Streamline Your Finances—Automatically

Putting your money on auto-pilot saves time, money and the environment. Step one is to find out if your employer offers direct deposit; most do. Signing up is usually as simple as taking a voided check to your human resources department. You’ll see your first paycheck appear automatically in your Army Aviation Center Federal Credit Union account within a few weeks.

Step two is to set up electronic payments. There are a few ways to do this, and you can use them all:

1. Use your our free online bill pay service to pay bills by electronic transfer to a vendor or service provider. Or, if the merchant isn’t set up to accept these, the credit union will issue a paper check debiting your account. You can set up payments 24/7, adjust payment dates to coincide with your paydays and make optional extra payments when you can—say to your credit card.

2. Authorize a biller to take money directly from your checking account. These ACH payments can take a bit of effort to stop, so use them for regular, uniform payments that will continue for a long time—mortgage payments are a no-brainer.

3. Pay bills online using a credit card. Paying with your credit card is ideal for bills that only pop up twice a year—like car insurance. It’s also a good option for bills that change in amount, such as your cell phone bill. Be sure to pay off the card balance each month to minimize interest charges.

Are you looking for a low-interest credit card to use in times like these? Check out our MasterCard credit cards. You’ll find that we have some of the lowest rates around!

With these three automated options, you can pay every bill you have.

Don’t overlook automating routine savings, too. Set up automated transfers from checking to your credit union savings account(s), and you’ll always be financially ready for an unexpected car repair and for infrequent but larger bills like insurance premiums.

Streamlining your finances with online tools is about more than just saving time. By helping you to avoid late fees and overdraft fees, automatic services save you money. To make sure you’re never penalized for overdrawing your checking account, for example, set up an overdraft protection savings account or line of credit.

Once you’ve automated your finances, use our website or mobile banking tools to track your accounts and transfer money between them. Check accounts frequently to make sure your automated system is working smoothly and to monitor for attempted fraud or ID theft.

If you need help automating your finances, an AACFCU member service representative can help. Call us at 800-448-4096, email us at cuinfo@aacfcu.com or stop in today for assistance.

Copyright 2012 Credit Union National Association Inc. Information subject to change without notice. All other rights reserved

Parents: Get Your Kids & Teenagers Online with AACFCU’s Googolplex

AACFCU’s Googolplex offers your kids and teens a fun way to learn about money with games and articles that fit their age groups. Visit our website at www.aacfcu.com, click on accounts, checking, youth accounts (or just click here) and there you will find Googolplex.

Turn the computer over to the “under 20” members of your household with these features:

5-Spot: Introduce your elementary school age children to important financial concepts by igniting their natural love of play with highly interactive games, stories and more. Kids earn virtual money and spend it decorating their private online clubhouse.

A-J’s: Offer your middle school students a fun meeting place, encouraging creative interaction while educating them about money and responsibility. In addition to informative stories and entertaining videos and games, young teenagers build a superhero identity, post notes to their friends (monitored) and vote on plot developments for Kid Kred, a comic series that teaches money management in the guise of fun.

C-Note: Stimulate your high school students and provide sound money-management information with the interactive stories, games and videos in C-Note. Students have a chance to win and save money by entering photo contests, and reach out to others using a moderated comment feature and blog posts.

Ready to Switch? We Can Help!

You’re already a credit union member? Good for you. But if you aren’t, and concern about the work and time it would take you to switch is the only thing holding you back, you could be closer to making a move than you think.

It turns out that breaking up isn’t all that hard to do. You can follow this seven-step checklist adapted from Consumer Reports:

Step 1: Open your new account with a small deposit. You can open a savings account with us for only $6 ($1 one-time membership fee and $5 initial deposit). We also offer a free checking account– no monthly fee, no minimum balance requirement, no per check fee and a free debit card!

Step 2: List all of the automatic payments and deposits set up to go in and out of your old account each month and on what dates.

Step 3: If you have direct deposit, ask your employer to switch your paychecks to your new account. If you don’t already use direct deposit, this is a great time to set that up, too. Then, find out what date the first deposit will occur.

Step 4: When you know the date of your first deposit, reschedule each automatic payment or debit to come out of your new account.

Step 5: Leave a small amount of money in your old checking account for at least one more month.

Step 6: Once you’re sure all automatic payments and all direct deposits are coming and going from your new account, transfer the final funds from your old account into the new account.

Step 7: After the transfer clears in your new account, close the account at your old financial institution and get written confirmation that your account is closed.

When you’re ready to switch, we’re ready to help. It only takes a little time and some information. We would also be happy to talk with you about transferring any credit cards, home loans, vehicle loans or other credit accounts from other providers. Stop by one of our branches, call us at 800-448-4096 or email us at cuinfo@aacfcu.com, and let us know how we can help!

Holiday expenses catch you by surprise? Open a Christmas Club Account!

Did holiday expenses catch you by surprise this year? It can seem like expenses rise each year, which means it takes a little more preparation than the year before to be ready for the all the costs of the holiday season.

You can start preparing for the 2012 holiday season now by opening a Christmas Club Account with us. With this account, you earn dividends on money you save throughout the year, and in November the money is deposited into your savings account. However, if you withdraw this money early, you will be faced with a fee to do so. The fee helps discourage you from making unnecessary withdrawals since you are saving for a clear goal, but keep in mind you have full access to your funds if necessities arise.

Make it easy to save when you set up automatic deposits into your Christmas Club account. You can have part of your paycheck deposited directly into this account with payroll deductions, or you can set up automatic transfers from another account.

After the holidays have passed, take a close look at your expenses. This will give you a good idea of how much you’ll need to save, therefore giving you a clear financial goal for next year and allowing you to put together a budget early in the year before any stress over finances sets in. Don’t forget to include expenses other than gifts such as holiday parties, food or travel costs in this budget as well.

Give us a call or stop by any of our branches to start your Christmas Club account today.

Know Your Priorities to Make Holidays Special

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or the solstice the holiday season can be stressful—with financial stress often playing a large role.
Figure out what makes the holidays special for you and your family and allocate most of your spending to those things. Maybe there are other, less important things you can scale back or skip.

For instance, if you love hosting a lavish holiday dinner but are ho-hum about festive holiday clothing, don’t buy that new outfit. Budget more for your dinner instead. The key is to set priorities and identify the important things.

And remember that handmade or homemade goodies, charitable gifts or the gift of time can mean much more to recipients than presents.

Here are some ideas:

• Give loved ones a framed photograph of a place or event that is special to both of you.
• Make a charitable contribution in someone else’s name. Give to a fund that person believes in. 
• Offer to help with a project around the house, take a friend to lunch or just go for a walk together.
• Give baked goods or premade dinners to family or friends. 
• Offer to pet sit or babysit free of charge.

The holidays are about being focused on others, which actually makes it easier to budget. The less self-centered you are, the less likely you are to have financial issues from spending every nickel on yourself.

Generally the holidays require some gift buying. To help get ahead on next year’s shopping, consider starting a Christmas Club account where you save all year long for holiday expenses. Give us a call or email us at cuinfo@aacfcu.com to find out more.

Reminder: New Internet Account Access Requirements Begin Tuesday

Beginning Tuesday, November 8, 2011, if you have Internet Account Access, you will be required to change your Member ID. Currently your Member ID is your member account number. Many of you may have already experienced this with other providers with whom you have Internet accounts. The main reason for this change is increased security for your Internet account.

Today’s technology has made more programs available to hackers that make it easier for them to access account numbers and accounts. At AACFCU, we are always aware of security and any risks that might be involved with your accounts. Our job is to protect the integrity of our system, which we do each day, as well as keep your accounts and the money you have in those accounts secure.

With this in mind, we are implementing the new Member ID requirements. When you log in for the first time on November 8 or anytime thereafter, you will be asked to create a new Member ID. You will not be prompted to change your password during this process; it will remain the same. Your account number is no longer allowed to be used as your Member ID. Your new Member ID can be any combination of letters (upper and lowercase), numbers or special characters as long as it has a minimum of 6 characters and no more than 20.

Choose something that is meaningful to you but that someone could not guess. Do not choose personal information such as, your date of birth, children’s date of birth, children’s name, pet’s names, etc. It is easy to replace some letters with numbers. For example, E can be 3, L can be the number 1, S can be 5 or you may be familiar with some others. This will just increase the level of difficulty of your log in.
 
Always remember, if you must write this information down (which we do not recommend), put it in a secure place. Do not carry it next to your membership card or write it on your membership card. If you have any questions, please give a member service representative a call at (800) 448-4096.

iPhone Mobile App is Here!

Take advantage of our free* application on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to manage your money on the go- with the same security as your Internet Account Access. Locate the AACFCU App in the App Store on your iPhone, or download it directly from your iTunes Store® account and sync your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad device.

• View up-to-the-minute balance and account information
• Transfer funds between checking, savings and loan accounts
• Pay your bills
• Find Branch and ATM locations

Download it today and see how easy mobile banking is with AACFCU!

Android app coming soon!

*Wireless carrier data usage rates apply.

Get Back Three Days a Year—Use Direct Deposit

Tired of waiting in line on payday? Consumers who set up direct deposit of their paycheck save the equivalent of three work days a year by not having to go to their financial institution to deposit checks, according to a recent report by NACHA–The Electronic Payments Association.

In addition to saving time, with direct deposit you’ll never have to worry about lost or stolen checks and your payment will reach your account the day the check is issued–even if you are out of town, sick or unable to get to one of our branches.

Take advantage of the convenience of direct deposit, but don’t become a stranger–you still can visit us for any of your other financial needs.

Youth Accounts: A First Step in Money Management

Teens spend billions of dollars in earnings each year on clothing, food and entertainment. Once they sample this newfound spending power it’s a good time to encourage them to open a youth checking account. Parents, do so when they’re still under your roof and you can guide the first efforts in basic money management.

Begin basic instruction before your teen even opens an account.

• Instill the habit of reconciling checking account transactions with monthly statements. Take your own receipts, such as ATM/debit card receipts or check stubs, and–with your teen–record transactions and calculate the balance in your own check register as you pay monthly bills. Then, when your teen’s first account statement comes, help your teen compare the balance in his or her register with that on the account statement. If figures don’t match work through the numbers together, double-checking the math and making sure to record all drafts, fees, deposits, withdrawals, and ATM or debit transactions.
• Make it clear that once your teen opens the account he or she cannot spend more money than is in the account. Explain the costly financial and legal consequences of having an overdraft on the account.
• Remind teens that checks and ATM/debit cards are stand-ins for money that must be kept in a secure place. That means they never should give a blank check to a buddy, lend out an ATM or debit card, divulge a personal identification number (PIN), or even be careless with deposit slips, which may reveal account information.

Once your teen gets the basics down and successfully manages a checking account, it’s on to other good financial habits–say, like acquiring and repaying that first car loan.

Visit any of our branches today to get your teen started with his or her own Youth Account.

5 Tips to Make Checkbook Balancing a Little Easier

Chances are pretty good that balancing your checkbook is not one of your favorite pastimes, but whether or not you enjoy making columns of numbers match, it’s something you must do.  Here are a few tips to make this important activity a little bit easier:

1. Record your transactions immediately after you make them.
2. Record exact numbers — do not round up or down. Small change adds up, but may not add up as much as your rounding makes it.
3. Distinguish between checks and debit card payments. Checks can take a while to clear and distinguishing between the two helps you understand why something might not be showing on your statement.
4. Record the right date and check number in your check register.
5. Balance your checkbook every month.

Find more helpful tips like this from our partners at On Your Way.