Aim Higher Blog
Time to Review Your Finances
There’s nothing like airing out your home from a long winter, scrubbing it down to a sparkly shine, and decluttering the mess that’s piled up. Deep cleans are meant for more than just your house, though. Your finances most likely need some spring cleaning, too.
Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
Recently we celebrated Identity Theft Awareness Week, with a focus on how to keep your identifiable information protected and secure. However, no matter how hard we try, identity theft can still happen, especially through data breaches, leaving you to feel your financial information is exposed and vulnerable. Requesting a credit freeze or placing a fraud alert are two actions you can take for peace of mind and can help alleviate future fraudulent activity.
Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts
Many of us experience the confusing annual ritual of choosing a health insurance plan and deciding on how much to contribute to spending accounts for upcoming medical expenses. Most employers now offer two types of health savings programs, Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).
Using Buy Now Pay Later
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is the new layaway plan available for shopping online, but instead of paying now and getting your item when the balance is paid off, you get the merchandise immediately and pay later. You may have seen this payment program offered on a variety of e-commerce sites.
Importance of Savings
Savings is the first step to financial wellness and staying on track to reach financial goals. Reports by the Consumer Financial Protection Board reveal that:
Pay Down Your Holiday Credit Card Debt
Overspending happens every year during this time, and once the holiday glow is over, the bills start taking over. According to Magnify Money’s annual post-holiday survey, 31 percent of consumers took on debt to cover their holiday expenses last year. Of those who did, they spent $1,381 on average, with 56 percent of consumers using credit cards for their purchases. This year’s holiday season spending is shaping up to be similar.
President's Message - January 2022
It’s 2022. What do we know today? There are some good things and some unknowns. Rates are still low, so you can get a great rate on a new house or car. But we’re not sure about the availability of new cars with all the supply chain issues. Computer chips are needed to build cars. Most new vehicles are pre-sold before they ever hit the dealership’s lot. With limited new inventory, used car prices remain at all-time highs.
Financial Goals for 2022
Financial goals are the fourth most popular New Year's resolutions (just under dieting, exercising, and losing weight). As people look for ways to make their dollar stretch further, resolving to spend less and save more may take more than just writing that goal down. Making a budget doesn't make it magically happen. You must adhere to it, tweak it when needed, and follow through.
Protect your Accounts from Fraud
Criminals and scammers seeking bank account information are becoming more prevalent, so it is more important than ever to be aware of attempts to steal your financial or bank account details. Attempts can include a phone call asking for personal or financial information and emails pretending to be from your financial institution (called phishing). Skyward Credit Union is monitoring threats daily to help stop attacks on our members and their accounts; our Fraud Center is steadfastly working to protect you.
Holiday Online Shopping Tips
According to the to the FBI and CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency), ransomware and cyber-attacks will undoubtedly increase during this holiday season. Attacks are most popular during holidays and times business offices are generally closed. It’s well known that cyber criminals attack retail shopping companies, but they also infiltrate the travel industry, as well as the areas of supply chains and logistics for product delivery.