FOUR WAYS YOUR CREDIT CARD IS BETTER THAN CASH Move Over, Cash – There’S a New King in Town
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FALL 2017 EDITION NEWSNOTES FOUR WAYS YOUR CREDIT CARD IS BETTER THAN CASH Move over, cash – there’s a new king in town. You already know that your credit card is a great option for moving through a checkout line quickly; online shopping and booking vacations, but some less obvious perks could have you leaving behind paper money for good. Check them out below! Track Your Spending Habits. It can be very hard to keep 1 track of how you’re spending your money when using cash. Holding onto receipts throughout the month can be difficult and putting together a comprehensive list of all purchases (including small ones), tedious. However, using your credit card regularly means your spending history will be detailed Have a Safety Net. Credit cards offer a variety of features on one bill at the end of each month, making it easy to review 3 that can protect you if things go wrong. For example, while purchases and gain insights into your spending habits. very little can be done if cash is lost or stolen, cardholders Even better, as an MCU cardholder you can view your bill in can simply call their financial institution to report their real-time using online banking. Having easy access to this card missing and have a new one provided to them in information is the first step to identifying any problematic just a matter of days. And with zero liability protection, spending habits and to make changes that work for you. cardholders are protected from losing any money if they’re victimized by fraud. Similarly, if a consumer uses their card 2 Build Your Credit. Credit is important. A good credit score in a transaction that turns out to be a scam, they can alert will help you get approved for lower interest rates on loans, their financial institution or credit card company to place a rent an apartment and even receive better pricing on stop on a payment. insurance. Thirty-five percent of your credit score is based on your payment history, which is good news for responsible Enjoy Rewards. You’re already spending your money on credit cardholders. Using your credit card on items you would 4 everyday items like groceries, utilities and gas. Why not earn normally pay for with cash and then paying your bill on time perks for your purchases? While the benefits will vary, many each month will help you create a strong payment history, credit cards will offer programs that may reward you for your building your credit score with the added benefit of not taking spending habits. These rewards may include cashback, air on extra debt. miles and merchant discounts. Cash can’t do that for you! Each year, more than 15,000 women in New York are diagnosed PLAY with breast cancer. This fall, MCU employees and members and working together to Make Strides Against Breast Cancer. Learn more about how to get involved BALL! on page four! It was another great season at MCU Park in Coney Island as more than 200 children took MCU Hosts Third Home Buying Seminar of 2017 the field for our fourth annual MCU Youth MCU hosted its third Home Buying Seminar of the year at Brooklyn Borough Baseball/Softball Clinic series! Hall on Wednesday, September 13. The event discussed topics including income Keep an eye out for news about next year’s qualifications, mortgage escrow, “fixer-upper” properties, credit scores and potential clinic series at nymcu.org! home buying grants. Learn more at nymcu.org! Pg. 2 | MCU NewsNotes Fall 2017 Edition FINANCE 101 MCU’S Back to School Financial Tips for College Students This fall, college students everywhere are getting back into the swing of things when it comes to their classes. However, for some, staying on top of their finances can be a surprising new challenge. Whether you’re an incoming freshman or a graduating senior, taking simple steps to manage your money will not only help you feel confident about your finances but will also create great habits for the future. Check out our tips below! Create a Budget. Setting a budget is the first Get Creative with Textbooks. Purchasing step to successfully managing your money. textbooks can be a major expense for students. To start, students should take time this To help minimize this cost, students can look semester to review their income, savings to buy used copies online, rent their books or and expenses in order to set realistic limits even purchase the electronic versions. These on activities such as eating out, enter- alternatives may save hundreds of dollars tainment and shopping. To make every semester. If you do choose to your budget work best for you, it’s buy your textbooks, consider important to recognize that selling them at the end of the small purchases, like semester. Many college gourmet coffee, can bookstores have buyback add up and to consider programs that can assist with that other expenses, like this or students can look online. car insurance, will only occur once or twice Take Advantage of Student Perks. throughout the year. Being a student can come with some serious money-saving perks, including discounts offered by both College is a great time to take steps local and national chain stores. toward building credit but it’s easy for Your school may also offer students to quickly find themselves in over money-saving amenities. Keep their heads. While some credit card offers may an eye out for your free campus be tempting, college students should stick to fitness center and resources like opening a student credit card with a modest limit free tutoring. Students should and competitive rate that they can use comfortably within their also check the campus activities means. This will both help them set good habits for the future calendar for events, including concerts and and slowly but surely raise their credit score. festivals, which are both fun and budget-friendly! MCU NewsNotes Fall 2017 Edition | Pg. 3 1. How it Works. The equity in your home is the difference between the value of the property and the amount owed on your mortgage. A HELOC allows homeowners to borrow against this equity in various amounts over time. Once you pay back what you’ve borrowed, that 2. Take amount is made available again. The homeowner Advantage of may use their line of credit as many times they want while their HELOC remains open. Competitive Rates. HELOC interest rates tend to be much more competitive than the 3. Your Credit Score rates on credit cards and personal 3.Matters. Your Credit Score Matters. loans. This may save borrowers The interest rate on a HELOC hundreds or even thousands of will depend on your dollars throughout the lifespan credit-worthiness. of their HELOC. Borrowers with high credit scores (700 and above) can expect to 4. Know Your Limit. be offered the best A HELOC can amount up to about 85% of the equity in a rates and those with borrower’s home. Of course, just because you could be A home equity line lower scores can approved for that amount, a homeowner should stick to expect to pay more. of credit (HELOC) is a a line of credit that they can confidently pay back. If a convenient financial homeowner does default on a HELOC, they risk lending product that losing their home to a foreclosure. allows you to borrow against your home’s 5. SellingSelling Your Your Home? Home? equity to manage your You’ll be expected to pay off your HELOC quickly. The easiest way to take care expenses as needed. of the balance is to pay it out of the sale proceeds at the time of closing along with the remaining balance on your mortgage. However, homeowners can run into trouble if their homes have insufficient equity to cover these expenses. MCU NewsNotes Fall 2017 Edition | Pg. 4 Join Us in Celebrating International Credit Union Day CU invites our members to join us for the 69th Annual Join us at your local MCU branch for refreshments as we MInternational Credit Union Day® (ICU Day) on October celebrate the growing credit union movement around the 19, 2017 as we show our appreciation for the people who world and welcome our 101st year of service. As a special keep MCU and the credit union movement strong: you! act of giving back on this big day, we’re encouraging our members to donate to our Making Strides Against Breast This year’s ICU Day theme of “Dreams Thrive Here” celebrates Cancer initiative. We’ll match up to $5,000 raised! how credit unions serve as a way to turn personal goals into realities. Without our members and their commitment to the For more information about MCU’s support of American credit union movement, our mission to serve New Yorkers in Cancer Society’s 2017 Making Strides Against Breast the tradition of “people helping people” could not be possible. Cancer initiative, visit nymcu.org/MakingStrides. It’s one more way you keep our city great! Board of Directors PERSONAL LOAN RATES PHONE NUMBERS: James Durrah, Board Chair PERSONAL LOAN RATES MCU’s Automated Service – Beryl Major,1st Vice Chair Auto-Pay Monthly Payment Per Touch Tone Teller: Loretta Y. Jones, 2nd Vice Chair Loan Type Amount Financed Term APR* $1,000 Borrowed Within the Five Boroughs/ C. Richard Wagner, 3rd Vice Chair Long Island S. Nana Osei-Bonsu, Treasurer Unsecured Loan $1,000–$15,000 Up to 60 Months 5.95% $19.31 (212) 693-4900 Caroll A. Duncanson, Secretary Unsecured Loan $15,001–$50,000 Up to 60 Months 6.95% $19.78 Outside the Five Boroughs/ Mario Matos Jr., Long Island Asst.