NEWSLETTER June 2018 e Receipts Are Coming Soon! Emporia State Federal Credit Union members will soon come into either of the ESFCU lobbies to complete a transaction and instead of signing a piece of paper, they will sign on a signature pad. The receipt for the transaction will then be electronically created and safely and securely archived. If a member wishes to have a copy of the receipt they will now have an option of having the receipt delivered electronically through email or they may receive a paper receipt. e Receipts will not only allow your information to be safely archived, but it will allow it to be retrieved easily should the need arise. e Sign will allow our members who are completing loan transactions to sign their loan documents electronically on a signature pad. Once signed, the documents will be electronically created and safely and securely archived. The member will then have the option of having those papers emailed or getting paper copies. Being able to archive these loan papers will be a safe and secure storage option. Not to mention a huge space saver! The bottom line? This technology will take your information, keep it safe and secure and help your credit union operate more efficiently. That gives us more time to devote to providing extraordinary service to all of our members. What can you learn in Credit Sense? Over the next few issues, we will examine all of the information you can get if you use Credit Sense. Just a reminder that Credit Sense is a free product to all ESFCU Online Banking users. Credit Score You can see your credit score anytime you wish. You will see your score, where it falls on a scale from 300 to 850 and what that means. The second time you log in to Credit Sense, you will see if there have been any changes since your previous log in. You will see if there have been increases or decreases in your score, credit card usage changes and how many payments you have made. You have the option of entering the APR of your current credit cards. You can then compare to see if ESFCU has a better credit card rate for you. You can see what is positive and negative about your score. This information can be useful to help change behaviors that will increase your score! You can also access a variety of informational articles on topics that might be of interest to you. Payment History Payment history is one of the most important factors influencing your credit score. It tells your lender whether you pay your debts on time. If you have made late payments, your score considers how much you owe; how recently these payments occurred; and how late these payments were Payment history will show you that 40% of your credit score is based on how you make payments on your account. It shows the % of your accounts that are in good standing. It will also show any late payments in the last 12 months. are trying to improve your credit score. You also receive a grade. If you receive an A for example, you are doing a great job with paying your bills on time. This behavior helps your score significantly. The Payment History section will also show you what actions you can take to increase your score. These helpful hints are simple and can make a huge difference when you Next time we will look at how your % of Credit Usage and Total Balances affect your score.
It s time to open your **Save to Win Certificate of Deposit. This is a unique certificate that only requires a minimum deposit of $25. You can continue to deposit any amount at any time. For every $25 you deposit, you will get one entry (up to 10 per month) into our monthly and quarterly drawings. We have already had a $500 winner. Open your Save to Win CD today and see how it pays to save! Summer of Saving! Hurry and take advantage of this Super CD Special! With a minimum deposit of $1,000, you can open your 12 month certificate of deposit at a 2.00% *APY rate! *APY = Annual Percentage Yield. NEW ESFCU DEPOSITS ONLY. Rate subject to change without notice. Minimum $1,000 deposit. Early withdrawal and other restrictions may apply. Federally Insured by NCUA. **Official account and prize entry rules, and a complete list of prizes are available at savetowin.org. Void where prohibited by law.
Train Your Kids to Save by Nicki Davis Getting financially fit isn't easy. But teach children how to save and they ll have one of the most difficult aspects of finance mastered by the time they're teens being consistent savers. Here are a few ideas to help your kids get money fit: Have young children preschool age sort different types of money into piles by color and size. Play store. Help them use a pretend cash register. At the grocery store, let children of all ages help you shop. Teach them how to comparison shop for example, show them that for every $5 box of cereal, there may be similar brands on sale for half as much. As children get older, let them know what things cost. Share sales receipts and bills that you receive for items or services you've purchased for them. If you decide to pay your children an allowance, include them in the decision. Discuss allowance amounts and what they should use their allowance for. The amount is your call, but allow their input. One idea is to have children set aside part of their allowance for spending, part for saving, and part for sharing. Explain what you'll pay for and what they should be responsible for. For example, when you're at the movies, maybe you agree to pay for the movie ticket, but the Milk Duds are on them. As your kids reach high-school age, clarify what you will pay for and what your teens are responsible for. For example, they may want the newest cellphone that comes with a really high price tag. Establish your spending limit. If they still want the more expensive version, have them make up the difference. Often, once the responsibility of paying for items is on them, the "latest and greatest" aren't as important. If your kids are already playing games on their smartphones or tablets, consider sneaking in an app that will teach them some valuable money skills. Educating your kids about money matters may not be at the top of your priority list, but they may be more inclined to learn about budgeting and money management when they're playing a game. Whether you want to teach kids how to save money or show them how to better manage their allowance, you can turn to a handful of money apps that make the whole process into a fun game. Here are a couple. PiggyBot PiggyBot keeps things classic and familiar for younger kids by taking the form of a digital piggy bank. This free IOS app encourages children ages 4-8 to create a virtual account complete with their own PIN number to lend them a sense of responsibility and ownership of their funds. Kids set a goal for an item they'd like to buy and when allowance time rolls around, parents add virtual funds to the goal amount. Kids get the visual satisfaction of watching their account numbers go up while secretly learning the value of saving toward a goal. Savings Spree is a fun App with lessons for children ages 7 and up (younger children can play too with a little help). The game teaches kids how the daily lifestyle choices that they make can add up to big savings or big expenses, depending on how they choose to spend (or not spend) their money. Savings Spree shows you that they can SAVE your money for short term goals (like a bike or an MP3 player), SPEND wisely by making more frugal decisions, DONATE to others or INVEST money so it will grow to meet future needs like a college education. Cost: $5.99.
4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying a Home If you re making major life moves getting married or having kids and starting to get the home buying itch, consider asking yourself these 4 questions. How healthy is my credit score? A mortgage can be one of the biggest financial obligations you ll ever take on. Don t add to that burden by paying a high interest rate. It s a fact that the lower your credit score is, the higher your interest rate will likely be. It s important to boost your score before even thinking about borrowing. One way to help boost your score is to get current on credit card and loan payments. No one is saying that you can t have any debt before you buy a home. But, depending on how much of your income is going to pay debts such as student loans, you may not get approved for a mortgage. What do my savings look like? Before you re even in position to buy, it s important to feel confident you can continue contributing to other financial goals while having a house payment. The last thing you want is a large mortgage that takes away from your retirement plans or emergency savings. On top of staying financially secure you should be prepared to put down 15 to 20 percent on a home. How long do I plan to live here? When looking at buying a home, think about your future, will your housing needs be the same as your current ones? Are you expecting to grow your family? Will you be changing jobs? Factor in these possibilities, if you are anticipating a lot of unknowns, it may be better to hold off on buying a home. Buying should be something you re committed to for the long haul. When you are ready to buy, come talk to the experts at Emporia State Federal Credit Union. We are here to help you through the process and to make your home buying journey one you will walk through with confidence. Have I accounted for ALL the costs of a home? Your mortgage payment isn t the only thing you ll be paying when you become a home owner. It includes taxes, insurance, utilities, periodic repairs and regular maintenance. You can expect to pay one to four percent of your home s value on maintenance per year, according to U.S. News, on things such as lawn care, gutter cleaning, snow removal, pest control, etc.. The cost of homeownership can quickly snowball. To help get a feel for what you may pay as a home owner, look at local tax records and talk to others you know that own a home about estimates of what they pay for maintenance each year. Plug the numbers into your budget and see how they fit.
ESFCU Wins Members Mortgage Services (MMS) Credit Union of the Year Award! At the recent MMS Annual Meeting, the award for credit union of the year was presented to ESFCU (for credit unions under 100 million). Way to go loan mortgage staff! Pictured here from L: Jake Scott, Miles Shirk and Loan Director Ron Hanson. Local CU Car Event! On Thursday, May 24th, we held our first Shop Local, Buy Local and Finance Local car event. We welcomed 3 local dealerships - Clint Bowyer Autoplex, John North Ford and Longbine Auto Plaza to our front lawn to display 3 of their vehicles. We encouraged our members to stop by, browse, enter into our drawings for a 0%, 1% and 2% car loan and enjoy a hot dog cooked on the Route 66 Firetruck Grill. Thanks to the dealerships and to Rickey Nicks from Route 66 for joining us. We had a blast despite the rainy weather! Thanks to all who dropped by! We encourage all of our members to Shop Local, Buy Local and Finance at ESFCU! Visa Debit Card Controls This feature is free to you and puts the control of your debit card in your hands. You decide when your card is active and when it is not. You decide if you want to allow your card to be used at an ATM. REMOTE DEPOSIT NOTICE: You decide if you want to create a temporary low limit on you card to deter thieves from making large purchases using your card. We hope to activate this new feature in the fall. We ll keep you informed! If you deposit checks through Mobile Deposit be advised that checks will ONLY be accepted with appropriate endorsement! Your name or your business name Your Account Number ESFCU * For Mobile Deposit Only *Checks without For Mobile Deposit Only will be rejected. Beginning June 1, 2018, the credit union will be CLOSED on Wednesdays until 9:00 a.m.
Hours of Operation Lobby: Monday to Friday 9:00-5:00 Saturday *9:00 to Noon *Lobby Closed on Saturdays at 24th & Industrial *Lobby Closed on Saturdays in June & July at 310 W. 12th Drive Thru: M, T, TH, F 8:30 to 5:30 Wed. 9:00 to 5:30 Saturday 8:30 to Noon 310 West 12th Emporia, KS 66801 Branch Location 2332 Industrial Road Phone: (620) 342-2336 Toll Free: (866) 342-2336 esfcu.com Holiday Closings: Wednesday, July 4th Your Board of Directors Jerry Baumgardner Vicki Brooks Scott Capes Danica Case Aron Dody Kim Kirk Carmen Leeds Jim Markowitz Curtis Simons ATM Locations: 310 West 12th 2332 Industrial Road 33o2 W. 18th (EHS) 1200 Commercial (ESU Memorial Union) This credit union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration.