CUWarrior Featured on the CU Soapbox

A funny thing happened this week when sending out a press release about my credit union's Holiday Skip-a-Pay program...Jimmy Marks at Digital Mailer, facilitators for the CU Soapbox, asked if he could feature the story on the blog. Of course I agreed, happy to see this wonderful reminder of credit union magic get some publicity.

This program was not unlike many Skip-a-Pay programs you have seen at other financial institutions...except one very important detail: we had absolutely no fee attached. Members were allowed to skip any non-mortgage loan payment for the month of November or December just as a courtesy to help their families through a tough holiday season. The results were amazing, over 20% of our loan agreements were amended for a total over $870,000.

To me, these results were made even more amazing (remember, I work for a $200 million credit union) by comparing them to the results of a recent ING promotion (thank you to Jeffry Pilcher for the heads up on this one). ING forgave January mortgage payments for 500 lucky customers. Now, keep in mind that having your payment forgiven is a much better deal than simply skipping a payment and extending the term. So, in that light, ING's program was a better deal for those select few who won. But our program was open to everyone. And, the fact that we gave up the monthly cash flow from over 4,000 of our loans outstanding is no small feat in this or any other economic environment.

To read more about this story, please visit the CU Soapbox. This is a great forum for passionate people in around the credit union movement to sound off on topics ranging from TARP to Blago, and everything in-between.

Credit Union Warrior Featured on CU Tomorrow Podcast

Last month, I had the opportunity to discuss credit union efforts to attract younger members with Filene/CU Tomorrow's Ben Rogers. I was joined by two brilliant young credit union professionals that I work with in Filene's 30 Under 30 group, Amy Stanton and Robin Hickey.

This gave me time to talk about Members Credit Union success stories such as Football Pick'em and What Are You Saving For? More than that, though, it gave me the opportunity to hear what other credit unions are doing, and planning to do, to attract younger members.

Here's a link to the podcast. Definitely leave a comment either here or on the Filene blog to tell us how you think credit unions can better excite young adults about the credit union movement.

Walk to Cure Juvenile Diabetes

OK, the Credit Union Warrior needs some help! I will be joining Members Credit Union in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International Walk to Cure Diabetes on November 3, 2007. My primary goal is to raise as much money as possible to support this wonderful cause, which seeks to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes and its complications.

My secondary goal is to prove yet again that credit unions and their members are among the most charitable people in the world! Please do what you can to help - if it's $1 or $1,000, your donation is appreciated!

You may make a donation online by clicking here.

Face Paint

Tam-pa! Tam-pa!

Management Meeting

Annual Financial Check-Ups??

We all have (or should have) annual health screenings. Why, I wonder, do we not put a similar level of importance on our financial health? Members Credit Union's (Winston-Salem, NC) newest newsletter explores the money-saving process of sitting down with a financial services representative to review your financial health. Those of you lucky enough to be a member of a credit union have a wonderful tool at your disposal - financial expertise that doesn't want to "sell" you something you don't need. Refreshing, isn't it?

Give this a shot. Next time you have 10-15 spare minutes at your credit union, ask to see a member service representative to go over your current financial situation. It is very possible that your financial institution has a great way to save you money of which you were not aware. The worst that can happen is the representative tells you that you are doing everything correctly and do not need to take on any new products or services. The best thing that could happen is you find a better way to invest your money or a cheaper way to borrow, saving you hundreds (even thousands) of dollars each year.

Have you had your annual financial check up?