finance

How To Get Your Spring Break On

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Spring break isn’t just for party-hearty college students anymore. These days, families are also taking a break from winter and jetting off to sun-drenched climates to frolic on warm beaches. 

Spring break for college students spans the first few weeks of March, while families are more inclined to take their spring vacation to coincide with the long Easter weekend, which runs from April 3-5 this year, orPassover, which is April 22-30 this year. The fact that college and public school holidays don’t overlap should ensure that PG-rated co-eds don’t intrude on a G-rated family vacation. 

Although toasting spring’s arrival goes back to Greek and Roman celebrations, its modern incarnation is blamed on a Colgate University swimming coach bringing his team to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for training back in 1934. 

Sensing a marketing opportunity, Fort Lauderdale organized an annual swim meet, and the rest is history. Buoyed by the 1961 movie “Where the Boys Are,” starring George Hamilton; and the 1983 “Spring Break” with Tom Cruise and Shelley Long, the annual ritual has exploded. The 1986 arrival of the annual “MTV Spring Break” hasn’t hurt either. 

South Florida is still the center of the college spring break universe. So, if you can find a cheap flight and some friends to share in the cost of a hotel room, grab your bathing suit and beach towel and you’re in. Beaches in Florida cities such as Fort Lauderdale and Daytona Beach quickly become oceans of tanned bodies once spring break hits, with crowds as large as 400,000 people. 

While large crowds are considered a plus for college spring break celebrants, they can lead to frustration and annoyance if you’re a family seeking relaxation while having a few young kids in tow. 

Orlando, home of Disney World and other resorts, is a surefire hit with both kids and budget-conscious parents. But spring break is also the second-busiest time of year, behind Christmas and New Year’s. Granted, you cansurvive long lines by arriving early and packing your own snacks. But if you go to Orlando for spring break, be prepared for company. 

One popular strategy for guaranteeing family fun without blowing the budget is vacationing in an all-inclusive resort. Familyvacationcritic.comhas a list of the top 50 all-inclusive resorts for families in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Cayman Islands and other exotic Caribbean locales. Rates during peak times start at about $300 per person for a five-day stay. Resorts typically feature pools, beaches, fun-filled activities, and meals-all in a safe family-friendly environment. 

Cruises are another popular option, offering activities and services for the whole family, including movies, swimming, waterslides, varied dining options and more. 

But spring break doesn’t have to be all about the beach, especially for families. Visiting a budget-friendly city with inexpensive airline flights can be both entertaining and an educational option for the entire family. 

Los Angeles was the Fiscal Times’ top family spring break destination due to the number of attractions and places to visit. In addition, airfare prices to the city generally don’t experience a spring break surge due to the high volume of flights. Five new hotels, a strong U.S. dollar and a nearby adventure park helped make Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the second most popular spring break family destination. 

Las Vegas, Quebec City, Phoenix and New York are other great destination cities for family vacations. Norway also landed on the list due to competition among air carriers that has driven airfares below $200, and Spain was suggested because airfares to Barcelona are on par with flights to South Florida this time of year. 

For college students, eight of Kayak’s top 10 spring break destinations for 2015 are within the continental United States and four of those are in Florida. 

Home to the annual SXSW Festival, down-home rib joints, great Mexican food and walkable avenues lined with jumping live-music venues, Austin, Texas topped the list. It was followed by Fort Lauderdale, with its beaches, beachside bars, warm weather and manatees. 

Los Angeles was No. 3 on the list, with median airfare at just $352 in late April. Southern California is home to magnificent beaches such as Malibu, Santa Monica and Venice. In addition, plenty of culture can be found in downtown Los Angeles. But be advised that spring is the wet season, and a powerful El Nino is in the forecast this year, so your chances of rain falling on your spring break parade are fairly high. 

Miami, or SoBe for South Beach, has a lot going for it as a spring break destination. Its chic Art Deco hotels, fun atmosphere, packed beaches and club culture helped it reach No. 4 on Kayak’s 2015 list. But timing is everything. Median airfares reach a high of nearly $600 in early April, but fall to below $400 later in the month. Try to avoid the Winter Music Conference, scheduled for March 21-24 this year. South Beach hotel rooms will fill up and airfares soar during that time. 

Three other Florida beach towns also made Kayak’s top 10, including West Palm Beach (No. 5); Fort Myers (No. 6), and the family-friendly Tampa (No. 10). 

The two top spring break destinations outside the continental United States were Los Cabos, Mexico, with beaches, bars, and ocean activities; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, which boasts beaches and rainforests. 

Although the typical beach party spring break remains a popular rite of passage for many college students, some are craving alternatives. A group called Break Awayoffers active citizenship and leadership conferences for college students during spring break. Similarly,Projects Abroad promises an opportunity to make a difference by participating in volunteer projects such as rebuilding homes for the poor in Jamaica, protecting endangered turtles in Mexico  or providing educational support for underprivileged children in Costa Rica, Belize, or Fiji. 

One thing is certain: Whatever your preference for marking the arrival of spring, there’s something fun and affordable you can try, alone or as a family.

Investing In Your Career

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When you think of your investment portfolio, you probably think of stocks, savings and maybe a few other financial products you own or things you’re planning to use for buying a house, fund retirement, or to keep yourself protected.  What you might overlook is the investment you’ve made in your career. You’ve invested time in your career, and if you’re still paying off student loans, you definitely know you’ve spent money on it as well.  Just like any other investment, your career has risk and return.  If you want to get the best return on your investment in your career, then here are a few tips that can help: 

Get a degree.  If you haven’t finished college, you might have found yourself bumping up against a glass ceiling.  You can finish your degree online, often in a short amount of time and without spending a ton of money.  If you’d rather go back to school in person, talk to us about student loan options.  

Get an advanced degree.  It’s no surprise that the average income goes up with each advanced degree that individuals earn.  If you’re looking to advance your career, consider using one of our loansto finance an MBA, which is useful in virtually every field. 
Build your brand.  More and more, career changes and advancement can be built through the Internet and social media.  You can work on building your personal online brand or get training and a certification in all sorts of software and design to help others build their brand, making money in the process.
Learn another language or another culture.  There are very few job skills as portable as language and communication.  If you find yourself out of a job, knowing another language can help you get that next one lined up. Understanding different cultures makes it easy to move if the next job is across the country or even elsewhere in the world.
There are a lot of ways to invest in your future, but the one we tend to overlook is spending money to develop our jobs.  Unless you got in on the ground floor of investing in Google, you’re probably never going to find an investment that pays you more over the course of your life than the one you’ve made in your career. Don’t neglect it.

10 Facts About Credit Unions

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In preparation for International Credit Union Day, October 15th, we thought we would share a few facts about credit unions. Being a member of a credit union is a coup for your finances for many reasons. Here are just a few facts that make credit unions a great option. 

Fact #1: President Roosevelt signed the Federal Credit Union Act in 1934 to promote thriftiness and prevent usury during the Great Depression. 
Fact #2: Credit unions are insured. Most credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which provides essentially the same coverage on funds as does the FDIC. If the word “federal” is in the name, they are insured. If not, check with your credit union. It may be state-chartered and/or have private deposit insurance.  Destinations Credit Union is chartered by the state of Maryland and Federally insured by NCUA.
Fact #3: Eligibility is fairly flexible at most credit unions. Most require residency in a certain community, city, or state, or that you are employed by the credit union’s sponsor company, also known as a Select Employee Group (SEG). But requirements are pretty broad on most, making eligibility at a credit union a possibility for almost anyone. 
Fact #4: Credit unions are not-for-profit institutions and are owned by the people they serve, not by a few shareholders. 
Fact #5: Credit unions can offer better rates on savings accounts, lower interest rates on loans, and little or no fees on accounts because they return their profits to the member/owners.
Fact #6: The credit union’s board of directors, which is elected by members, can set loan limits in an effort to help the credit union grow. 
Fact #7: Credit union members have democratic control of the credit union and can attend and participate in regular and special membership meetings. 
Fact #8: Nonmembers benefit from credit unions too. Competition for low rates keeps banks’ fees in check, thereby benefiting nonmembers. 
Fact #9: With more than 5,000 credit unions across the globe and access to tens of thousands of ATMs, credit unions are increasingly convenient on a national scale.  Destinations Credit Union is part of a national shared branching network, giving you access to your accounts all over.
 

Fact #10: Once you are a member of a credit union, you stay a member for as long as you maintain your deposit account (share), regardless of whether or not you continue to meet the original eligibility requirements.

Shop Local!

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Your credit union is built on the idea of people helping people.  You already know we can do a better job looking after your money than a mega-chain bank that answers to shareholders, because we know you and our community.  So why give that up when you find a bargain online?  Shopping locally is better for the community, better for the environment and the best way to find something unique that can make all of your friends say “wow.”  

Shopping locally benefits your community. 

When you shop locally, the money you spend stays in the community.  Buying a new pair of shoes from a local shop takes dollars out of your pocket and puts them into the pockets of a local resident, of course.  What you might not consider is that those dollars get spent by the business owners as well, and they’re also likely to spend their money locally.

American Express estimates that about 68 cents out of every dollar spent in local shops stays at home, and if that dollar is spent locally three times, it means that – for every dollar you spend at local shops – $1.45 goes back into the community.  It’s what economists refer to as the multiplier effect, and it’s very powerful.

Fun fact:  The multiplier effect is why the government is still willing to make pennies, even though minting them costs more than one cent.  The multiplier effect is powerful enough to justify all that loose change in the jar next to your bed, and it’s powerful enough to make shopping locally a force for change.

Of course, that money doesn’t just go to shopkeepers and restaurant owners. The local government takes out its share in local taxes.  Even if you hate the idea of taxes, and we all may grumble in April, local taxes go to schools, firefighters, and other services in the area.  Buying dinner at a local bistro can be the reason the town has enough money to fix the potholes on your street. Not a bad dessert.

 Shopping locally is better for the environment. 

You already know about the danger of greenhouse gases and the effects of global warming.  If you don’t remember anything else, you probably remember Al Gore’s visual of a polar bear floating away. What’s easy to forget is that everything you buy had to come from somewhere.  If you’re drinking imported spring water from Fiji, that water flew halfway around the world.  If your new pants were made in China, they racked up frequent flyer miles, too.

It’s really hard to avoid foreign manufacturing, but many local businesses have locally made goods for sale, which eliminates at least one flight your product might take, saving on fuel and greenhouse gases.  Even if the product you’re buying was manufactured overseas, buying it locally can shave a flight or two off the product’s carbon footprint.

Shopping locally is the best way to find hidden gems. 

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of finding something your friends have never seen before. Whether it’s jewelry from a local metalsmith, a purse from a local boutique or pottery from a local artisan, local shops have the best potential for one-of-a-kind, where-did-you-get-that, I-love-it-so much uniqueness out of any shopping you can do.  Anyone can get on Amazon or check out a department store.  It takes a real connoisseur with a real eye for style to shop locally and find the best products.  Show off your personal style with buys from local artisans. The Parkville Towne Fair or the many ethnic festivals are great places to look for local crafts.

One final benefit of shopping locally is that many of your finds come with a story.  Those earrings might be from a local artist who got the inspiration from the nursery rhyme her mother told her, or those plates might borrow their pattern from the artist’s love of pop art.  Whatever the story, local artists will tell you how they came up with their unique designs.  Part of the fun of local shopping is the connections you can build with local artists, and hearing their stories is part of it.

San Francisco started recognizing the historic contributions of local businesses by listing important shops on its historic registry.  Looking around Parkville and Baltimore, which businesses would you nominate for historic status?


And, don’t forget to keep your banking local.  Destinations Credit Union (along with many other credit unions and local banks) is right here in Parkville offering world-class financial services and access wherever you travel.  We’re owned by our members and the money is invested back into our residents and our communities.

Check out the Parkville/Carney Business Association to see many local businesses who support our community.

Sources: 

http://ilsr.org/why-support-locally-owned-businesses/  
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/small%20business/2014/11/21/small-business-strategies-shopping-local/19259277/ 

http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2011/10/28/how-consumers-and-communities-can-benefit-from-buying-local

Is It Time To Upsize Your Home?

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Life rarely turns out the way we plan, and when a surprise comes along, it’s usually not an opportunity to simplify our lives.  If you’re one of the many parents blessed with one more angel than you had planned for, you understand just how such surprises can make the simplest things much more complicated. Or maybe the innocent angel you’ve been raising has entered adolescence and wants some space alone.  Or maybe it’s gone the other way for you:  You bought a house when prices were low and wages were tight, and now that you have some equity and a higher income you’d like to bump up your standard of living.

If any of those scenarios sound familiar, it might be time to upsize your home. But is expanding right for you? 

Upsizing is great … 
You probably don’t need anyone to tell you that a bigger house in a nicer neighborhood would be fantastic.  If you could get the kids out from under your feet, you could go back to reading that book you never finished or start that workout regimen you’ve been putting off, or whatever it is that makes you want to plunk down your hard-earned money for a new home.
But there are really strong arguments to be made for upsizing that might not be as obvious.  For example, you may not actually want more square footage.  One way to upsize without getting a giant house full of rooms you might not need is to look into adding outdoors space.  Some homes have gorgeous patios, outdoor kitchens and even wood-burning outdoor pizza ovens!
Another alternative to upsizing your space is to move into the home of the future.  That Cape Cod or Queen Anne you’re in right now might be beautiful, but is it built for the 21st century?  Are the speakers built into the walls?  Is it set up for home automation?  Or does it have that one bizarre room with no outlets, like some mid-century houses in the Midwest?  For some people, particularly those with a home business, it can even be worth paying more every month if doing so moves you to a neighborhood with faster Internet.
Baby Boomers have been upsizing their homes at a surprising rate, often moving into larger homes for retirement.  Usually, people move into larger homes because they want the space and retirees presumably have an empty nest.  Moreover, as we get older, it can be harder to lug a vacuum up the stairs or commit to mowing an enormous lawn every weekend.  But Boomers have learned the value of luring others over, often choosing houses on artificial lakes or in gated communities with kid-friendly amenities.  Suddenly, the big house is a blessing, because there’s room for everyone at Thanksgiving!  If you’re wanting to cut down on your travel time or increase your hosting duties at social events, a bigger house might be just the ticket. 
… But maybe not? 
You’ve been through this before, when you bought your current place. Buying a home is a little tedious and a lot expensive.  As you’re looking back on it, you might wonder why you’d ever go through that process again when it might be easier just to ask one of the kids to sleep in a tent out back or put up guests in a nearby hotel.
The good news is that it’s not going to be that difficult this time.  You know what you’re doing and you should have fewer surprises.  You’ve got the down payment set up through the equity in your current home.  And if you’re already financing through [credit union], a new loan approval will be fairly quick and easy. 
What about right now? 
If you’re considering the idea of upsizing your home, now’s the time for action. The dollar is gaining steam and plenty of economists are predicting we’re likely to see interest rates go up at some point this fall.  If you can get in before then, you’ll save some real cash in the long run.
It’s also a good idea to act now because you can catch both sides of the housing recovery.  If your home has regained its value, but you know a neighborhood that hasn’t gotten back to full value yet, you can make a shrewd investment to get a bigger, nicer house in the other neighborhood and wait until that new home gets to the value it should have been selling at all along.  Right now, you’ve got a great buy low, sell high opportunity.
If you’re ready, or you think you might be ready to think about being ready to upsize your home, give Destinations Credit Union a call.  Rates are still fairly low.  If you don’t know if you can afford to upsize, give us a call anyway.  Our home loan specialists can help you figure out if upsizing is the way to go, help you build a budget, or show you our construction and remodeling loans if you’re looking to upgrade your new home before you move in.

A New Kind of Grandparent Scam

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For years, con artists have preyed on the elderly, claiming to be their grandchildren and in trouble with desperate need for money.  This is the traditional grandparent scam and it dates back to as long as grandparents have had home phones.  Scammers know that grandma will do anything to help out, and they also know members of “the greatest generation” are excellent marks for phone scams.  In the traditional version of this scam, someone calls and tells the grandparent their grandchild has been jailed for a minor offense in a foreign country or has had a medical emergency befall them. Of course, other situations that would present an immediate need but be very hard to quickly verify are also used, so there is no one sure tell based upon circumstance. 

In reality, the grandchild is not under arrest, in the hospital or in trouble at all. At the very moment the scammer says the grandchild is in the middle of an emergency, he or she is probably just staring at a cellphone screen, possibly while they’re in class, oblivious to the whole situation.
A new version of the scam has been making the rounds this summer and it has a 21st century hook. The FTC, the BBB and various news organizations are reporting that scammers are now claiming to be debt collectors and getting older Americans to fork over credit card information or wire money to the scammers.  Sometimes the collectors claim to be after young people, threatening that if grandma doesn’t come through with the cash, the grandchild will be arrested, have their license revoked or lose their job. Other times, the scammers claim the grandparents are on the hook for the debt and use their fear of losing their credit rating to finagle some easy money out of a frightened victim.
The debt collection angle is new to the grandmother scam, but hardly a new scam in itself.  Con artists have been calling with fraudulent debts and fabricated threats for years, often claiming a long-forgotten payday loan or other non-traditional debt has been turned over to the police. But as people have gotten wise to phony debt collection scams, they’ve combined the routine with grandparent scams to make a new scenario that feels very real.With student loans and credit card debt through the roof, it’s easy to believe a loved one could have all sorts of debt we don’t know about. With the pressure on, it’s difficult to find out if it’s true.  But, if you didn’t co-sign a loan, you can’t be held responsible for paying it, no matter what someone tells you over the phone.  In fact, it’s illegal for a debt collector to tell you if someone else has a debt at all. If you’ve ever called a credit card company on behalf of your spouse, you’ve probably experienced the privacy laws in action, because the credit card company won’t even talk to you.   

If you feel pressured to make a payment or provide personal information over the phone, try to get off the line as quickly as possible.  Offer to call them back, if necessary.  The more they try to keep you on the phone, the more likely it is that they’re fraudsters who are after a quick buck.  If you think you might be a potential victim of such a scam, let the FTC know immediately, at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/. 
Then, let Destinations Credit Union know so we can make sure your accounts are safe, issue new information if necessary, and prevent any fraudulent charges.  We can also show you how to go through your credit report and find out if you have any debts you don’t know about. 
When someone pressures you on the phone, it’s always a good idea to take a break and figure out what’s really going on.  

Sources:

  

Building A Bridge To Retirement: Leaseback Arrangements

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Whether they want to get more sun, get closer to grandchildren or downsize their home to cash out some equity, Baby Boomers are moving more often during their first few years after retirement than did the previous generations of retirees. The final year in the workforce can feel a lot like moving, as individuals run themselves ragged trying to make last-second arrangements, finalize budgets and journey into a yet-unexperienced phase of life. So retirees who are moving often have twice the stress, too.  Leaseback arrangements, a staple of commercial real estate, have become far more popular as Boomers retire, allowing retirees to eliminate some of the stress and uncertainty involved in moving during retirement. 

How it works 

A leaseback is a financial arrangement in which an individual sells their home with the understanding that they will immediately enter a lease agreement with the new homeowners so they can stay in the house for an agreed-upon amount of time.  Leasebacks can work two ways for those nearing retirement. First, a retiree can sell the house in which they’ve been living and lease it from the new homeowner until they retire, or alternatively, retirees can buy the perfect retirement property as soon as it becomes available and lease it back to the previous homeowners until the retiree is ready to move in.  Leaseback arrangements don’t have to be complicated or intimidating, and they can provide security to both sides of a home sale. 

Benefits for home sellers 

  • Selling a home before retirement ensures retirees know exactly how much money they will get for their home.  One of the scariest parts of retirement planning is the fear that something will go wrong. Knowing exactly how much money a soon-to-be-retired individual will get for their home can help provide some peace of mind.
  • Leaseback arrangements let homeowners take a long time selling their home while having the confidence they can begin the process early without ending up without a place to live. The extra time ensures they don’t have to jump at the first offer that comes along, and can wait for a good bid.
  • With a traditional home sale, there is the potential that retirees won’t sell their home in time and then end up with two monthly mortgage payments.  A leaseback arrangement lets retirees sell their home first, guaranteeing they won’t end up with two mortgages.
  • Arranging a leaseback gives retirees cash in hand to improve their financial outlook.  By selling their home and becoming renters for a year, retirees can reinvest their home equity in the high-return parts of their portfolio, pay off high interest credit card debt or finance the business they plan to run in retirement.
  • The cash from a leaseback also helps reduce the uncertainty of the first year, when most retirement calculators ask people to guesstimate their expenses.  The first year of retirement is often the most expensive, as newly retired folks take celebratory vacations, buy hobby supplies or make COBRA payments while they await Medicare or Medigap eligibility.
  • Leaseback arrangements can also help retirees who are too young for full Social Security or pension payments by giving them cash up front to hold them over until they can receive full benefits.

Benefits for homebuyers

  • While leaseback arrangements offer more benefits to sellers than they do to buyers, they still offer buyers some pretty big advantages.  Most importantly, buying a home and leasing it back to the current residents ensures that retirees who can wait a little while to move in can get exactly the home they want.
  • Nothing says that homeowners need to lease their home at the same price as the mortgage.  By entering a leaseback agreement and waiting an agreed-upon amount of time, retirees can make a profit off of their retirement home while they wait!
  • Leasebacks give those near retirement the ultimate bargaining chip when they’re negotiating the sales price: By starting the process earlier and having more time to shop for a retirement home, those nearing retirement have the ability to walk away, helping ensure they get the best possible price.

Arranging a Leaseback

Arranging a leaseback is actually quite simple and only involves two steps, one of which you’ve done before.  First, arrange a home loan like you would for any other residential property.  If you already know what you want to buy, apply for your mortgage at Destinations Credit Union.

Then, talk to your realtor about a leaseback arrangement.  Many realtors offer temporary leaseback agreements as a standard part of a sale, so even if they haven’t arranged a long-term leaseback before, it should be a piece of cake.

Sources

The New Homeowner Diet

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Saving money is a lot like losing weight. It’s no fun, requires sacrifices and no one at a dinner party wants to hear about your plan.  For many first-time home-buyers, trying to save enough money for the down payment on a house can seem like a diet that won’t end. It might even be tempting to click one of those email links that promise magical results, even though you know there’s no magic pill for weight loss and no magic plan for saving money.  

Fortunately, if you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you already know how to save money. While most weight loss results are temporary, buying a home is something that won’t disappear if you skip the gym for a week: You’ll be living in a home you own, building equity and moving closer to financial independence.  So, here are some tips to get you moving toward that down payment, based on what you already know about trimming your waist:  

Don’t bite off more than you can chew

One of the biggest mistakes new homeowners make is buying more house than they can realistically afford. At Destinations Credit Union, we want to get the right loan for you so that you can move into the home that’s comfortable and fits your lifestyle.  That doesn’t mean you have to use every dollar you qualify for. Let’s talk it through to figure out exactly how much you can spend every month and make sure you don’t get in over your head.  

A good rule of thumb when planning is that you want to put down around 20 percent of the sale price. Before the financial crisis, a lot of people were putting down 10 percent or considerably less – as much as 0%. It didn’t turn out well for many of those folks, nor did it for their lenders.

Even if you feel comfortable with the risk that comes with a low down payment, putting down more money now can lower your interest rate, so you’ll pay less money in the long term and have a lower monthly payment.  It’s easy to see the down payment as your goal and forget about the rest of the mortgage, but this won’t be the last purchase you make.  You’re going to want to save for college, retirement or your dream vacation.  If you don’t put the money in now, you’ll have to do so later, and you’re essentially taking a loan from yourself against those future purchases.

No matter how long you run, you can’t burn off that midnight cheesecake

You may be making sacrifices and saving as much as you can, but still not feel like you’re getting any closer to your dream home.  You’re not alone.  Unlike their parents or grandparents, today’s typical middle class family has more than one job, and a surprising number of those families has three or more sources of income. Even with the popularity and necessity of taking on a second job, some people are embarrassed to do so, as if having a working spouse or taking on extra work on the side is a sign of failure.  Don’t be that person who’s too embarrassed to go to the gym because they don’t want anyone to see them get healthy.  There’s no shame in working.

You can’t lose weight without a scale

Most people keep track of their weight every day while dieting.  Some keep a food log.  Some count calories, points, or carbs.  The bottom line: You need to be able to see how you’re doing so you know when you can splurge and when you need to cut back.  The same is true when saving for a home. Make a budget and stick with it.  If you have a bad month, don’t get frustrated. Instead, commit to doing better next month.

Everyone needs a spotter

When you save money every month, where does it go?  Do you have a series of Mason jars filled with crumpled singles?  Is it sitting in your checking account, looking pretty when you check your balance but not doing anything else?  Even if you keep your money in one of our savings accounts, there’s a lot more we can do to help make your money work for you.  Our Kasasa Cash Rewards Checking pays a really high rate when you do a few simple things to qualify.  And, you can attach a high rate Kasasa Saver account to that checking which sweeps all of the rewards into the savings automatically.  We have a variety of great savings plans, from low-risk savings certificates to High Yield Accounts, which earn a higher dividend rate for your savings. High Yield accounts share many of the same conveniences as our regular savings accounts, including no-penalty access to your money if an unexpected emergency occurs.  

If you want to own a home, you need to save money, but you don’t have to do it alone.  Think of us as your personal trainer for your financial health.  Call us at 410-663-2500 or info@destinationscu.org, and we’ll help you figure out what you can afford and how you can get there.  Our plans are always easier to swallow than a kale smoothie. But then again, what isn’t?
Sources:

Financially Productive Summer

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Summer vacation is a quintessentially American innovation. Nowhere else in the world do kids have months on end free from school or any other responsibility. On one hand, it’s great to spend more time with them. On the other, how do you keep them entertained without breaking the bank?

Fortunately, there are a few ways to have the kind of summer break that builds memories without building debt. You can use these months to teach your children valuable lessons about financial responsibility, spend quality time together as a family, and save (or make!) a little money along the way. Try activities like these 5 for a fun, financially responsible summer! 

1) Have a yard sale! 

If there’s one lesson to impart to children about saving, it’s that less is more. It can be hard to impart that lesson with toys from birthdays and Christmases past crowding the closet, collecting dust. Encourage them to find one or two things per day that they could contribute to a yard sale, then have it at the end of the month.

Involve your kids in as many aspects of the plan as possible. Ask them to help you advertise on Craigslist and other social media. Have them tell their friends or their friends’ parents about it. Show them how to do research to price items, and have them work the cash box. All of these are valuable skills that can help them with summer jobs in the future!

When the sale is done, have a conversation about what you can do with the money. It could go toward a family vacation, or into a savings account or college fund. Let them contribute ideas for fun things the family can do with the yard sale proceeds. This can be a chance to teach kids about budgeting while encouraging them not to hold on to things that don’t bring them joy. 

2) Start a (very) small business! 

One way children learn the value of hard work is to earn a wage for doing a job. Paying your kids an allowance to do a job is one way to do that, but certainly not the only one. Getting your kids to help with a very small business is a great way to let them see the rewards of hard work while making a little money on the side.

Business services will vary, but demand for many services is higher in the summer. Businesses need window washers. Elderly neighbors may need help with weeding, mowing, planting, or other landscaping projects. Many people clean house in the summer and list old furniture for sale, which can be rehabilitated and resold for a profit. Any of these small projects would make a fun way to spend some time together this summer.

The business doesn’t need to make a lot of money to be valuable. In addition to quality time, your children can gain an appreciation for the hard work that goes into making a successful business. This could be a great addition to a college application essay or a resume for a first job. 

3) Fix up the house! 

There are tons of great, simple projects that you can tackle as a family to improve the efficiency of your home. Some of the easiest, like installing a new front door, can be done in an afternoon and improve the aesthetic appeal and insulation of your house. These are great projects to tackle as a family.

Any repair or upgrade that you’ve been putting off can be a great summer project. Kids can earn a wage for their labor, or they can work in exchange for some privilege, like going to a sleepover at a friend’s house. Doing this kind of work can help them understand how much hard work goes into home ownership.

These little improvements can add up to significant savings. You’ll start feeling the benefits in lower electricity bills in the summer, and continue to feel them all year round. When you sell your house, these improvements will reflect in the higher value of your home. 

4) Plant a garden! 

Believe it or not, planting a garden is one of the most cost-effective things families can do together. For every dollar you spend in green bean seeds, you’ll get up to $75 back in fresh produce! You can pickle, dry, preserve or can the extras and sell them to friends and neighbors for an even better return!

There are many ways to squeeze additional savings out of a garden. Instead of costly fertilizers, you can compost kitchen waste. You can find reclaimed wood, especially from pallets and shipping containers, to make raised beds. Save seeds from produce, and water with rain collectors.

Planting a garden doesn’t just save money. It can also be a way to encourage your family to eat more vegetables. Tending and caring for a patch of vegetables can be a great way to build responsibility and have fun outdoors this summer! 

5) Plan a stay-cation! 

The average cost of a family vacation is creeping up. For a family of 4, a week of vacation, excluding travel, costs $1,700! Even if you’re taking a road trip in a reasonably efficient family vehicle, that could easily amount to $2,000 or more.

The best parts of a vacation are the shared experiences, and there’s no need to go too far to get those. Find a local festival or cultural event, and plan a vacation in your home town! Check out local historical sites and museums, eat out at nice restaurants, and come home to your own beds at night.

What’s more, a stay-cation can show your kids the rich culture of their surroundings. Use your stay-cation as a time to visit sites of personal interest, like where you and your partner met, or where their great grandparents went to school. They’ll appreciate the deeper knowledge of where they come from, and you can appreciate the togetherness… and the savings! 

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Credit Repair Scams Are Back, Don’t Let Them Fool You

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Earlier this month, the Better Business Bureau warned the country to keep an eye out for criminals masquerading as credit repair agencies, an old scam that keeps coming back every few years.  The scam is easy to spot if you know what to look for, so here’s what you need to know. 

How the scam works:

Companies advertise a service that can give customers a “new credit identity” and will immediately fix their credit score.  The scammers charge their customers an upfront fee in exchange for a 9-digit code, sometimes called a “Credit Profile Number” or “Credit Privacy Number.” They might say the number protects customers from identity theft, builds their credit or enrolls them into a new government debt-relief program.

The numbers they give to customers are not magic numbers that fix bad credit; they’re stolen Social Security numbers.  Not only won’t they improve your credit, but anyone who pays a scammer has unwittingly bankrolled an identity thief. 

How the scam can hurt you:

If a company sells you a stolen Social Security number and you use it to apply for a loan, you’ve committed fraud, even if you had no idea that the number was stolen.  If you lie on a credit or loan application, misrepresent your Social Security number or obtain an EIN under false pretenses, you’ve committed a federal crime.  You could face fines, or in some cases, time in prison.  If you suspect this might have happened to you, seek legal advice immediately. 

How to spot a scam:

Credit reporting scams are one of the many kinds of criminal activities built around identity theft. If you’re not sure if you’re dealing with a criminal, listen for some of these key phrases credit repair scammers use:

·        “We just need a small fee to get started”  – In the U.S. and Canada, credit repair companies can only receive their fee AFTER they’ve performed a service.

·        “We dispute all of the charges on your credit report, even the ones that are correct.  The worst thing that can happen is that they say ‘NO’ and you might even get lucky” – Legitimate credit companies will not encourage you to lie to credit agencies because that’s a crime.  It is a good idea for you to check your credit report for inaccuracies from time to time, but don’t lie to those agencies.

·        “If a loan asks for your Social Security number, put in this code instead” – There is no magical code to fix your credit.  If it seems too easy, proceed with caution.

Remember, some credit repair companies work hard and treat their customers fairly.  They’ll write a contract, make their loan rates known and follow the law.  When you call an honest company, you’ll know the rates and terms.  Scammers tend to make outlandish promises or omit details, so if a deal seems too good to be true, or if it’s hard to find out what you’re getting into, you might want to walk away. 

What to do if you think you might be a victim:

If you’ve been the victim of this kind of scam, you have some legal options.  You can sue them for any money you lost, seek punitive damages on top of that or join a class action suit.  Talk to a lawyer immediately.

You can also file a complaint online atftc.gov/complaint 

Who can I trust to repair my credit?

If you have bad credit, it can feel like everyone is trying to scam you.  If you need to repair your credit, and you don’t know who to trust, talk to Destinations Credit Union‘s counseling partner Accel.  Accel can help you make a plan to get out from under your debt, build your credit successfully, and plan for the future.

If you don’t have any credit, then Destinations Credit Union can help you, too. Unlike the multinational corporate banks and credit cards, we’re local and personal.  You’re more than a number to us, and we look forward to helping you.

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