MSR Mary's Favorite Way to Save!

Do you have a change jar at home or in your car?  Then every now and then you bring the jar into the credit union and cash in all your change.  Amazing how much it all adds up to, isn’t it?  Just that little plastic container could hold over $50!!!  Imagine that!  Even after you had to take quarters out to go to the laundromat!  But have you noticed lately that the change isn’t adding up as fast? Probably because you’re using your debit card more often.  You don’t get change back from your transactions with the card. Now you can! Did you know that with your debit card there is a way to add up all that extra change again? 

It’s called the Debit Card Round-Up, and here’s how it works: Say you go to McDonalds for a large soda, the bill is $1.06 and you use your debit card (don’t laugh, I’ve done it).  McD’s gets their $1.06, but then the debit card rounds your purchase up to the next dollar (so that’s an extra $0.94) and puts the ‘change’ into another account – that could be your savings account, or your kids account, or even your grandkids account!  You could even open up a club account – name it RoundUp or ‘Today you saved’ and see how it adds up!

Here's another example: 

$3.54 at JoToGo                         $0.44 transferred to savings.

$15.78 at Kwik Trip                    $0.22 transferred to savings.

$75.98 at Shopko                        $0.02 transferred to savings.

$53.14 at The Pancake Place.      $0.86 transferred to savings.

Adding all that up – 44 cents from JoToGo, 22 cents from Kwik Trip, 2 cents from Shopko and 86 cents from the Pancake Place totals $1.63.  You’ll see a line in your checking account that says:  Today you saved $1.63, and all that goes to the account you specified!!  Think how often you use your debit card in a day and realize all that ‘change’ can be put to a savings account! 

Now, are there any restrictions on using that money?  Nope, it’s still your money to use as you want.  So every month you can add it all up and spend it, or put it back in checking or just leave it alone to build up, maybe for vacation?!

Post by: Mary D.

Why I love my HCCU Christmas Club Account!

Did you know that Christmas club funds will be disbursed the first week of October? That’s not too far away! I saw on Facebook yesterday that Christmas is only 100 days away! If you really think about it that time is just going to fly by. One of the ways that I prepare myself for the holiday season is by depositing funds into my HCCU Christmas club account on a monthly basis starting the first week in October of the current year until the end of September the following year. Now I know it’s not always easy to save money let alone to save money for Christmas, but it can be easier then you think. For me I put away $25 each time I get paid. Since I am paid on a bi-weekly basis I am putting away $50 a month. That’s $550 per year! I set this up as an automatic transfer so that I don’t physically have to do it myself or even really think about it. If you think putting away $50 a month is difficult think about it this way: What are you currently spending $50 on each month? Can you cut back on those items to put money aside for Christmas? For me I cut back on getting Starbucks coffee and started drinking coffee at work or at home. I also bring a lunch to work instead of going out to lunch. It can really be that simple. During the first week of October HCCU disburses these funds via an automatic transfer into my HCCU checking account and then I have my money to do my shopping. My Christmas club account makes it less stressful to pay for Christmas gifts during the holiday season. The holidays are stressful enough let HCCU take your worries away and open a Christmas club account today! 

Post by: Katie B.

Adopt a pet today at the Humane Society!

Little Sadie Mae loves her HCCU Frisbee! 

We were dog-less for the last seven years, but that all changed this past February. We went to the Bay Area Humane Society to see what they had available to adopt. All of the cages had a dog in them—some even had two dogs! It was so sad to see all of those dogs that were homeless and wanted to be adopted. I wanted to take them all home! There was one puppy that stood out. She was six months old and her name was Puddles. Every time I went by her cage, she wagged her tail and looked at me with her sad brown eyes saying “take me home.”

We weren’t sure if it was the right time to get a dog, so we got in the car and headed home. We didn’t even make it home before we changed our mind. We turned around and headed back to the Bay Area Humane Society to fill out all the needed paperwork. A few days later we were taking our new puppy home! Her name went from Puddles to Sadie Mae.

We love this dog! She brings so much happiness and joy into our lives and Sadie loves being with us. If you are looking for a dog, cat, bunny, guinea pig or any type of pet, check out your local Humane Society. The animals would love to be adopted by you!

Humane Society's in the Area:

Bay Area Humane Society  

1830 Radisson St
Green Bay, WI 54302
920-469-3110

Fox Valley Humane Association
N115 2 Mile Road

Appleton, WI 54914

920-733-1717

Written by: Alice E.

Enter our HCCU anniversary giveaway!

Horizon Community Credit Union will be celebrating its 83rd anniversary by doing a giveaway!

In order to be entered into the drawing you need to do the following:

1. - Take a selfie with anything that has our logo on it. Example: HCCU gear, HCCU signs at front of our building, a photo of our logo, etc. (Please make sure to not post pictures of anything that has your personal information on it!)

OR

- Send in a member testimonial telling us why YOU love HCCU! Find the form here. You can drop this off at any of our locations or email it to: info@horizonccu.com

2. Post it on your Facebook and tag Horizon Community Credit Union. (If you have issues tagging us, feel free to post it on our Facebook page!)

3. SMILE!


Restrictions are:

• Only 1 photo per person! You are more than welcome to post more than once, but you will only be entered into the drawing one time.

• No staff or immediate family members. While we encourage staff and their family members to participate and post pictures, they can’t win the prize, sorry!

• Winner must be able to pick up the prize at either of our locations.

• Giveaway is open to members and nonmembers.

The drawing runs from September 14th, 2015 through September 21st, 2015.
We will announce the winner September 22nd, 2015!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at: (920) 433-0122

Have fun & good luck!

Click here to learn more about Horizon Community Credit Union's history! 

Post by: Karla C.

How to Keep Calm about Your Finances

Is CALM the first word that pops into your mind when you think about your finances? I think if you’re like most people, that’s not the first word… or the second word or any of the words that come to mind. But that can change! There are actually ways to “keep calm” about your finances. Keeping calm means less stress and less thinking about money. Does this sound like something you want? Here’s how to keep calm about your finances:

Set up automatic transfers: Need to save money, send money to your mom, or pay money on your loan? An automatic transfer makes this super easy. If you are depositing your income into one account and need to regularly move that money elsewhere, set up an automatic transfer. The transfer can be sent to a club subaccount, a loan, or another account entirely. It doesn’t cost a thing, plus it won’t cost you time each month manually moving that money around.

Start online bill pay: No one likes paying bills. And while this solution doesn’t mean you can stop paying them, it does mean you can stop stressing about writing checks, sending cash, and hoping it gets there on time. You can pay bills one time or schedule recurring payments; either way they’re paid automatically. Plus you can see your payment history and pending payments. It’s easy to start it up, and more importantly you’ll feel much calmer about paying bills each month.

Keep your information secure: One of the reasons we feel stressed about money is because of all the issues with keeping our information secure. The possibility of things like stolen identities and debit card fraud is enough to stress anyone out. Keeping your passwords secure and disposing of personal information properly are a couple ways you can be proactive about keeping your info secure. Another big way is to choose a financial institution that takes the necessary steps to protect your information.

Here at HCCU, we want to help you keep calm about your finances. That’s why we offer automatic transfer and online bill pay; and that’s why we take steps every day to keep your personal information as secure as possible. Keep Calm and Credit Union On!

Post by: Noelle C.

What's Going on the Grill?

I don’t know about anyone else, but this time of year I get super sick of eating brats, hamburgers and hot dogs. My boyfriend wants to grill out most weekends, but if I have to eat another plain old hamburger or brat I might just have to go on a hunger strike! OK,  not really, but I need some variety in my meals.

I recently became a Pinterest addict. We had our friends over for dinner a couple of weekends ago and, instead of making those plain old hamburgers and brats, I tried to look for a recipe on Pinterest using chicken. 

My boyfriend started grilling when we bought our own house. He had a fear of grilling chicken because chicken tends to dry out if you cook it incorrectly. I found a recipe on Pinterest for a chicken marinade that had so many flavors! I didn’t have to worry about eating any boring plain meat. The marinade calls for beer, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and Cayenne pepper. Sounds good right? Here is the recipe for this flavorful chicken:

Photo and recipe courtesy of Pinterest

Garlic Beer Marinated Chicken

Ingredients:

• 12oz beer
• 6 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
• 6 garlic cloves, minced (I used the minced garlic that you can buy in the jar at the store to save time)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper (this spice was difficult to find. If you are having problems look for Ground Cayenne Red Pepper)
• 2-3 Ib boneless Chicken-You may want to pound chicken to an even thickness before marinating to ensure that the chicken cooks evenly and stays juicy.

Directions:

1. Whisk together beer, lemon juice, olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne in a bowl. 
2. Add chicken and let marinate for 6-12 hours. I like to put a cover on the bowl and shake it around every few hours to make sure the marinade covers all of the chicken.
3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill until done-approximately 12-15 minutes.
4. Serve with your favorite sides. We served ours with salad, buttered noodles and dinner rolls.

Never be a victim of boring grilled meat again. Try this recipe today!  You won’t be sorry.

Happy Grilling!

Written By: Katie B.