So, you want to buy your first car? Well, you’ve got your work cut out for you, but if you’re willing to do a little homework, you can save money and buy a car that will last for years.

Summer is here and that frenzy job hunt is under way! As teenagers, summer jobs are an attractive way of making money while keeping occupied during the summer. Having a job is a great experience which often teaches you to be more aware of your finances. Are you interested in getting a summer job, but don’t know where to start? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Nine in ten parents believe that college is a worthwhile investment. While this statistic from Sallie Mae’s How America Saves for College 2015 report shows that the value placed on higher education is nearly universal, a staggering 84% of parents are also willing to stretch themselves financially in order to make college possible for their children. “Better we have the debt than [our children] have the debt,” Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley was quoted as saying in a recent Washington Post article on student loans and parent borrowers.  

While bank and banking are universally understood and accepted terms, the term credit union is still largely misunderstood and unknown to many. Credit union is an unusual term, isn’t it? Is it just another name for a bank? Is it a credit card company? Do I have to be in a union to join?

But, just like Jackson or Smith, Credit Union is our last name and we’re proud of it. It does beg the question, though—where did the name come from? We need to go way back to find the answer to that question and to understand the origins of credit unions.

You made it! Summer is finally here and I bet you can’t wait to sleep away all of your free time – NOT! As much as you hate to admit it, you probably would rather not sleep until 3pm every day of this summer. You probably have goals and expectations to live up to. So get off the couch and make this summer a productive one.

Losing my wallet or purse is one of my biggest nightmares. We all think it’ll never happen to us and then BAM, it does. The truth is that it’s easy. All it takes is turning your back at a concert or party or leaving it on the gas pump or at the cash register. We’d like to think that all people are good people… and would check your ID and friend you on Facebook to return it.

Retirement Savings Means It’s Time to Sweat the Small Stuff

Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials. The lack of retirement savings in our country is an epidemic that affects all three generations.. According to the 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), only two-thirds of workers (or their spouses) are currently saving for retirement, with 26 percent reporting they have less than $1,000 saved. It’s time to sweat the small stuff.

In case you haven’t heard, compound interest is the best.

You may remember it as an equation you had to memorize for math class, but it’s so much more than that. It’s the concept that powers all sorts of savings and investment products and, over time, allows you to turn your money into, well, more money!

It’s your junior or senior year in high school. You’ve taken the SAT’s and ACT’s and filled out the college apps. Now… Where should you send them? Good question! Not easily answered though. Here are a few things to consider when applying to college.

So you’ve been driving the same car since your junior year in high school, and now that you have a college degree and stable employment, it’s time to purchase a new car.  The thought of going to a dealership and spending all day trying to find the right car and then finding out how to finance said car are enough to make you second guess this decision. But here’s a nice little To-Do list before you make that trip to the car lot.