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Archive for the ‘Un-banking.’ Category

Win One of Two $100 VISA Gift Cards

February 15, 2012

We all have experiences that have shaped our opinion and definition of the word ‘banking’. So, what does ‘banking’ mean to you? Depositing, withdrawing, borrowing? Yep, that about sums it up. But what if banking could be more?

We believe in un-banking…something you can only find at a credit union. We believe that banking is all about relationship. We care about your financial well-being because we want to see you succeed—no strings attached. Because our members are the owners of the credit union, when you do well, we do well.

Financial services should be affordable and convenient. It should be about a relationship with people who will go out of their way to help you out and keep things uncomplicated. It’s all the conveniences of a bank without the hassle of, well, the bank. It’s being smart, savvy and responsible with your money. It’s called un-banking, and it’s pretty unbelievable.

So, how do you un-bank? Do you find deals or coupons online? Do you go to the grocery store on a full stomach? Do you bargain shop? Tell us about it on Twitter between February 15 and March 1, and you will be automatically entered to win one of two $100 VISA gift cards! Follow @NWGACU and mention us with the hash tag #UnBank. We will be looking for your tweets!

Tags:tweets, twitter
Posted in Better than a Bank, Contests, Un-banking. | 1 Comment »

Decorating a room with a $100 budget

February 6, 2012

I don’t know about y’all, but this unseasonably warm weather has given me spring fever. When I start thinking about spring, I start thinking about spring cleaning. I find that spring cleaning is the perfect opportunity to do a little decorating as well. Think about it- one of the easiest ways to decorate your home, especially when you’re on a budget, is re-purposing items that you already have! Here are some ideas for decorating a room with a $100 budget.

One easy way is to create an accent wall. Choose one wall in the room and paint it a different, but coordinating color. It can be bright and funky, like lime green or yellow for your kitchen, or deep and elegant, like maroon or eggplant for your living room. You’re out what? A gallon of paint or two, a drop cloth, and a paint brush, if you don’t already have these out in the garage. Think about checking out the paint center at your local home improvement store to see if they have any “oops” paint. You may just find your perfect accent color at a discount!

While we’re talking paint, what about painting or staining an existing entertainment center, dresser, or cabinets? You can even play around with some of the fancier textured paints and still come out way cheaper than buying a new piece of furniture or replacing your kitchen or bathroom cabinets. While you’re at it, you can easily change out the hardware for a spiffy new look.

Here are a few more quick ideas:

Cover framed pieces of canvas with pretty scraps of fabric or frame sheets of scrap book paper for wall art.
Add or change a lamp. Look for lamps at your local thrift and discount stores. If it’s not exactly what you’re looking for, keep in mind that a new coat of paint or a new lamp shade can do wonders to transform it.
Cover an old vase with craft glue and wrap it with pretty ribbon or yarn.

Get inspired! You can make a big impact on your room, with a small impact on your wallet!

Tags:budget, decorate on a dime, unbank
Posted in Making Cents, Un-banking. | Leave a Comment »

New and improved online banking coming!

January 20, 2012

Online banking is about to get even better. On January 24th, we will be converting to a new online banking system with some pretty cool new features. Here’s the skinny on the updgrade.

The new online banking system will allow you to manage your finances and pay all of your bills, in one place, with one password and just a few easy clicks. It’s always convenient and secure. More than just your basic online service, Online Banking with Bill Pay lets you transfer money between accounts, pay virtually anyone without writing a check, set up alerts, turn off paper statements, and much more. Best of all, Online Banking and Bill Pay will now have a single sign-on! No more remembering two separate logins and passwords. Now, you will be able to access Bill Pay through Online Banking, with your current Online Banking login information.

Other features include:

• View your deposit and loan balances all in one place
• Make and schedule transfers
• Strengthened password length
• Initiate stop payments
• Access your NWGACU Visa credit card information and redeem points
• Set up automatic email alerts
• Secure messaging
• Bill Shrink
• Download activity into your preferred financial management software
• Create and manage payees – send payments to anyone anywhere, 24/7
• Manage recurring and automatic payments
• Customize your account display

As always, secure Online Banking and Online Bill Pay are FREE!

Check out the demo here.

Please note: you may experience an interruption in Online Banking and Bill Pay service Jan. 23 and Jan. 24 while we upgrade. Watch the website for more details; we’ll let you know as soon as we’re up and running.

*Current Quicken users: As Northwest Georgia Credit Union completes its new online banking system conversion, you will need to modify your Quicken settings to ensure the smooth transition of your data. Please download the instructions for your Quicken version below.

Quicken for Windows 2009-2011
Quicken for Windows 2010-2012
Quicken for Mac 2005-2007
Quicken for Mac 2010

Posted in Making Cents, Un-banking. | 1 Comment »

In Case You Haven't Heard

July 14, 2011

Northwest Georgia Credit Union announced last week that in addition to nearly 100 local employers who offer NWGACU membership to employees and family, now anyone who resides in Floyd County can join the credit union!

We have been granted a Residential Common Bond by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. This means that NWGACU’s membership is more readily available than ever before!

So now it’s your turn to spread the word to your friends who need to Un-bank! Here’s how to join.

Posted in In the Community, Un-banking. | Leave a Comment »

Fun Facts About Our Credit Card

June 28, 2011

Have you heard about the best credit card around?

The Visa Platinum Credit Card is a simple, honest card that is totally free of ridiculous fees that have become so common with banks and credit card companies. Here are some fun facts about our credit card:

Non-variable rate as low as 9.9% – our card holds one of the lowest rates in the country!
No annual fees
No surprise rate changes
A 25-day grace period

Member Benefits:

No default penalty rate for late payment
No fees for cash advances or balance transfers
Make payments online or in our branches
Earn ScoreCard Bonus Points with every purchase

ScoreCard Bonus Points are earned on every purchase, and they can be redeemed online for:

Travel Perks
Gift cards
Merchandise
Airline tickets – at the 20,000 point level! Most credit cards require 40,000 – 50,000 points.

Right now is a great time to transfer your credit card balance for 5.9%APR* and get a free sock monkey while supplies last! *Some restrictions apply.

Money-Saving Tip of the Day

HouseholdTipNo.11: Turn off tap water when you’re brushing your teeth or shaving. Every minute the water is running, you are using up to 2.5 gallons, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Posted in Better than a Bank, Making Cents, Un-banking. | Leave a Comment »

Our Unbelievable Checking

June 3, 2011

Our checking is unbelievable because…

It’s totally free!
It comes with free eBranch services, free Teller Line, and a free Visa Debit Card.
No minimum balance requirements.
Direct deposit and payroll deduction available.

I see a pattern here… the word free, maybe? You’re missing out on a lot if you don’t already have our checking. Get the details here.

50 Tips in 50 Days

GroceryTipNo.36: Stick to the outer aisles of the supermarket. You’ll find the widest selection of unprocessed foods, which also happens to be less expensive and healthier!

Posted in Better than a Bank, Making Cents, Un-banking. | Leave a Comment »

Friday Quiz Challenge

March 18, 2011

Do you really know the difference between banks and credit unions? Take our quiz to find out:

1. Who owns a credit union?

A. Stockholders

B. Members

C. Board of Directors

2. Credit union boards of directors are monetarily compensated for their time and service.

A. True

B. False

3. Credit unions are:

A. Not-for-profit

B. Non-profit

C. For-profit

4. Credit union boards of directors are:

A. Members of the credit union just like you–local professionals who want the same things you want from your financial institution.

B. Not necessarily members of the credit union–they are just local professionals offering guidance.

5. Service at a credit union is more personal and meaningful than a bank. Why?

A. Because we’re nice folks.

B. Because banks so many customers, so they are simply too busy to spend time with you.

C. Because members are the owners, we’re freed up to focus on our mission of helping people, rather than preserving a profit.

Ready for the answers?

1. B, 2. B, 3. A, 4. A, 5. C

Posted in Better than a Bank, Education, Un-banking. | Leave a Comment »

What is the Credit Builder Loan?

March 16, 2011

Zero credit? Or damaged credit? Thankfully, the credit union has thought of a way to help. If you haven’t heard about our Credit Builder Loan, allow me to introduce you.

You: Maybe you’re young and have no credit history–not good, not bad, just nothing. You’re looking to establish a positive history, but you don’t necessarily want to do it with a credit card. Or perhaps you’ve made mistakes or difficult circumstances fell in your lap, and your credit history took a hit. You want to improve your score, but you’re having a hard time getting approved for loans AND you know better than to visit a payroll lender.

Meet Credit Builder Loan: It’s a $500 loan that has payments of $50 and a reasonable 14% interest rate. You pay the loan back in full and on time through payroll deduction, and a year later, we send positive repayment history to the credit bureaus. Before you get the loan, we also take the time to talk with you and help you understand the basics of credit, just to make sure you start out on solid footing.

You can read the official info on our website here, and you can even apply online. Of course, we’d love to see your smiling face in person too.

Posted in Education, Life at the Credit Union, Making Cents, Un-banking. | Leave a Comment »

A Great Card

November 29, 2010

Every now and then at NWGACU we are reminded of just how unbelievable our products are. When you work with them everyday you sometimes forget what makes them stand out from other similar products.

Case and point: Credit Cards

I have known about our great credit card for a while. I even got to watch our credit card rise to the peak of ‘amazingness’ when the credit card rules changed and other credit cards had to start adding new fees. Our card is different…no…better. Here are some examples of what makes the NWGACU Visa Platinum card better:

Rates

National average: 14.74% (as of 11/29/2010)
NWGACU: non-variable rate as low as 9.9%*

Fees

no annual fee
no fees for cash advances
no fees for balance transfers

Extras

no surprise rate changes for any reason
a 25-day grace period
Verfied by Visa – a free service that helps you stay safe when shopping online

Rewards

Travel Perks
Merchandise
Airline tickets – at the 20,000 point level! Most credit cards require 25,000-30,000 points.
Gift cards will be available soon with your points!

It’s just an honest card that is easy to use. You won’t ever be overwhelmed by surprise fees or changes to your card. And you can transfer a balance today with no fees at all!

*This rate is NWGACU’s best rate for qualified members. All loans subject to credit approval. Some restrictions may apply. Your APR may vary depending on your creditworthiness. Please ask a Financial Services Officer for details.

Posted in Un-banking. | Leave a Comment »

Keeping It Simple

October 4, 2010

Becoming an adult isn’t an easy process for some of us, especially in the financial department. It takes time to learn what is going to work for you and making mistakes along the way is just part of the journey.

With that in mind, I wanted to share some easy tips to help you simplify your finances and get things in order:

Use direct deposit. You’ll never have to stand in to line to cash or deposit your paycheck again. Let your credit union automatically put your paycheck in your account so that it’ll be in your account waiting for you on payday.

Set up automatic withdrawals to your savings account. You don’t even have to remember to save money anymore! The credit union can remember for you. It’s the easiest way to build up a solid savings without having to remember to pay yourself each month.

Keep track of your money. Whether you check your Online Banking account or the check register in the back of your checkbook, you’ll need to know what’s exactly in your account to avoid overdraft fees. And checking your balance online pretty regularly will allow you know if fraud ever occurs on your account sooner rather than later.

Create a payment calendar. We all know that late bills can cause big problems, so create an easy-to-read calendar that reminds you when bills and payments are due. Using Online Bill Pay can help since you can set up bills to be paid automatically each month if you’d like. You can also rearrange dates that certain bills are due each month to allow for a more balance payment schedule.

Cut back on credit cards. Having lots of credit cards can be handy, but paring it down to two or three can keep things simple. Choose cards with a great rate, few fees, rewards, and excellent customer service. And, of course, I would be talking about the NWGACU Visa Platinum card. I really do think we have the best card around, but whichever ones you choose, just be sure they are easy. Simple is key when you’re dealing with finances.

Posted in Making Cents, Un-banking. | Leave a Comment »

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