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Empower your financial future

March 3, 2023 • By Kevin Alvarez

Saving At Any Age — America Saves Week

Saving. Do you view it as an ongoing journey? Or do you consider saving as someplace you arrive at? At America Saves we are in the camp that saving is a habit, not a destination. And it’s a habit that can be formed at any age. Whether you are a parent trying to instill this habit in your children or you want to change your own saving behaviors, there are strategies that savers of all ages can develop.

Research tells us that children’s money habits are often formed by age seven so starting early to teach them about saving can have a huge impact. Many parents are accustomed to hearing frequent requests from their children about a toy, game, or piece of clothing that they “just have to have.” Sound familiar? Using these wants is a great way to help children learn to save.

Children can learn to set a saving goal and figure out how long it will take to save enough money for their goal. Create a fun system to track progress, provide regular encouragement, and use incentives such as matching funds. Talk about how it feels to see your money grow. And don’t forget to lead by example – show children how you are saving.

Saving at any age

You can also give children the opportunity to make some decisions about their money. Empowering children from a young age to make choices about money they earn or receive as gifts is a great way to build that confidence.

For young adults, as they begin to earn a regular and potentially higher income, a strong foundation begins with basic understanding of the difference between needs and wants. The America Saves Spending and Saving Tool is an easy-to-use resource that provides a clear view of your finances and can be insightful in identifying essential and discretionary spending. The system of automatic saving, especially through paychecks with split deposit, can set young adults on the path to a lifelong saving habit.

It can be hard to stay motivated when setting aside money for something in the future no matter what your age. It’s easy to focus on what you want in the moment — we don’t want to wait to purchase that expensive pair of sneakers. We want to take a trip in the next three months. Retirement is so far off that it feels OK to spend more of your current income right now and catch up later. In each of these scenarios, we aren’t thinking about our future selves, just who we are and what we want today.

Thinking of our future self – what we will want, what we will be doing, what we will believe – is one way we can develop a saving mindset. Asking questions about our future selves helps us create a vision for our future. For example, consider:

  • Where does your future self live?
  • What does a typical day look like for your future?
  • What hobbies does your future self enjoy?
  • How much money does your future self earn?

Later go back and read your answers to see how they compare to the present. Having the ability to look ahead, even if it’s a short time in the future, is a great way to reinforce saving today for tomorrow. This exercise can be done at any age, even with children.

Journeys can take us on many different paths and saving journeys are no different. So stay with America Saves as you and your family embark on a new journey or resume one that encountered a detour. It’s never too late to #ThinkLikeASaver.

SafeAmerica Credit Union is here to help you on your savings journey. Check out all the Savings opportunities we have to offer.

Savings accounts

October 20, 2022 • By Kevin Alvarez

International Credit Union Day 2022

The 74th anniversary of International Credit Union (ICU) Day is Thursday October 20, 2022. This year, we celebrate together as a global movement that encourages you to Empower Your Financial Future with a Credit Union™

ICU Day celebrates the spirit of the global credit union movement. The day is recognized to reflect upon the credit union movement's history, promote its achievements, recognize hard work and share member experience.

ICU Day is brought to you by the champions of the credit union movement, The World Council of Credit Unions and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). Together we all contribute to helping spread the belief of all people having access to affordable, reliable and sustainable financial services for all our members, meeting them at their financial terms.

Fun Facts About Credit Unions and How They Differ From Banks

Bank
For profit
Owned by Stakeholders
Insured by FDIC
Anyone can join
Proprietary branches and ATMs
Objective: to maximize profits
Stakeholders benefit
Credit Union
Not for profit
Owned by members
Insured by NCUA (or privately insured)
Community-based membership
Shared branches and ATMs
Objective: to meet members needs
Members benefit
  1. The first true credit unions were established in Germany in 1852 and 1864.
  2. President Roosevelt signed the Federal Credit Union Act in 1934 to promote thriftiness and prevent usury during the Great Depression.
  3. Credit union membership eligibility is pretty flexible and open to most based on where you live.
  4. Credit union members are entitled to vote for their board members or directors.
  5. Credit unions are able to offer better rates and lower/fewer fees than banks.
  6. Many credit unions participate in shared branches and ATMs, which means you can visit other participating credit unions for access to your accounts, making it a larger network than most big banks.
  7. Once you're a member, you're always a member, regardless of where you live.
  8. All credit unions require you to have a share (savings) account. Even if you only want a loan. It acts as your "share of ownership".
  9. There are currently over 86,000 credit unions that operate in 118 countries worldwide.
  10. You are one of the 375 million credit union members today!

What is a Credit Union?

ICU Day Member Empowerment

Click here to view more educational videos.

Thank you!

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you, our valued members, who help make SafeAmerica Credit Union what it is today.

International Credit Union Day

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