Archive for June, 2009

eStatements Drawings

June 22, 2009

After 14 weeks, we are down to our last drawing.  We have been drawing a name every Monday since March and that was a long time ago. I’m kinda sad that it’s all over.

But, if I were a bettin’ woman, I’d bet there will be another drawing or two in the future…

This week is a special week, not only because it is the last drawing, but because we are drawing for TWO winners!

I’ve been excited all day to find out who our last winners would be, so I’ll get on with it. The winners are:

Barbara Walden

and

Julie Daniels

Congratulations ladies! We’re glad you signed up for eStatements and I’ll bet you’re pretty glad now that you won $50!

We hope you are enjoying the convenience of eStatements. Leave a comment and let us know what other conveniences you’d like to see in the future!

Posted in Life at the Credit Union | Leave a Comment »

Repair or Replace?

June 18, 2009

This is a great question and I found an answer! Personal finance blogger, Jim, from Bargaineering.com posted a video of his thoughts about when to repair something that is broken and when to just replace it.

Here is the link to his video.

This is a great topic that I’ve been thinking about lately because I recently ‘lost’ a key component to my kitchen hand mixer, the beater. There were two beaters and now there is one.

And when I say ‘lost’ I mean that I accidentally threw it in the trash. Oops!

It’s just one of those things. You know, one of those hectic times that you’re doing 12 things at once (including licking the cake batter off the beater) and you aren’t really thinking straight. I’m sure I went to throw something away and the beater just happened to be in my hand.

There is no evidence that this actually happened, but after checking every single nook and cranny in my kitchen, and every other room for that matter, it’s just not there.

So, I’ve been asking the question, do I buy a new mixer or do I try to find another beater and just ‘fix’ the old one? I was thinking that it would be cheaper to just buy a replacement beater and get on with my cake baking life. So, I did a little research.

mixer

I looked up the hand mixer online and found the exact product name and number. Then I looked up replacement beaters for this specific mixer. Turns out, they only come in pairs, so I would have to buy two beaters for the low, sale price of $17.95.

Um, excuse me, did I miss something? Why is the replacement beater exactly $10 less than the price of the ENTIRE hand mixer??

So, you’re saying that if I just shell out another $10, I could get a brand new mixer?!

I think that is totally worth it. If I pay the $17.95, I’m getting an extra beater that I don’t need and I still have an old hand mixer. This is definitely one of those times where it is better to replace than to repair.

And I could probably sell the old hand mixer minus a beater at a yard sale for a few bucks. Anyone looking for a used hand mixer with a (very important) part missing?

Check out Jim’s thoughts here.

Posted in Fascinating Finds | Leave a Comment »

Financial Literacy for kids!

June 17, 2009

Every year the Jump$tart Coalition gives high school students a test on financial literacy. In 2008, the average score on the test was 48.3%, the lowest average score in the history of this test. 

I’d say that is a problem.

Financial literacy is often put on the back burner in schools because of the full schedule of academic curriculum students are learning.

Embark Logo (CMYK)1We love financial literacy and we want students in our community to have all the tools they need to be financially successful. With that in mind, we created a curriculum for students from Kindergarten to 12th grade. We call it Embark! and we have seen a great response from teachers and students.

Now that summer is here, we are looking for more ways to reach students with this curriculum. If you are interested in getting your kids involved, let us know.

Posted in In the Community | Leave a Comment »

Inquiring Minds…

June 16, 2009

…want to know: What product or service do you wish that NWGACU offered?

(No, we’re not joking! We really want to know!)

Posted in Better than a Bank | Leave a Comment »

Six Flags

June 15, 2009

SFOG Horizontal Color Bugs

The economy is having an effect on everything and everyone. Six Flags is the latest company to file for bankruptcy protection in an effort to get rid of some debt.

But, it is summer and what would summer be without Six Flags?

Have no fear, Six Flags will remain open! Batman, Superman, Goliath, and the newly renovated Monster Mansion will not be affected. You can ride rides ’til your heart’s content.

You wouldn’t believe the crazy low prices Six Flags/White Water is offering this year, and NWGACU offers even further discounted prices on tickets, so check out the best deal here.

All this talk about roller coasters makes me want to jump on the Superman ride right about now. Which coaster is your favorite?

(P.S. If you’re looking for the eStatements drawing winner for this week, you’ll have to be patient. We’re drawing TWO names next Monday, the LAST two drawings!)

Posted in Life at the Credit Union | Leave a Comment »

A Slight Diversion

June 10, 2009

This morning was like any other except instead of heading into the office, I headed straight for Rome High to represent the credit union.

Northwest Georgia RESA is hosting a few days of education for local school Administrators. Since we are the educators credit union, we are excited to join them when they get together.

I was enjoying a break from the hubbub, visiting with a vendor. Mid-sentence my vendor friend looks up and says ‘Woah! Did you see the snake!?’

He quickly points out the window behind me at a rat snake. Whew, it’s outside! I picked my heart up off the floor, caught my breath, and walked over to the window to take a look.

Here is what I saw:

Black%20rat%20snake 

A black rat snake. It was huge! It crawled (is that what snakes do?) out of some pine straw,  but he got a little nervous when he heard all the ruckus and crawled (maybe slithered?) back to where he came from.

A few people gathered at the window to watch the nature show, and a few people ran far far away. When the organizers heard about the Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta (yes, I googled the scientific name) in our midst, they quickly found about 12 men ready to take action.

The men grabbed some long poking devices and set out for the pine straw. Once the snake came out of his hole, a ‘man among men’ grabbed the snake’s head and let the rest of the body wrap around his arm. I was very impressed (and nervous). 

I’m pretty sure that Creeper (the snake) ended up in the woods behind the high school, inching slowing back to his original home. In the event of Creeper’s return, the ‘man among men’ will be ready.

I’ll admit, I’ve been a little jumpy all day. You just never know what to expect on a morning away from the credit union…

Posted in In the Community, Life at the Credit Union | 1 Comment »

eStatements Drawing

June 8, 2009

Our $50 drawings for eStatements users are coming to an end with only two drawings left! But we have lots of very happy eStatements users which is very exciting. We hope you are enjoying the convenience of eStatements with Check Images!

Now, for the winner. Thanks to Kendra for helping me draw a name this week!

And the winner is…

Sherry Battle

She was thrilled to win! Her first thought was ‘you are kidding me?!’ and then she said she planned to save her winnings. Congratulations to smart saver Sherry!

Stay tuned to find out who our last two winners will be!

Posted in Life at the Credit Union | Leave a Comment »

Laundry Day

June 4, 2009

Everyone is talking about cutting back, especially on things we have to buy all the time, like groceries. So, I’ve been thinking of little things that we can do to spend less on lots of things, starting with laundry.  I started thinking about laundry because I’m pretty sure the sweater that I’m wearing today shrank in the dryer when I last washed it. Whoops!

So, my first tip for saving money on laundry is to read clothing labels carefully…you’ll save yourself from having to buy new sweaters!

More tips for saving money on laundry:

Always do a full load: You may be using less water, but you are using the same amount of heat no matter how much laundry is in the machine.

Use a half of a dryer sheet: Using half as much will save you twice as much. I learned this tip from my Mom. She has used half a dryer sheet for as long as I can remember and our clothes were always fluffy and fresh!

Clean lent trap after each load: And don’t forget about the lent trap outside. That one should be cleaned twice a year.

Use a Front Loading Washer: If you are in the market for a new washer already, you might consider spending a little more so that you will end up using 1/3 to 2/3 less water.

Use cold water for most loads: The only loads that really need the warm water will be the bedding and towels.

As I was looking for some great tips about saving money on laundry, I found one about saving money on bleach. It said ‘don’t buy white socks and underwear’. Well, I guess that would save you money on bleach…

What other tips can you think of to help us spend less on laundry?

Posted in Making Cents | Leave a Comment »

Our Website's Cool Factor Just Increased

June 2, 2009

I, for one, can really appreciate getting a fresh look. Sometimes, you just gotta change things up.

So, we gave our website a little TLC, and here’s the result: a site that give us more space to communicate NWGACU happenings to you, clearer access to our eBranch and online community, and more room to offer you money tips and web-only specials like this one.

Have any ideas to increase the cool factor even more? Let us know!

Posted in Life at the Credit Union | Leave a Comment »

eStatements Drawing: Week 12

June 1, 2009

Can you believe it’s June already? It’s the start to a brand new month and it’s a great start for our eStatements drawing winner.

I’ll go ahead and let the cat outta the bag.

The winner is…

Anthony ‘Tony’ Spezio 

Tony and his wife were excited to win $50 just for signing up for eStatements! I was excited for them since they were one of the first to sign up! Congrats to the Spezios!

Only 3 more chances to win!

Oh, and check out our new website! Isn’t it cool?!

Posted in Life at the Credit Union | Leave a Comment »

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