Retirement may seem like it’s far off for many of us, but ask anyone who is retired; start putting money away often and early! There is no specific age at which you should or need to retire. It’s all about when you want to retire lining up with when you will have enough money put away to replace the money you make from working. Many people also consider lining up their retirement with Social Security. The earliest you can begin receiving Social Security benefits is 62. However, if you begin claiming at this time (if you were born after 1960), you will sacrifice a portion of your benefits. Full retirement age is 67, although you can further delay your retirement to age 70 to increase benefits.

When Should you Start Saving?retirement planning

In one word? Now. In a few words? In your 20s. We also want to mention that it is never too late to start saving. Every dollar counts and you will thank yourself later for saving. The typical advice is to save 70% to 90% of the annual money you make pre-retirement. For example, a retiree who earns an average of $63,000 per year before retirement should expect to need $44,000 to $57,000 per year in retirement.

What’s the Best Way to Save?

There are a few different options. If your employer offers a 401(k) or other similar options, we suggest you take part in it, especially if they match dollars. You can also open your own retirement savings account. We suggest talking to a financial planner if you want in-depth help. The Family Credit Union can help with some questions you may have and we can help you with a retirement savings account. Contact us today to learn more. The Family Credit Union is here to help you through all stages of your life, including student loans, home loans, auto loans, and more.

College is a Time of Change Be Ready With These Tips From TFCU

Not to state the obvious, but preparing for college is an exciting time in a young person’s life. That being said, it is also a stressful, busy time. With so much to prepare for, getting helpful tips along the way can be a life-saver. At The Family Credit Union, we want all our community’s young people to get a great start, that is why we have some helpful tips that may make the road to college a bit smoother. Your financial well-being is an important thing to be thinking about as you embark on your newest adventure. Truth be told, it will only become more important as you continue down your path. Here are a few things to be thinking about as you get your ducks in a row.

get prepared for college with student loans from TFCU

Build Your Budget: It is never too early to start thinking about budgeting. Learning about creating a budget will set your student up for financial success. Take the time to start considering what your expenses are, and your income, and avoid overspending on things that do not fall within the budget you have created.

Start Building Your Credit: Get a job to start bringing in a steady income. This will allow you to be able to borrow money via a small personal loan or open a credit card. Once you have the card or loan, make your regular payments and wait, your credit will build up in strength over time.

Open a Savings Account: Now that you have a job, it is in your best interest to choose a percentage of your paycheck that you put into savings on a regular basis. By doing so you will start a great habit, and have money for emergency expenses once you get to college.

Research Financial Aid and Student Loans: There are a lot of tools available to discover information about financial aid, including the financial aid office at your college, and online tools such as The Department of Labor’s free scholarship search tool. In addition, TFCU offers student loans in partnership with Sallie Mae® that feature:

  • Competitive interest rates
  • Multiple repayment options
  • No origination fees; no prepayment penalty
  • Smart Option Student Loan® for Undergraduate Students
  • Parent Loans

Contact TFCU For Information About Student Loans (and More!)

At The Family Credit Union, it is our hope that each student in our community gets a great start. If you are in need of a student loan, contact one of our professional staff today for more information. You can also stop into one of our Quad City Area locations to speak with someone directly. We are available to answer questions about loans, as well as savings accounts, and building your credit. We know that getting ready for college means so much change, but with the right steps to prepare, it can be a great change.

 

 

 

What is financial independence? Financial independence is the ability to live comfortably off one’s savings and investments with no debt. While this might seem impossible, it can be easier than you think. If you can create a plan, be disciplined, and have some sort of financial guidance, you can reach your goal. The Family Credit Union has come up with a list of tips to help get you started on your way to financial independence.

holding money

1. Make A Plan

Making a plan is a very important step when working towards becoming financially independent. Think about what your plan should look like, then take time to actually do some research to make sure your plan is attainable.  Each person’s plan is going to be different. Someone who is in their 20s isn’t going to have the same plan as someone who is in their 60s. The longer you have time to save and invest your money, the better. No matter what your age is, be realistic in your plans.

2. Create A Budget

Creating a budget can be an extremely helpful tool in tracking your finances and becoming financially independent. So what does the budget consist of? It is the process of measuring income, subtracting expenses, and helps to figure out where you need to cut costs to reach your goals.

3. Spend Less Than You Make

This is a common rule. According to moneyunder30.com, if you are in your 20s or 30s and can earn an average investment return of 5 percent a year, saving 20 percent of your income will give you a shot at achieving financial independence before you’re too old to enjoy it. If you are married, consider saving a large part of one salary. If you can try to limit your spending and live a lower standard of living, you can help put more money into savings and investments sooner.

4. Get Rid of Debt

According to USA Today, the average American household carries $137,063 in debt. Working to get rid of debt is one of the most effective things you can do to free up money and begin saving.

5. Buy Assets That Create Income

Investing can be a great way to earn money. However, it is important to remember that all markets have ups and downs. Make sure to fully understand what you are investing in and keep your focus on assets that will make you money over the long run. Do your research and read up on investments so you know when to buy low and sell high. Also, make sure to look at the tax ramifications of any investment transaction you make.

6. Always Know Where You Stand Financially

Finances can change all the time. You can’t expect to make one plan and for it to always stay the same. Make sure that your financial planning is flexible enough to withstand both positive and negative changes.

7. Downsize

You don’t need to always be “Keeping up with the Joneses”. If you can cut your overall living expenses, you can reach your goal much faster. Some people choose to sell their home and move to a smaller one or move to an area where living costs and taxes are lower. Others may choose to sell part of their property and put the money into savings or investments.

Being able to pay for and live a comfortable lifestyle is very rewarding. Use these steps to help being your process of becoming financially independent. The Family Credit Union is here for you with all you financial needs. Check out our education center or learn about our financial coaching we offer.

 

Whether you are a freelancer, an hourly employee with hours that fluctuate, or work on commission, your income may be different from month to month. However, just because you have an income that fluctuates, doesn’t mean you can’t manage your money. Check out these tips to learn how to effectively manage your money during a fluctuating income.

#1. Track Your Monthly Spending fluctuating income

Knowing approximately how much money you spend each month will help you to get started on creating a budget. Calculate how much you spend on your necessary expenses such as housing, utilities, groceries, etc.  Once you know the minimum of what you need to pay each month, you will be able to create a budget that is manageable with a fluctuating income.

#2. Calculate Your Monthly Income

Take a look at your income from the past few years. You can calculate what the average is to help prevent yourself from overspending or making purchases that you can’t afford. After you have come up with an average monthly income, determine how much you will have left after you pay your necessary expenses.

#3. Make Prepayments On Bills

In month’s that you have received more income or additional income, make prepayments on your bills. Paying ahead will make a difference during slow months when your income isn’t as high.

#4. Create An Income-Fluctuate Fund

An income fluctuate fund fund is a great spot to put any additional income you receive. This fund can be used to cover expenses when your income fluctuates lower than than usual. Keep this account separate from your emergency account.

Planning is very important when it comes to effectively managing a fluctuating income. You must plan for future expenses and predict when your income will be increasing or decreasing. Plan for now, but save for the future.

The Family Credit Union

The Family Credit Union is here to help our customers manage their hard earned money. Contact us today and we will be happy to assist you with all of your money management needs!

What Is A Health Savings Account?

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a way to save for medical expenses and reduce your taxable income. Individuals can set an HSA up with them as the sole beneficiary or one can be created for an individual and spouse and/or dependents.

Who Is Eligible For A Health Savings Account?

Individuals who are eligible for an HSA have to be enrolled in a High-Deductible Heath Care Plan. These plans may have high deductibles, but typically the monthly premiums are much lower than plans that have lower deductibles. They cover health expenses such as illness or injury and your annual deductibles have to be met before any plan benefits are paid.

Benefits Of Health Savings Account Health Savings Account

  • Tax Deduction: Health Savings Account are deductible from your gross pay or business income. This is beneficial because it gives individuals a large tax deduction and can even put you in a lower tax bracket.
  • Tax-Free Growth: An HSA account allows you to grow and build funds for your future healthcare needs.
  • Tax-Free Withdrawals: The money that you put in your HSA, can also be spent on tax-free qualified medical expenses. Individuals can also take out money right away. Click HERE to see a list of medical expenses that you can use your HSA that are tax free.
  • Convenience: When an individual sets up their HSA, they can go to their local bank and set one up either physically or online. Often time, individuals will get a debit card for their HSA. This allows you to be able to pay for your medical expenses right away.  If you won’t be using the money right away, you can get the help from an IRA custodian.
  • Portable: Your HSA is available even if you change your health insurance plans, change employers, or retire.
  • Retirement: Once you turn 59.5, individuals can withdraw the money from their HSA to non-heath care expenses and then pay federal income taxes on it. The HSA will be treated more like an IRA.

The Family Credit Union

The Family Credit Union is here to help our customers learn more about savings. Contact us today and we will be happy to assist you with all of your money management needs! We look forward to serving you as the #1 choice for credit unions in the Quad Cities area.

It’s the Beginning of a New Yearnew years resolution

Now that 2022 is here, everyone is making New Years resolutions. Have you made one? If you haven’t, we might have a few suggestions for you. Maybe your resolution could be to go back to school, get a car, buy a house, go on a vacation, or simply work towards paying off your debt. There’s something in common with all of these; we can help you achieve each of them. From student loans and vehicle loans to debt consolidation and savings accounts, we have the tools to help you work towards your New Years resolution.

Going Back to School?

College isn’t just a time investment, it’s a financial investment as well. We can help you along. We offer private student loans for the costs that aren’t covered by financial aid. These private loans come with a variety of benefits including no prepayment penalties, interest rate reductions for certain loan borrowers, and lower rates when signing as a creditworthy borrower or cosigning with a creditworthy borrower. These loans are a great option for someone looking to further their education in 2022.

Getting a Car?

Your resolution this year could be to work towards getting a new car. We can help you with a vehicle loan. The Family Credit Union has vehicle loans available for new or used autos, boats, motorcycles, or recreation vehicles. So even if it’s not a car, but a boat or motorcycle, we are here to help. Qualified pre-approvals make it easy for you to get a better arrangement with the dealer knowing you have the cash up front. We’ll help you achieve your goal. Just give us a call today and tell us how we can help you.

You may have heard of a money market account before. It is similar to a savings or checking account, but earns interest that is paid out to you. At Family Credit Union we have our Tiered Interest Account (TIA), which is essentially just our name for a money market account. The Tiered Interest Account is an exciting tiered structure investment that combines a high yield with easy access – the more you save, the more you earn! A minimum balance of $1500 is required to earn dividends. Tiered Interest Accounts yield higher interest daily and are paid monthly.

Learn more about Tiered Interest Accountsmoney market

You can check out our interest rates here. They can change and depend on your balance, but are generally much higher than a normal savings account. If you tend to keep a high balance in your checking or savings account, a money market account (or TIA in our case), may be a great choice for you. Earn returns just for letting your money sit in the account. One of the best parts of a Tiered Interest Account is that the funds are still usable. As long as you keep a minimum balance of $1500, you are able to pull money when you need. Ask about the benefits of a Tiered Interest Account. We would be happy to explain how a Tiered Interest Account can help you.

By Gregg Early from Geezeo, a Fiserv company

emergency fundFebruary may be the shortest month of the year, but it has more than its share of ‘surprise’ holidays. What I mean, are holidays like Valentine’s Day and President’s Day, that kind of sneak up on you.

The problem is, they also sneak up on your members as well. A long weekend and a romantic holiday can cost some serious money, just 6 weeks out from Christmas.

And this year, the government shutdown also added to a lot of people’s financial surprises.

The fact is, consumers tend to not to take them into consideration and it’s why many consumers end up using their savings as their emergency fund. Or worse, they drop these surprises on their credit cards and hope to pay them down when they get around to it.

In most people’s case, “emergencies” like these make saving hard.

According to personal finance site Bankrate.com, 29% of consumers have more credit card debt than they do savings. That number has grown nearly 50% since the same question was asked last year.

It has also been reported that 60% of Americans don’t have $1000 cash on hand for an emergency room visit or a major car repair. While wages have been growing, “real” wages (accounting for inflation and cost of living) have declined 1.3% since 2017, according to salary comparison site Payscale.com.

That’s why 7 million vehicle owners in the US are 3 months behind on their car payments. And it’s a testament to the fact that while the economy is doing well, it doesn’t mean everyone in it is sharing those good times.

Credit Unions see this better than anyone. That’s why it’s important for CUs to reach out to their members and encourage them to put some funds aside every paycheck and build an emergency fund.

Ideally, it should be a separate savings account that members can add to for unexpected or unplanned for events. This emergency fund is a buffer between high-interest credit cards and tapping into savings.

During this time of year, this is a powerful message because most people spend their tax refunds on paying off this credit card debt or replenishing their depleted savings. But this year, refunds have been slowed by the government shutdown, and they’re also averaging almost 10% lower than last year.

Plus, many people see their tax refunds more as “fun money” than a way to build a long-term financial strategy, no matter how well-intentioned they were before the refund check arrived.

That’s why this is a great time to remind your members that having an emergency fund isn’t hard and makes a lot of sense. And there’s no better time to start it.

Setting up an emergency fund (i.e., a dedicated savings account that they can easily set up with you) is the first step and tell them how easy that is and how socking a little away every month, means the big and little unexpected things aren’t so daunting. Also, if you have a PFM, having them add it to your PFM can help them keep tabs on their savings and spending goals.

The name of the game is setting a little money aside over time, so it accumulates into something real and substantial. For example, the average spending on Valentine’s Day is $220 per person. Instead of sticking Valentine’s Day on a credit card, if members were socking away $50 a week – slightly more than $7 a day – since January, they would have Valentine’s Day covered without reaching for a credit card or moving over savings.

Setting up budgets and spending goals in their PFM is a great solution to help them do this. And they don’t have to itemize each event – keep it general at first, like Holidays, Car Maintenance, etc. Just putting in a small amount over time makes a big difference.

If they’re moving toward budgeting their money more strategically, they can truly enjoy the good things in life and take a lot of the stress out of the bad ones.

Stay Healthy with a Health Savings Account

It’s the beginning of a new year, and it’s a great time to start thinking about a health savings account. A health savings account, also known as an “HSA“, goes hand-in-hand with a high deductible health plan (HDHP). This account is NOT an insurance plan, and it could lower your health care costs through its ability to pay for day-to-day eligible medical expenses. This tax-advantaged plan works like a normal savings account; withdraw cash and transfer money to a checking account so you can pay for medical expenses.

Works for You for the Rest of Your Life

Create an HSA today to protect your family and yourself from overwhelming health care costs. It gives you more freedom of choice when selecting a health care plan. Flexibility can be useful when looking at plans. It also moves with you, no matter what job you have! This option is also great for anyone who wants to plan ahead for retirement, as well. The HSA can be used even after you retire! The health savings account will continue to grow, tax-free, even if you don’t pay into it regularly. There are a number of benefits to an HSA including:

  • No Minimum Balance
  • Monthly Dividends
  • Tax Savings (consult your tax advisor for specifics)
  • Balances will rollover from year to year
  • A year-end statement for tax purposes

If you would like to learn more about a health savings account, or if you are interested in opening one with us here at The Family Credit Union, just give us a call. A representative will help answer your questions or begin the process of opening one for you! We hope to hear from you soon.

What Is The Gig Economy?

Many people have heard of the gig economy, but what exactly is it? The gig economy is an environment where temporary positions are the norm and organizations create contracts with independent workers for short-term work. This provides workers with more flexibility, exposure, and allows them to create a bigger portfolio. However, the gig economy doesn’t provide a predictable paycheck or employer-sponsored savings or health coverage. This means that workers are less likely to be saving.  If you are considering joining the gig economy or already part of it, follow these three steps to save.

#1: Save Automatically the gig economy

Saving automatically is an easy and effective way to increase savings while working in the gig economy. Since most paychecks are directly deposited into one’s back account, employees should have some of their money transferred into a checking account and some of it put into a savings account. Workers will be increasing their savings, while less likely to spend it.

#2: Create An Emergency Fund

An emergency fund is a fund that does not have easy accessibility. It is important for workers who do not have a steady paycheck to have an emergency fund because the fund can help cover any unexpected or unavoidable expenses that may come up. An emergency fund can help you pay these unexpected expenses without going into debt. Learn more about emergency funds by clicking HERE.

#3: Open A Retirement Account

Just because you don’t have an employer-sponsored retirement account, doesn’t mean you still can’t save up for retirement. It is possible to still save for retirement with Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). The two types of IRAs are traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. Both types have different rules and offer different tax benefits. It is important to choose the IRA that will best meet your individual needs.

The Family Credit Union

The gig economy provides many opportunities for employees. However, saving while being a part of it is extremely important. If you would like to learn more about ways to save or setting up an IRA, The Family Credit Union is here to help. Visit our website today to learn more about the different services we offer. We look forward to hearing from you.