Investments

Bank On MOre is a campaign developed by the Missouri Credit Union Association (MCUA) to raise awareness about credit unions in Missouri and our distinct differences from banks. You will see this campaign all around the area.

So you know the benefits of being a member of a credit union, but your friends and family don’t. Here’s a quick list of what credit unions offer that banks don’t, from the Bank On MOre campaign:

Higher education can be a real challenge with both an abrupt lifestyle change and some serious education. Unfortunately, that education could include a course in personal finance via The School of Hard Knocks. College is already expensive and doesn’t need additional financial pitfalls. According to College Board, an average college student at a public university will pay nearly $18,000 for tuition, fees, room and board for the 2012-2013 school year. That’s some real-world finance right there.

Many students aren’t ready for the financial grind of living on their own. There are mistakes that are easy to make. That’s where Vantage Credit Union’s College Resource Center can help. You’ll find all kinds of advice on all kinds of topics. One includes the seven worst money mistakes made by students. Let’s take a look.

East St. Louis. Florissant. Sunset Hills. Warrenton. Vantage has a presence throughout the St. Louis Metro area. We’ve been entrenched in the community for over 55 years now, and we consider ourselves lucky to be in a position to give back, whether through donations or services. Here are just a few things we’re proud of:

So that knock at the door was a neighbor girl selling Girl Scout cookies, not the Publisher’s Clearing House Prize Patrol delivering that big check. And the phone call before that was Aunt Edna describing her latest bout with achy joints, not your financial guy with advice on what to do with your Powerball winnings. Nope, you’re still not rich. But why?

Believe it or not, there might be concrete reasons as to why you’re not “rich,” or at the very least, more comfortable in your financial skin. Let’s take a look at a few reasons that might be responsible, courtesy of Yahoo! Finance.

When you start saving early for retirement, it can make a big financial difference. Compare the two IRA examples*:

Emily Jacob
Age 25 Age 35

Contributes: Contributes:
$4,000 per year $4,000 per year
10 years         30 years

Balance at 65:  Balance at 65:
$680,120                  $528,534

So you were hurrying to work, late for a meeting, and you backed out of the driveway a little too quickly...YIPE! YIPE! YIPE! It’s all right, Gizmo is going to be fine...after a hefty vet bill. And you were just getting ahead financially. Sheesh. File it under “Life Happens.”

Kids. Car trouble. Spending spree. Unexpected illness. Yes, life happens, with or without our consent. It’s filled with twists and turns, many times with expenses for which we haven’t planned.

And when life happens, everyone has a story to tell.

Your boss called you into her office, and you immediately got that sinking feeling in your stomach. Sure enough, your position within the organization was eliminated. You were jobless. Or maybe the air conditioner went out at home, just in time for the sweltering summer months. Financial emergencies, most of us experience them at some point. Are you ready for one?

According to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 64% of Americans don’t have enough cash on hand to deal with a $1,000 emergency. That cost could easily equate to a financial emergency. Maybe your car’s transmission goes out or your furnace dies at home. What would you do if such a sudden financial cost arrived unexpectedly? Here are a few tips that might help out:

10:00 a.m. Here come the stomach growls, time for a mid-morning snack.

Today it’s a bag of chips and a diet soda. Total cost: $1.75. That won’t break the bank … but how about your budget? Have you ever thought about how all those easily forgettable little expenses can add up? Let’s take a look at just a few you may view as trivial at the time of purchase. You’ll soon see they add up to very real amounts over the course of a year.