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.

Step into the 21st Century with online and phone banking!

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Now more than ever, banking is high tech. Go back twenty years and we didn’t have nearly as many convenient ways to control our finances. It can be easy to get overwhelmed with all of the opportunities, and so it’s possible you’re not taking full advantage of them. To break it down a little bit, there are three main ways you can use technology to make your financial life easier.

1) Online Banking. This is a huge one because of how many things you can do with it and how easy it is to access. Most banks and credit unions offer some type of online banking. Here at HCCU, you can get to your online banking from any mobile device or computer at any time. From there, you can check your balances, transfer money, view and print copies of cleared checks, make a loan payment, balance your check book, and a lot more. You are automatically enrolled in online banking when you set up an account with us, and you’re free to check it as little or as much as you want.

2) Phone Banking. If you have your phone handy, but don’t have access to Internet, don’t fret. There’s still plenty of ways to have peace of mind about your finances. One of those ways is through CU Talk, an automated number that can be used to check balances, verify amounts and dates of transactions and cleared checks, transfer money, make loan payments and check interest rates. The second way is through text banking. This is especially great for doing a quick balance check while you’re in line to purchase something.

3) Online Statements/ Bill Pay. If you’re using online banking, why not get online statements? They’re more secure than paper statements, and you can access current and past statements anytime. Online Bill Pay is another free service that allows you to pay bills just one time or monthly. It saves you a few stamps, and it’s one less thing to worry about each month.

Overall, there are some tech options out there that are free, convenient, and will probably save you some time. So figure out which ones are best for you, ask an MSR how to get set up for any of these services and step into the 21st century!  

Post by: Noelle C.