? Corporate banks stop reading after the first three words of that sentence. In short, there’s no room for flexibility and interest rates tend to be much higher.

Credit unions are community institutions, so helping people out is part of what they do. Their rates tend to be lower than those of corporate banks. They also tend to be more willing to make exceptions for details that may not be reflected in the conventional lending formula.

3.) Online banking is everywhere

In the wild west days of the Internet, only corporate banks could afford online banking. Now, your pet gerbil can have his own website. The Internet is everywhere and credit unions are on board. The services you use every day, like online bill pay, direct deposit and checking on account balances are just a click away. Credit unions are increasingly integrated with e-commerce services like Paypal and Square, making it easier than ever to send and receive money electronically.

Mobile services, such as transfers and remote deposit are increasingly more common at credit unions.

4.) Educational resources

Corporate banks have historically made a killing by keeping people in the dark about their practices. Credit card companies made it hard to tell exactly how much interest you were being charged. Banks charged overdraft fees without ever telling you they were doing it. These things got so bad, Congress took action. Consumer ignorance was built into the profit model of big financial institutions. Educating consumers was not just a waste of money to them, it was actually costing them business.

Credit unions are not-for-profits that want to make their communities a better place. Part of that mission includes financial education. If you need advice about home-buying, making a budget or using credit responsibly, your credit union will be happy to help.

5.) Savings

Credit unions work for their members. They pay back the money they make to their members in the form of dividends. Since their members are also the people paying for their services, they don’t have much of an incentive to charge an arm and a leg in interest and fees.

Credit unions also offer competitive rates on savings accounts and Certificates. Because they don’t have to siphon off money to pay shareholders, they can return that money to their investors: you know, the people who do their banking with the credit union. Compare the earned interest on a credit union checking or savings account to those offered by a for-profit bank. Then, go open an account at a credit union. You’ll thank yourself later.
Destinations Credit Union offers many of the same services you’ll find at the big banks, but can save you money on your everyday banking needs.  Want to get started?  Join Destinations Credit Union today!

Car Buying Tips

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If you have great credit, getting a car loan at a great rate is no problem. In tight credit markets, some buyers with less than stellar credit may have trouble getting a loan at a reasonable rate.

There are lots of ways to finance your car, even without the best credit, but be careful — these may cost you a lot of money in the long run.

Check your Credit Union’s rates first!

No matter what your credit score, chances are we can offer you a better rate because we are not-for-profit and owned by you, our members.

Do your research

You will most likely pay more for your vehicle if you go into a dealer not armed with information about the vehicle you are interested in purchasing. Make sure you do the research and know how much you should be paying for your new or used vehicle. The internet has made it easy to get this information — just go to the AutoSmart section of our website to get started.

Get Pre-Approved

Apply for your loan to see exactly how much you can afford before you go shopping for your car.  You’ll know exactly what your credit score is and what rate you qualify for through this process. You can then make your best cash deal. Apply online and simply leave the make and model information
blank or write in “pre-approval.”  If you already have your financing in place, beware of a dealer scam involving getting you to fill out a credit application, even though you are not applying for credit. They claim it is required by the “Patriot Act,” but it is not. This is an attempt to run your credit to try and get you into the dealer financing.

Beware of “Choose Your Payment”

Many dealers are now offering to let you choose your payment. While this may seem like a good idea on the surface, all it really does is extend the term of your loan, costing you thousands in extra interest and leaving you with a car that is worth far less than you owe on the loan. As an example, a $20,000 car financed at 7% APR for 5 years will run you $396 per month and you will have paid at total of $3,763 in interest by the time it is paid off. Taking that same loan, and choosing a payment of $250, you will be paying the loan for 9 years and will have paid over $7,000 in interest! If you can only afford a payment of $250, choose a car that fits your budget, instead of choosing a payment on a more expensive car.

Low Rate Financing vs. Taking a Rebate

It is generally better to negotiate the best cash price, take the rebate, apply it to the principal balance of your loan and finance at the best possible rate outside of the dealer. If you run the numbers, you’ll usually find you save money this way.

Purchasing GAP Insurance

If you put less than 20% down on your new vehicle, you may want to consider GAP insurance. The minute you drive a new car off of the lot, the value depreciates significantly. If your car is stolen or totaled in an accident, you may find you owe more on the car than the insurance is willing to pay you.
Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) insurance makes up the difference.  Don’t just take what the dealer offers you though! Check around because you can usually get the policy less expensively elsewhere (such as your credit union).

Extended Warranties

You may want an extended warranty on your vehicle, especially if you have trouble coming up with the funds to repair it on your own. However, beware of the dealer “requiring” the warranty in order to get the loan. Some unscrupulous dealers will tell you that in order to sell the product. Most likely, you will pay less for a warranty if you purchase it through the Credit Union. It’s a choice, not a requirement!

If you have questions throughout the car buying process, call Destinations Credit Union.  We’re here to help you get the best possible deal.

The 4 Hidden Dangers Of Membership Club Shopping

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If you’re feeding an army or just a hungry family, you’ve probably been considering the benefits of membership in a shopping club like Sam’s Club, Costco or BJ’s Wholesale. On the surface, the membership decision seems like a very simple calculus. You take your projected savings from buying in bulk and subtract from that the cost of a yearly membership ($45 for Sam’s Club, $50 for BJ’s, and $55 for Costco). If that works out to be positive number, you should sign up.

This simple math, though, overlooks some of the more serious hidden dangers in signing up for a club membership. The availability of bulk goods can encourage different spending habits that may not be in your financial best interest. Before you sign up, remember these hidden costs.
1.) The extra cost of impulses
One of the most tempting Costco items is a drum-sized container of peanut-butter pretzel bites. In most stores, this might be an impulse item. It would be the kind of snack you’d pick up because you’re a little hungry or because you might have company later in the week. At ordinary snack food quantities, this indulgence will cost you a dollar or so. Because you’re buying in bulk, though, this splurge could easily run you $5. It’s a savings if it’s something you need, but for extra items, it’s just extra cost. Add up those extra costs over a whole shopping trip and ordinary impulse buys could eat a significant part of your grocery bill.
If you’re not used to shopping with a list, the extra costs involved in ordinary impulse spending can add up quickly. More than in other stores, you need to make a list and be a diligent, informed shopper before you set foot in a wholesale store. Do your research, make a plan and stick to it.
2.) The extra cost of cheap goods
Most people wouldn’t buy a big-screen TV on impulse. Something changes in the brain, though, when one appears on an end cap for a bit cheaper than they are at a conventional retailer. After an entire shopping trip of saying no, the willpower gives up and the credit card comes out. Suddenly, there’s a TV in the car.
The wholesale club model is to get people in the door with savings on everyday goods, wear down their resolve with an incredible array of goods, and finally hit them with high-margin goods like clothes or electronics. It works surprisingly well, even on smaller-ticket items like giant candy bars and holiday decorations. It’s a technique psychologists call “confuse and reframe.” It works quite simply.
The confuse part of the operation is the volume and price of goods. Most people have no idea how to adequately value a 20-pound jar of mayonnaise or a pack of 35 frozen steaks. Nor do most people have easy ways to categorize the thousands of products available at these stores. The brain’s natural response to this confusion is to look for shortcuts and the store provides them: price tags offer comparisons to other brands, shops, and products, showing the considerable savings available if the shopper buys now. That’s the reframe part of the operation. Having convinced the shopper that the appropriate frame is amount saved, that becomes the decision-making procedure.
It’s easy to say that those tactics won’t work on you, but studies say differently. These companies have spent lots of money designing a retail experience that gets you to spend big. They wouldn’t keep doing it if it didn’t work.
3.) The cost of missed sales
It can be easy to see an item advertised in one of these stores and assume it’s the best price you will ever find for the item. It’s frustrating, then, to go back the next week and see the product on sale for $25 cheaper. Yet this is very common, particularly with seasonal goods that need to be sold by a certain date.
In many cases, these stores will be happy to honor the sale price and refund the difference — but only if you ask for it. Because all transactions are linked to a membership card, it’s far easier for the store to see that you purchased an item and issue a refund. They’re counting on the bulk effect to create less frequent trips so customers won’t see these new sale prices. Shopping at a conventional retailer means more chances to price-check goods.
4.) The cost of waste
If you’re trying to encourage your family to try new things, you know there are going to be some foods they just don’t like. If you’re shopping at a conventional retailer, you might waste a half-pound of asparagus when it turns out your youngest just can’t stand it. If you tried that same experiment while buying from a wholesale store, though, you might end up throwing out several pounds of fresh produce.
Even when buying tried and tested staples, beware the perishable item. If you’re buying something that can spoil in bulk, you’re taking the risk that you’ll have something to do with it before it goes bad. You can minimize this risk by having a plan in place to deal with the surplus. This plan can be as simple as putting it in the freezer or sharing excess with neighbors, friends, and family members.
You can also focus your stock-up efforts on non-perishable goods. Buying things like medications, spices and paper goods in bulk can let you take advantage of the economy of scale without worrying about spoilage. Many of these goods also offer the deepest discounts.
Wholesale stores offer the chance for incredible value, but they also invite some risk. Whether membership is worth it to you or not depends on the kind of shopper you are. If you’re a diligent planner and a seasoned researcher, you can save a lot on things you need. If you tend to make impulse buys, then let the buyer beware.
SOURCES:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/6-rules-shopping-warehouse-stores-152550021.html

Cash Flow Budgeting: A Fast, Flexible Way To Fix Your Finances

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You’ve heard it from a million places: Budget your money! Make a firm plan and stick with it. It’s the pathway to prosperity!

For many people, though, that advice just doesn’t resonate. They feel constricted by a budget. Keeping cash in separate envelopes makes them feel like they can’t have a life. It takes too much planning and too much rigid denial. They break their budget and sometimes wind up in serious financial trouble.

Other people have an inconsistent cash flow, making creating and keeping a budget difficult. Maybe they’re freelancers who work gig-to-gig. Maybe they’re in commissioned sales. Maybe their hours fluctuate month-to-month. Whatever the reason, it’s hard to make a detailed plan when your bottom line changes every month.

The answer isn’t to give up on budgeting. The collective wisdom, that monitoring your expenses and income streams is the way to stability, still holds true. It might just require a different approach to budgeting: cash flow focus.

Cash flow focus is the strategy used by most businesses. They pay their fixed costs, and whatever is left is used to grow the business. You can manage your finances the same way. Just follow these four steps:

1.) Automate your savings

Even if you disregard everything else in this article, implementing this one tip can be life-changing. Figure out how much of your income you can save, then take that out as soon as you get paid. You can set up monthly transfers from your checkingaccount to your savings account. You can also divide the money between the accounts on a per deposit basis. How you choose to do so is less important than doing so.

Like the saying goes, pay yourself first. This savings provides you the flexibility to cover big expenses or make major purchases on your schedule. It’s the single most important step in any budget, but it’s even more important with cash flow budgeting.

When you automate your savings, you remove the money you saved from consideration. You can’t spend it; you’ve already spent it on savings. The importance of this kind of savings will become more clear once you see this budget in action.

2.) Pay your needs and your priorities

Make a list of your essential expenses each month. Include your rent or house payment, your car loan and your utilities. Also include your student loan payments, your insurance and other necessary expenses. These are your “fixed costs.” They get paid after your savings contributions are made.

Next, make a list of your priorities. Include your charitable contributions, vacation savings and retirement account contributions. These are your “growth expenses.” They get paid after your fixed costs.

If you don’t have enough money to make these bills, you don’t need a better budget. You need to lower those bills or increase your income. No amount of spreadsheet magic will change that bottom line.

It’s helpful to automate savings for these expenses, too. That way, you never get caught short on these bills. Transferring this money to a special savings account can be a helpful way to ensure you don’t spend it.

3.) Spend the leftovers

This message may sound peculiar for personal finance advice. Remember, though, that you’ve already automated your savings. What you’re spending here is the leftovers – the extra that’s left at the end of the month.

Spend this money however you like – don’t worry about putting this much in entertainment and that much in travel. Just keep track of how much you’ve spent so you don’t accidentally overdraft your account.

This approach allows you to go out or indulge in a latte. You don’t have to worry about including it in your budget. Your spending habits might change as the month goes on, just like a business. If you know there’s a big outing before you get paid again, you may want to save some money for that. You don’t need to say that you can’t go because you didn’t budget for it.

4.) Roll over what’s left

If you’ve worked in a big business, you’ve seen departments desperately spending at the end of the fiscal year. Departments buy cases of pens and paper, knowing that they’ll lose whatever they don’t spend. Fortunately, you’re more flexible than a big business. You don’t have to spend it all. If you have money left over at the end of the month, then you have more to spend the next month.

If you have a month with slightly higher expenses, you can cover it from a previous month’s slightly lower expenses. Your spending will change from month to month, as might your income. So long as you keep the former smaller than the latter in the long run, you’ll be fine.

That’s what cash flow budgeting is about: flexibility. You don’t have to write your unbudgeted spending purposes in stone. You don’t have to mess with cash envelopes or other strategies. You can spend when you have money and save for when you don’t.

If you’re thinking about adopting a cash flow budget, Destinations Credit Union can help. A friendly, knowledgeable representative can walk you through the savings tools you need. You can automate your savings, flex your spending, and build toward financial security. Call, click, or stop by today to find out how!

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Three Tricks To Retire Rich

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The difference between working yourself to death and retiring to live a life of comfort is smaller than you think. We like to believe in the simple caricature that rich people retire rich and poor people don’t retire. The truth is, much of the difference between retiring and continuing to go to work every day comes down to a few simple choices. Let’s take a look at three tricks that separate the successful retirees from the workers who are too insecure to retire:

1.) Timing your retirement

Investment professionals like to tell you that successful investment is about time in the market. Timing the market, they insist, is far less important. That’s true for putting money in. The more time you have to take advantage of the power of compound interest, the better off you’ll be.

When it comes time to retire and start making withdrawals, though, timing does matter quite a bit. Consider identical workers who made the same median income. Each saves 10% over their 35-year careers. Yet, they end up more than $200,000 apart in retirement savings.

How? One retired during the height of the Great Recession in 2009. The other waited four more years until 2013 when stocks had rebounded. It’s not just that stock prices rebounded during that time. It also gave the one who worked longer four more years of buying dirt cheap stocks that shot back up in value.

The lesson here is simple: if the market is down, keep working and investing. Wait another few years for things to rebound and reap the rewards. If our early retiree worked four more years, his retirement savings would have doubled. Market prices tend to even out over time, so prices that are low now will return to normal. Waiting until they do can make your retirement much better.

2.) Don’t over commit, especially when things are good

You may already know you should save between 10 percent and 15 percent of your income. Aim to split your savings between conservative and aggressive investment options. However, many people forget one important part of that split: some part of your aggressive investment needs to remain in cash.

As stock prices rise, you need to be leaving yourself more and more cash on hand. This is so you can take advantage of the inevitable retraction that follows these expansions. “Buy-low, sell-high” isn’t a well-kept secret. But it’s still sound advice for retiring with enough money to support a luxurious post-work life.

How much cash should you keep in your aggressive investment portfolio? The frustrating answer is that it depends on a variety of factors. If you’re not heavily involved in your portfolio, you likely don’t need to keep more than 5 percent cash in your account. If you’re an active participant in your retirement investments, keeping a little more cash on hand isn’t a bad idea. This will let you pick up undervalued stocks and reap the profits of your savvy judgment.

3.) Get professional help

Spectrum Group conducted a survey of households with more than $1 million in net worth. They found that only 20 percent of them see themselves as experts on investing. About 40 percent of respondents are adviser-assisted or adviser-dependent investors. That means they consult with a financial expert before making most of their investment decisions. Another 30% are “event-driven.” They get professional help before major life milestones, like retirement or home-buying.

There seems to be one big difference between millionaire investors and less successful ones. The millionaires recognize their weaknesses and find help to compensate. They devote their effort and energy to what they’re good at: their job or small business.

There’s no harm in getting some help for your retirement savings plans. Our knowledgeable representatives are standing by to assist you with opening or funding an IRA, rolling over a 401(k), opening a certificate, or saving money in any one of a dozen other ways. Call, click, or stop by Destinations Credit Union today!

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Three Famous Scary Stories And What They Teach About Smart Money Management

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It’s that time of year again! The nights get longer. Haunting winds rattle

shutters and swaying trees cast spooky shadows in the moonlight. It’s time to tell ghost stories!

These stories scare us, but they can also show us something. Let’s see what three of the most popular ghost stories can show us about financial responsibility for a spook-tacular Halloween!

1) The Ghost in the Attic

The story

It starts a little differently each time. Maybe there’s a bump in the night. A squeaky floorboard creaks and groans even when no one is walking near it. More and more squeaks and bumps that no one can explain keep happening. The cabinets open and close by themselves. Loud noises come from nowhere in the middle of the night. Everyone is terrified and no one can sleep. Blood starts dripping from walls as screams come from the vents and doors slam. This house is haunted.

It turns out there’s some history to the house. A gruesome murder took place there. It was built on an ancient Native American burial ground. The attic was home to an abandoned child who was forced to live there because of his hideous deformity. The only way to get back to normal is to give these angry spirits what they need.

The reality

If your house has creaking floorboards, or your heating and cooling system goes bump in the night, you might be headed for a far more serious problem than ghosts. Unexplained noises in the house could be signs of serious structural problems. Knocks in the walls can be a plumbing issue about to break loose. Uneven construction can really make cabinets open by themselves and doors slam uncontrollably. Like in the story, many of these problems come out of your house’s history. It might have been built on an old mine site or just built in a hurry.

Left untreated, these little problems can create big trouble. Squeaky floorboards can break, pipes can rupture, and foundation problems can ruin your home. If you’re counting on homeowner’s insurance to pay for these accidents, think again. Homeowners’ insurance policies broadly don’t cover “construction defects,” which means you’ll be stuck holding the bill.

Consider getting out in front of these problems. You can use your home equityline of credit to repair your foundation, fix structural problems in your home, and perform other necessary upgrades. Don’t let the specter of uncertainty ruin your ghoulish good time!

2) Vampire Infestation

The Story

Up a winding mountain pass deep in the Transylvanian high country sits an ancient mansion. The simple folk who live in the valley will not go near it, nor will they even speak a word about it, for fear of attracting the dark attention of the master of the house. The man is never seen and the house might be assumed empty if it were not for the ominous cackling that echoes through the farms and pastures that surround the mountain.

 Legend tells that the man in the mansion is an unholy abomination who subsists on the blood of the innocent. Young children have been found by the road leading up to the mansion, their flesh cold and clammy as though the life itself has been drained out of them. Travelers who arrive at the village scoff at the tale of Dracula’s Mansion, but those who journey up to it are never seen again.

The Reality

While you don’t have any vampires in your life (probably), you do have something you never see that’s sucking the life out of your financial success. Outstanding debt is a seldom-seen figure that casts an ominous shadow over your household finances. Make no mistake: The beast is feeding on your innocent salary and putting your whole household in its sight. The average household has $17,000 or more in debt and faces an average minimum payment of $423 per month.

If you want to drive a stake through the heart of this monster, consider a debt consolidation loan. These loans can repair your credit, lower your monthly payment and free you from the control of the heartless creature. Best of all, you won’t need to deal with the smell of garlic!

3) Zombie Apocalypse

The Story

The streets are quiet. There are no cars or pedestrians. An overcast sky casts flickering shadows on the desolate streets. The ordinary noises of a city are starkly absent. The only clearly audible sound is the slow chomping of the walking dead who are feasting on the bodies of recent victims.

Cowering in basements and perched on rooftops, human survivors band together. Their goal is simple: stay alive for one more day. Long past the point where rescue helicopters stop flying, these brave souls will go their own way and resist being part of the zombie horde.

The Reality

Zombies are a cautionary example of what happens to us when we consume just for the sake of consumption. A zombie is a sad creature who lacks the capacity to plan or see further than the next meal. We’ve all been there – splurging on a candy bar in the checkout lane, not because we were hungry, but because we wanted it and it was there.

The best way to zombie-proof yourself is to make a realistic budget and sticking to it. Make a plan for your income that includes saving and investing. Be sure to include space for planned indulgences – like discount Halloween candy on November 1.
SOURCES:

http://www.free-online-calculator-use.com/credit-card-minimum-payment-calculator.html