In This Issue. SMCU Presents Keep Your Coffee

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1 In This Issue SMCU Presents Keep Your Coffee... Pages 1 What is Phishing and How Can You Avoid It?... Page 2 Northgate Branch Moving to Thornton Place... Page 2 Free Seminar: Retirement Income Planning... Page 3 Five Important Steps to Buying and Financing Your Next New Car... Page 3-5 Congratulations to our 2013 Scholarship Winners... Page 5 Summer Holiday Closures... Page 5 SMCU Presents Keep Your Coffee When the big banks talk about saving money, what is the first thing they tell you? Stop buying coffee and stash that money away. While that s not terrible advice, this is Seattle; coffee is in our blood. Cutting out your daily latte is a big sacrifice and a really hard way to save over the long term. Before you give up the little things you enjoy, take a look at your big monthly expenses, like your mortgage or your credit card debt. This is where you can save real money with one easy switch instead of a long-time sacrifice. For example, if you refinance your mortgage and cut your rate by just one percent, you could save hundreds of dollars a month. That s tens of thousands over the life of your loan. Plus, once you refinance, your savings are on autopilot, and you can go back to living your life, coffee included. When you reduce your big expenses, you have more money to enjoy the small things. That s what we mean when we say Keep Your Coffee. Visit smcu.com/keepyourcoffee to learn about some of the great places to find extra money without overhauling your life. 1

2 What is Phishing and How Can You Avoid It? Phishing, one of the most popular scamming techniques, takes place when people pretend to be from well-known companies, organizations, or government agencies and trick you into giving them personal information, such as your Social Security number or financial account information. How to recognize phishing scams One of the best ways to avoid phishing scams is being able to recognize them. Here are a few common characteristics of phishing that can help you: Phishing scammers often try to scare their victims into action. If someone contacts you saying that your account has been overdrawn, a virus has been installed on your computer, or any other bad situation that they say can be solved if you give them your passwords or other information, you should be suspicious of their intentions. Phishing scammers can fake their Caller ID, so if something doesn t feel right, don t let the name on the screen sway you to believe that the caller is in fact from the company that he or she claims to be from. Know what phishing s look like. They often include misspelled words and grammatical errors, or they may be from a company you are not a customer of. View common examples of phishing s at bit.ly/phishex. Your financial institution will never call or you asking for your personal information, such as your Social Security number, member number, or account number. What to do if you think you re being scammed If you doubt the identity of the person claiming to be from your financial institution, insurance provider, doctor s office, or other company, hang up or ignore the . Look up the company s phone number independently on your bills, statements, the phone book, or online. This way you can contact a real employee of the company and explain the situation. They should be able to tell you if the communications you received were legitimate or not. When it comes to , always think before you click. Downloading attachments or clicking links in s can lead to spyware being installed on your computer or mobile device. If you believe you have become the victim of phishing, act quickly. Contact your financial institution if you believe you gave your account information to a scammer. Information about what to do in the event of identity theft can be found at idtheftinfo.org. If you re ever worried about a potential phishing scam regarding SMCU, please call our Contact Center immediately at (206) Remember that SMCU will never request your personal or account information via . Northgate Branch Moving to Thornton Place SMCU s Northgate Branch will be relocating to 337 NE 103rd Street, Suite 12 at Thornton Place Shopping Center, adjacent to Northgate Mall. The existing branch will close on September 20, and the Thornton Place location will open on September 23. At our brand new location, SMCU members will find the same high level of personalized service from the same great staff, more free parking, and the convenience of nearby restaurants, shops, and amenities. Stay tuned for more details as we approach the moving date. 2

3 Join SMCU for a free seminar led by Bruce Brundige, Financial Consultant with LPL Financial. Light refreshments will be served. Topics include: Financial risks of retirement Using available resources The four steps to retirement income planning Where are you now, and where are you going? Tuesday, August 6 6:30 7:30pm Northgate Branch Meridian Ave. N, Seattle, WA Please RSVP: lindsayt@smcu.com (206) Securities offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC. Insurance products offered through LPL Financial or its licensed affiliates. LPL Financial is not affiliated with SMCU. Not NCUA Insured. Not Credit Union Guaranteed. Investments May Lose Value. Five Important Steps to Buying and Financing Your Next New Car If you re thinking about buying a new car and you re not sure where to start, we can help. Your first instinct might be to head straight to the dealership, but a little bit of financial planning and preparation can go a long way. Here are 5 steps to guide you on your way to getting a great deal on your new car. Step 1. Get pre-approved by your financial institution. Just like you compare prices of clothes at the mall or food at the grocery store, you should compare loan rates and terms from your financial institution and from the dealership. Applying for an auto loan at your credit union before you head to the dealership isn t a commitment. It does, however, allow you to pick the better deal once you get an estimate from the dealer. Credit unions typically have lower rates and fees than other lenders. Visit smcu.com/auto to learn more about auto loans with SMCU. Step 2. Figure out how much you want to spend. The amount you get approved for isn t necessarily how much you can afford. You can use our online calculator tool at bit.ly/autocalc to estimate the maximum amount you should spend on a car, determined by your down payment, trade-in value, and how much you can afford to spend on monthly payments. To determine how much monthly payment you can afford, you ll need to play around with your budget a bit. If you don t have a budget, now would be a great time to start one. Visit 7principles.coop/how-to-create-a-budget to learn how to get started. If you d like to cut back in certain areas of your budget to accommodate a larger car payment, there are several ways you could make it work. You could always cut back on variable expenses such as dining out and entertainment, but long-term lifestyle changes can be a hard way to save money. Continued on the next page... 3

4 Five Important Steps to Buying and Financing Your Next New Car continued... Saving on your larger, fixed expenses can be easier and can also lead to bigger savings than cutting out your morning latte. For example, refinancing your mortgage with SMCU could save you thousands of dollars a year. Step 3. The fun part: Find your car! Once you ve determined how much you want to spend, it s time for the fun part: picking out your new car! The quickest way to see what s available within your price range is to do your research online. Edmunds.com is widely regarded as one of the best sites for this. Not only do they list actual dealer invoices with costs for vehicles with different upgrades, but they also calculate the price you should pay based on the demand for the vehicle you want and the region you re in. If you decide to go to the dealership during the research phase to look at your top choices in person and possibly test drive them, don t feel pressured to buy while you re there. Step 4. Hit the dealerships. You know what kind of car you want and how much you re expecting to pay for it, so now it s time to head to the dealership. Or let SMCU and Autoland do all the work. If you d rather not spend your weekends price haggling at the dealership, SMCU s Autoland car-buying consultant can do it for you. We ll find the exact car you want, negotiate a great price on your behalf, and deliver it to the SMCU branch nearest you. Tips for at the Dealership If you decide to brave the dealership, here are a few tips that you should keep in mind: Negotiate an overall price, not a monthly payment. A low monthly payment sounds nice. Think of all the extra money you d have each month! But sometimes those low payments come at the expense of an extended term, which can mean you pay a lot more interest than you need to. If you stay focused on the overall price, interest rate, and loan term, the monthly payment will work itself out. According to J.D. Power & Associates, you might be able to get a better deal if you go towards the end of the month. Review the paperwork thoroughly before and after you sign to make sure all numbers are accurate. Remember that it s okay to walk out if you re not getting the offer you want. You don t have to feel pressured to buy a car right then and there. Don t stray from the numbers you decided on, no matter how tempted you are to get the really cool car just outside of your budget. If you re seriously considering straying from the plan, take a few days to think about it. A purchase this large shouldn t be impulsive. Don t forget to compare the dealership s financing to the pre-approved amount you received from your credit union. In the moment it can seem easier to sign off on the dealership s financing so you can leave right away with your new car, but you might wish you had done things differently a few weeks down the road when you have a large loan with a high interest rate. If you do find yourself saddled with a loan you don t think is in your best interest, you can talk to SMCU about refinancing it with more favorable terms. Continued on the next page... 44

5 Five Important Steps to Buying and Financing Your Next New Car continued... Step 5. Protect Yourself and Your Loan SMCU has several auto loan add-ons to help you in the event of an accident or emergency: Protect your new car beyond the manufacturer s factory warranty with Mechanical Breakdown Protection (MBP). Let SMCU cover the difference between the value of your car and the balance of your auto loan with Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP). SMCU will cancel your loan obligation upon the occurrence of a specified life event with MemberSafe Debt Protection. If you have questions regarding car-buying or auto loans, feel free to stop by any SMCU branch location or call us at (206) We re happy to help. Congratulations to our 2013 Scholarship Winners Each year, Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union awards ten $2,000 scholarships to member-applicants seeking higher education. SMCU s scholarship program honors our founder, Tony Marino and his many contributions to his credit union and community. This year, the scholarships were awarded to students who demonstrate similar commitments in the areas of academic standing, extracurricular activities, and/or employment as well as financial need. Congratulations to this year s winners! Aza Allen Arhamul Amin Daniel Casanova Jacob Chin Gizelle Gando Bhavya Kumar Benjamin Lennon Leila Pyle Emily Saunders Elesa Yihdego Interested in applying? Applications for the academic year will be available in branches and online starting February 3, Summer Holiday Closures Labor Day: August 31 & September 2 5