Ways to Save Money

Here are some money saving tips that are easy to do and actually work! I recommend keeping track of how much money you actually save by doing some of these; otherwise you may feel like it’s not really impacting your life. Truthfully, right away it may not seem like it but by bringing lunch to work three times a week can save you anywhere between $15-45. These money saving ideas really can add up and make you feel like you have a money tree!

- Use those coupons! - If you are really into coupons you could learn how to become an expert at extreme couponing!

- Make coffee at home - That way you aren’t spending $2-8 on something that can be done at home for less.

- Always try and pay off your credit card at the end of the month – no one wants to spend money on unneeded interest

- Bring lunch to work – it beats spending $5-15

- Make a list before you go out to do any shopping – you are more likely to stick to your list and spend less money

- Dine in more than you eat out

- Don’t pay for space you don’t need – I think this is a big thing nowadays. People think they need big houses to rent or buy but in the end it cost more money to heat/cool them causing you to spend unnecessary money for space you don’t necessarily NEED.

- Turn off the T.V. & Shut off the lights– This one seems like a no brainer but can be over looked sometimes.

Helpful Tip:
If you want a pair of shoes that cost $60 and you make an hourly wage of $10, think to yourself are these really worth 6 hours of work. Sometimes, all it takes is thinking about the amount of work it would take to pay for a single item to put things back into perspective.

Photo Courtesy of patheos.com

Post by: Chelsea F.

Four Financial Moves Every College Grad Must Make ASAP

Tis the season—there are graduations almost every weekend! For those who’ve just graduated college, the future may seem a bit frightening. Don't worry-- Suze Orman has some solid advice. If her name sounds familiar, it should. Suze Orman is considered a “force in the world of personal finance,” and her advice is trusted by many. Here’s some of the advice she has for college graduates:

1. Get On Top of Your Student Loans: Yes, you have a six-month grace period before repayment of federal loans must begin. Don’t you dare wait five months and three weeks before focusing on this. Screw up on repayment is one of the most damaging mistakes you can ever make, and it becomes both hard and expensive to get on track if you fall behind. 

2. Make Sure You Have Health Insurance: If you haven’t yet started a job with benefits, or you’re taking a gap year, please don’t go naked here. Yes, the odds are low you might get sick, but insurance is about protecting yourself from the big “what ifs.” Besides, it’s not just about illness; any type of injury can set you back, from a broken bone to a torn ACL. If your parents have health insurance from an employer they should be able to carry you on that policy until you are 26, for a cost. Ask them to find out the cost, then compare it to what you can purchase for yourself (Go to healthcare.gov). If you and your parents decide it’s best to go with their plan, and you have a paying job, you should pay your share of their premium, or at the very least contribute. You’re their kid, but you are also an adult now. 

3. Get a Credit Card…if You Don’t Already Have One: As much as I applaud using just a debit card—paying as you go, rather than being tempted to overspend with a credit card—it still is important to have a credit card as well. The goal is to use it just a few times each month—for small purchases. And then pay your bill, in full, each month. Doing that is going to go a long way in establishing a solid credit score.
Automate Savings ASAP. Okay, you know how I feel about the emergency fund. And you know how I feel about saving for retirement. Both are non-negotiable Must Do’s—and the sooner the smarter. I respect you may not have a big income just yet. But please listen to me: that’s not an excuse for doing nothing. You need to do something—save something—every month.

Emergency Savings: Set up an automatic monthly transfer (it should be free) from your checking account into a separate savings account. How much? Well, how much feels right? Then add 10% to that number. That’s my challenge. Just try it for six months. I think you will surprise yourself at how doable it is, and how powerful it feels to start building an emergency savings account. 

Retirement Savings: If you are offered a workplace retirement plan that comes with a company matching contribution, you better grab it. Be sure to confirm that you are contributing enough to qualify for the maximum match from your boss. It’s sad, but many companies set the “default” contribution rate for new employees at such a low level that the employee doesn’t get all the matching contribution they are entitled to. Don’t make that mistake!

If you don’t have a retirement plan through work, or the plan doesn’t offer a match, the best first-step for new grads is to start saving via a Roth IRA. Again, you can set up a monthly transfer from a checking account into a Roth IRA investment account. Some discount brokerages, such as TDAmeritrade don’t have a high minimum initial investment, so you can get started transferring say $100 or so a month into a Roth IRA.



We can help you here at Horizon Community Credit Union-don’t hesitate to call! An MSR can help you with savings accounts, automatic transfers, or IRA's.  You can also talk to a loan officer about a credit card!

Post by: Breanna B.

Six Steps to Your Own Pot of Gold

During the month of March, you can hardly escape the Irish jokes and the little leprechaun figurines. You may think to yourself "That lucky little leprechaun, always finding a pot of gold. I wish I could find a pot of gold!" Don’t deny it, it’s true. You've thought it at least once in your lifetime.

What if I told you that you could find a pot of gold? Or that you might already have it? You might think I've gone crazy. Nope! You have the power to create that pot of gold, simply by saving!

I've encountered many people that balk at saving, and have excuses like "It’s too hard" or "I don't make enough to save" or "I just can’t." There’s no such word as "can’t," and it’s not hard at all. Trust me, I know, I've been an anti-saver. Working at HCCU and other personal experiences have shown me how important saving can be as of late, and I want to spread the message on to you! If you’re able to save, you can give yourself peace of mind by putting away enough to cover unforeseen expenses or save up for a future purchase. Let me give you a few tools/ideas to help you save.

Transfer money: Put a given amount into your savings account at a given interval. For example, you could set aside $50 from each paycheck. You can do this manually or schedule it through ItsMe247 Online Banking (also known as OLB). You can also come into any branch and ask a Member Representative to transfer that money or help you set up an Automatic Funds Transfer.

Open a Club Account: Heck, open as many club accounts as you need. I suggest this because having a savings account allotted for a specific goal helps make that goal real. I have a club account that’s titled "Rent," and that’s where I place a portion of my paycheck. Doing this helps keep it separate from my other money and keeps me from accidentally spending it during the month. The account can be opened with a Member Service Representative, and you can nickname the account anything you want through your OLB.

Debit Card Round-up: This is a fantastic tool we've just rolled out this year. As it sounds, this service rounds up your debit card purchases. Here’s an example: You bought a coffee with your debit card for $2.50. The system rounds that total up to $3.00. The $2.50 goes to the vendor, but that extra $0.50 goes into a savings account of your choice at the end of each day. If you make multiple debit card purchases in a day, the sum of all that rounded changed is placed in your account. If you have any more questions about this, or to enroll, call or go see a Member Service Representative.

Avoid Fees: Avoiding fees will help keep those pennies in your pockets. There are three ways to avoid fees. The first is managing your money well. If you don’t manage your money well, you are likely to encounter fees from overdraft transfers, NSF fees or Regulation D fees. The second way to avoid fees is to make your payments on time. Late fees are just extra money out of your pocket! The last way to avoid fees is to use all your resources. For example, avoid incurring a $2 fee for a phone transfer done by a Member Service Representative by using OLB or the CU*Talk automated phone banking instead.

Budget: I don’t care who you are, you need a budget in order to maintain a good financial position. Allot a certain amount to various costs and stick to it. I aim to be a bit under budget if possible, because that allows me to save a little more.

Track Your Expenses: Truthfully, this has been the most helpful thing for me. You can use a little notebook, or one of the many apps available in the Google Play Store or the App Store. I am usually attached to my phone, so I use an app. I have to manually update each transaction in the app, so I reconcile it daily with ItsMe247 Online Banking, to make sure I haven’t missed something.

Even if you only try a couple of these, I’m sure you’ll be able to find your own pot of gold—it’s been there all along!

Post by: Breanna B.

Pay off your holiday debt AND save money doing it!

Cleaning up your debt from the holidays quickly will put you in a much better financial position for the rest of the year, and having a low interest rate will give you the opportunity to pay it off much faster.  There are lots of credit card offers out there, and it can all seem very confusing.  So how should you tackle it?

First, check with the credit cards you use to see if they are offering any specials.  Many places run balance transfer special periodically.  A couple important things to find out are, what is the special rate, how long is that rate in effect, will the rate go up if I make a payment late one month, what will my rate be if I still have a balance remaining after the special rate has expired, is there a maximum amount I can transfer, and is there a fee to do a balance transfer (if so, find out how much).  Next, compare your offers to see which one is best for you.

  

Now that you have found the right offer, gather all your credit card statements, and see which cards you are paying the highest interest on.  If you’re not sure which ones to move, call one of our friendly loan officers and make an appointment to go through your statements and find the best plan to get your credit card debt paid up.  You will be amazed at how much money you will save!

 

While you are comparing offers, make sure you check with us for more details on our special!  We are offering 0% APY*until 12/31/2015, but you have to do the balance transfer between 1/1/2015 and 2/28/2015 in order to take advantage of this great offer.  One biggie is that there is NO TRANSFER FEE!  That can be hard to find!  Don’t worry if you don’t have our VISA credit card yet, it’s easy to apply online at www.horizonccu.com and we can have an answer for you in a jiffy.

Whether you go with our offer or another, the important thing is to get your debt paid down and pay as little in interest as possible.  At HCCU we want to help you do that, so if you need some help or guidance, come talk to us!  Remember, success is on YOUR horizon…

*Offer valid on transfer done by a HCCU employee between 1/1/15 and 2/28/15.  APR is Annual Percentage Rate.  Balance transfer at special rate of 0%APR applies to HCCU VISA Classic, Platinum, and Home Equity Cards.  Special Rate does NOT apply to cash advances or convenience checks.  Rate is subject to change on 12/31/2015.  See a member service representative for credit card account details and disclosures.

Post by: Cari J

The 52 Week Savings Challenge!

So, it’s the time of year where we are all about spending money, whether it’s for gifts, visits to family, donations to charity, or for the fantastic meals that you’ve been dreaming about all year. It seems that everything around you is telling you to buy, buy, buy, so it may seem like a weird time to talk about saving your money, but we all have to start somewhere!

About a year ago, I found a cool savings challenge that I wanted to try. I’ve struggled for years to save enough money so that I would have a comfortable margin for error- if my car broke down, if an unexpected bill hit, etc- but nothing seemed to motivate me enough to actually start saving. Sure, when the problem was right in front of me, I would say that tomorrow I would start, but tomorrow is always just a little too late to help. The challenge I found seemed relatively easy, and since it was basically a competition, I was going to WIN.

For each week of the year, you put aside another dollar. So, the first week is one dollar, the second is two dollars, the third is three, etc. The most you ever have to do is $52, and that’s at the end of the challenge. By then, you’ve seen your money growing, and feel a sense of real pride. At the end of the year, you have an additional $1378!

If you started the challenge right now, this week, you would have enough saved next year to have a spectacular Christmas season, or perhaps something put aside to start paying for that new car, because the old one just keeps breaking. It’s also rather convenient to have a small fund to “borrow” from, something I’ve done at least three times this year. If I hadn’t been challenging myself, I wouldn’t have had enough to get my car repaired when the brakes went out, I wouldn’t have been able to purchase a new laptop when the old one refused to turn back on, and I wouldn’t have been able to pay my rent one month when the money from a paycheck was going to be a week later than I had anticipated.

And because I’m addicted to a challenge, I have two going on at the same time, about two months apart. When this is all done, I’ll have almost $3000 saved in just over a year, and that’s something I haven’t ever done before. It’s enough to replace the car that keeps breaking, or take a little vacation, or perhaps to save for another rainy day. I do know that I’ll be doing this again next year, and maybe this time I’ll put it in an Add-On CD, so that I won’t be able to touch it unless there’s an emergency. Maybe that will encourage some better fiscal planning on my part. This challenge certainly has. 

Post by: Liz R

Coupon Craze

Need a new hobby that will save you money? Start couponing! It will be worth your time and effort! “I don’t have time for it” is probably what you’re thinking. I said the exact same thing. We’ve all seen, or at least heard, the show “Extreme Couponers” where people fill up their store carts and pay little to nothing for the entire transaction. How can you do that too? Read the tips below to start saving!

Tips for couponing:

· Purchase newspapers. Make sure to purchase 4 Sunday newspapers, this is where you are able to find most coupons. Since most coupons state “limit 4 like coupons per household per day”, a good rule is to purchase 4 newspapers, therefore, allowing you to buy maximum amount of products.

· Per Purchase vs. Per Transaction. When a coupon says “Limit 1 coupon per purchase”, per purchase means per item, NOT a transaction.
          Ex. If I buy 4 toothbrushes, I can use 4 coupons; one coupon per item.

· Stack/combine your coupons. Make sure to use manufacturer coupons and store coupons together. You are allowed to do this unless stated otherwise in the stores coupon policy. You cannot stack a manufacturer coupon with another manufacturer coupon, the same with store coupons.
          Ex. If I buy 4 toothbrushes, I can use 4 manufacturer coupons and 4 store coupons.

· Know the stores coupon policy. You always want to make sure you are up-to-date with updates done by the company.

· Don’t buy everything. Once you get a good deal, you don’t want to stop. However, a good rule is to buy only what you need. Otherwise, you will be spending more money than you need to.

Still don’t see where you can save? Read my shopping trip below for a better idea.

I went to a local store in town which had a sale: buy three (3) oral care products and receive a $5 gift card. I bought three (3) tubes of toothpaste, each for $3.99 bringing me to a total of $11.97 before taxes. I had three (3) manufacturer coupons for the toothpaste each for $2 and three (3) $1 store coupons that I also used for the products, bringing me down to a grand total of $2.97 before taxes. But remember, since I bought three oral care products, I also received a $5 gift card back. So really, I got three tubes of toothpaste for FREE and got back $2.03 as a credit. How awesome is that!

The math:
3 toothpastes @ $3.99 each = 3 x $3.99 = $11.97 (subtotal before coupons & taxes)
3 toothpaste manufacturer coupons @ $2 each = 3 x $2 = -$6.00
3 toothpaste store coupons @ $1 each = 3 x $1 = -$3.00
Total after coupons: $2.97 (subtotal before taxes)
Receive $5 gift card for purchase of 3 oral care products -$5.00
Final Price for 3 tubes of toothpaste: FREE with $2.03 credit

Couponing has now become an exciting hobby for me! Although it does take time to sort through coupons and deals, it will definitely be worth your time! Saving has never been so much fun!

Post by: Kelly V.

A Cheesehead

Being a cheesehead and going to a Green Bay Packer game is fun, exciting and costly. 

Average game ticket $77.00

Parking spot $20.00

Draft beer $9.00

Soda $5.00

Hot dog $6.00 

Peanuts $5.00

For a family of 4 it would cost approximately $400.00. 

If you were to watch the game at home...

Tickets and parking are free

12 pack of beer $10.00

12 pack of soda $5.00

8 hot dogs and buns $7.00

Big bag of peanuts $6.00

Total cost $28.00. 

That’s a savings of $372.00! Being a cheesehead at home saves you a lot of money!! 

Also, no line for the bathroom – priceless!

Post by: Alice E

How to start a savings when saving seems impossible...

For most people, saving money is as simple as adjusting a few little habits!  Don't believe me?

1) If you buy yourself a coffee everyday on your way to work, skip one day and put that amount into savings. Average Starbucks coffee $5.00. Savings $260.00 in a year.

2) If you smoke, instead of a pack a day, cut back a little each day and bring it down to 6 packs a week. Average cost of a pack of cigarettes $8.00.  Savings in a year $416.00.

3) If you buy lunch out everyday and spend and average of $9.00, pack your lunch twice a week.  You'll save $18.00 a week.  Accumulated savings in one year $936.00.

4) If you buy a soda everyday at the convenience store at an average cost of $1.69, skip the soda three times a week and you will have saved $263.00 in a year, don’t buy soda at the convenience store at all, savings total for the year $615.16. 

*With all of these changes, cutting back will not only benefit your wallet but your health as well.  And that will save you even more in the long run!

Everyone deserves a treat, but we all deserve security too, so you don’t have to go cold turkey.  Take baby steps to start. When you see the savings growing you will be more motivated to make more small changes that equal big results.

So when we think it is impossible to start a savings account, remember there is always a way!  And not only will you be saving for security and peace of mind, but you will also enjoy a sense of accomplishment.

Post by: Lori S

Photo Courtesy of photouten at freedigitalphotos.net

Tips for Road Trips

Packing a cooler with drinks and bringing snacks and sandwiches along on a road trip is a smart thing to do.  Everyone gets thirsty and hungry on trips, so bringing your own goodies will save you money along the way.  (It's also healthier than a candy bar or a Big Mac!)  

Let's say you're on a road trip... You stop to get gas on your trip and you go inside the gas station to pay for your gas. You notice that a bottle of water cost $1.50. You paid $3.00 for a whole case at the local grocery store before you left.  A loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter cost around $5.00.  That’s almost the cost of a single sandwich at the gas station or fast food restaurant!  A bunch of bananas costs around a $1.00.  You’d  pay that for just one.  So pack up your sandwiches, beverages, fruit and veggies.  You can eat them along the way or stop and have a nice picnic.  Think of all the money you will save!  And who doesn't need a little more spending money on vacation?!

Post by: Alice E

Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

7 Steps to Back to School Shopping

Back to school shopping is not something I enjoy, and I don’t know many parents that do enjoy it.  Typically it involves overspending and a few arguments about why we “need” to spend $2.50 on a folder with kittens on it instead of $0.19 on a purple folder.  Can you tell I have a daughter?  And we aren’t even touching on the wardrobe part of back-to-school shopping….that is a whole other experience for later.

Here are some tips to help make it a more enjoyable and less expensive experience.  I swear this is not a paid Target ad; it’s just where I shop a lot.  There are other stores mentioned too, but I’d like to hear from you too, because there are SO many great resources out there to help make this back-to-school shopping thing easier!  What tips do you have?  Do you have a favorite shopping or organization app that you use and can’t live without?  Do you have a go-to website for scoring deals?  Please post a comment and share what you use!

1.     Get your kids’ school supply list, and go right to the school website to make sure it’s accurate.  There are some sites out there that claim to have school supply lists for all or most schools, but comparing the lists on some of those sites to the lists on the school site, they aren’t the same and you will end up buying things you don’t need.  Here are some links you may find helpful: 

a.       Green Bay School District

b.      Ashwaubenon School District

c.       DePere School District

d.      West DePere School District

e.      Howard-Suamico School District

f.        Oconto School District

g.       Luxemburg-Casco School District

h.      Kewaunee School District

2.     Check your supplies at home to see what you have.  If you’re like me, every year during back to school shopping there are a few supplies that you get extra of, in case you need more ½ way through the year.  I mean, I would rather buy 4 boxes of crayons in August for $0.25 each than buy 1 in August for a quarter, and then have to buy another box in January and pay $2.99 for it.  If you don’t remember to take stock before you go shopping each year though, you end up with a TON of extra supplies!

3.     Next, make a list of what you still need, and be specific so that you get the right things!  Everyone has their preference for paper vs. electronic lists, so use what you’re comfortable with.  If you like electronic, try Evernote (I love it and use it all the time for notes on just about everything…the wine I had and LOVED at dinner, where I parked at the airport (that can be REALLY hard to remember a week or two later!), things I actually need from Target (otherwise I will just stroll through the store putting all kinds of cute things that I do NOT need in my cart), books I want to read, the list of lists I keep in Evernote goes on and onJ  Another one I’ve heard good things about is Ziplist.  Check them out and see if either looks good to you!

4.     Budget and set limits.  It may not be fun, but it is essential.  Know what you want to spend, whether you come up with that number per child, or per item that you have to buy, don’t get sucked in to upgrading every supply and spending a fortune.

5.     Find coupons and use apps to save money.  If you get the newspaper, check the ads for coupons, check the mail for special fliers (they seem to be in my mailbox every other day now), and go online to the website of the store you are going to and print off coupons.  While you are at store websites, you can also typically put in your email address to receive special offers right in your inbox. 

Make some notes of what store has the best deals for the supplies you need.  Or just grab ads from other stores and shop at Staples, where they have a 110% price match guarantee.  If you show them the identical item for less somewhere else when you are purchasing the item, they will match the lower advertised price PLUS give you an additional 10% off.  If you show them the item for less after you already purchased it, they will simply refund the difference to you.

I personally don’t use a ton of apps, but one that I really like is Cartwheel for Target.  You browse through Cartwheels deals and put the things that interest you into your cart.  When you are checking out, you have them scan your barcode from the app, and presto!  It’s like magic – all those discounts come right off!

Now you are ready to shop!  (Don’t forget to take your notes and coupons!)

6.     You are now entering the store….STICK TO YOUR LIST!  I know, it’s HARD!  I have problems sticking to my list too, and then if you have your kids along it’s even harder because they ask for EVERYTHING, and they ask REPEATEDLY, and sometimes they just wear you down and you give in.  Be prepared.  You have your list.  Explain to the kiddos before you enter the store that you are there to buy what is on the list and only what is on the list.  Or you can give them 1 bonus item, or give them each a couple “bonus bucks” they can spend on whatever fun supply they want for school that isn’t on the list, or maybe they want to upgrade and get the “fancy” folders instead of the plain ones.  Well, then they can use their “bonus bucks” to get the fancy folders.

7.     Don’t be afraid to shop around.  You do not have to buy all your supplies in one trip or at one store; in fact you will probably pay more if you buy everything at one store.  If you took notes while perusing the newspaper or looking online for coupons, then you already know what to buy where.  Pick up the great deals at one store, then head to the next store to pick up the things they have the best prices on. 

If you didn’t check ads or check prices online, have no fear!  There are apps for that too.  Check out NowDiscount, Store It, Buy Via, Redlaser, or Shop Savvy.

P.S. Horizon CCU has a Tools 4 Schools campaign now until August 29^th, where we collect school supplies for Nicolet Elementary and Martin Elementary Schools.  We are also taking monetary donations to buy some of the supplies they need.  The donations will be given to the schools and handed out to the children who do not have the supplies they need to do their school work.
 
Pat Josephson, HCCU’s President, will take a pie in the face if Tools 4 Schools raises $500 or more in cash donations!  Interested in helping see that happen???  Drop your supplies or cash donations at either branch or contact us.

We also saw (right after launching our Tools 4 Schools campaign) that Shopko is partnering with the Salvation Army for their annual Tools for Schools campaign (I guess the name is catchy!), which collects school supplies which are then distributed by the Salvation Army.  Collection boxes for supplies are in Shopko stores until August 8^th.


P.P.S. Did you know that some stores give a portion of sales back to area schools?  Office Depot and Target (if you have their RedCard) both do this, and there may be others too.  You may need to choose your school online before you shop, so check out the links above. 


P.P.P.S. Have you heard of Yoobi?  This amazing company makes school supplies (which are adorable), PLUS for every Yoobi item that you purchase, one Yoobi item will be donated to a classroom in need right here in the U.S.!   Their best sellers are available online  and are also sold exclusively at Target.

Post by: Cari J