Self Help FCU should be applauded. They seem to embody the true spirit of what it means to be a credit union. They’ve made it their mission:

To create and protect ownership and economic opportunity for all, especially people of color, women, rural residents, and low-wealth families and communities.

Self Help FCU, a community development CU, has stepped in to help many of those people traditional CUs turn their backs on. While most of us think of our checking/savings accounts as tools that help us live our lives, many people see them as not only unnecessary, but as untrustworthy. In fact, according to this article on nbcnews.com, about 8% of US households don’t have a checking or savings account. And not surprisingly, that number rises to about 20% for minorities.

Read more on Kudos to Self Help FCU…

Our weekly polls continue to enlighten us. About 6 months ago, I wrote an article about the interesting things we’d learned about our readers. Mostly it’s fun stuff.

Two weeks ago things were a little different.

Read more on Great customer service? Big deal….

I was just visting my mother and happened to check out her email inbox on her iPad.

Completely full of junk.

Dating services, travel offers, and all kinds of other completely inappropriate emails filled her inbox. (My mom is in her 90s so I feel pretty confident in saying she’s not frequenting online dating sites.) I immediately began unsubscribing her from these and quickly discovered that they were coming from just 2 or 3 different sources. Shame on the originating retailer for “selling” her email address.

Read more on Don’t let your marketing emails become junk…

It was a perfect St. Pete Beach day. Blue skies, white fluffy clouds that matched the sand, small crowds since it was also a Monday, and enough of a breeze that you didn’t feel the sunburn building. A great day and a great way to wrap up a vacation.

Read more on Do a few things really, really well…

I thought this was kind of a passing fad that had passed, but apparently consumers are still in the hunt for truly free checking with no strings attached (read: no minimum balances or direct deposit required).

Read more on Great info for your next membership campaign!…

At GAC this past week, Bill Cheney, CUNA’s President and CEO, started off by laying out a vision to unite and build the credit union movement.

The reasoning was good: Congress needs to hear more positive reasons to keep CUs tax exempt, people want their primary FI to stand for something, and CUNA wants to demonstrate the core values of credit unions, plus attract and keep younger members, employees, and leadership.

Read more on It looks like “Unite for Good” is only up to U….

While my previous post focused on how mad I am at one particular CU, I thought I should also let all of you know that I LOVE my credit union. And as most of you know, I’m a relatively new convert to the CU way of life.

Read more on I love my credit union!…

Credit unions. Just when you thought you knew them, something like this happens.

My daughter graduated from college and has moved to northern California for a wonderful full-time job training dogs to become service dogs. She’s got health insurance and a 401(k). But she needs a car.

Read more on Don’t Chase younger members away!…

Anyone that has gone on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail (yes, it does exist), has probably visited more than one of the participating distilleries. My wife and her sister have used the trail as an excuse for a weekend getaway more than once, and one of their favorite stops was at Maker’s Mark.

Read more on How deluded management almost diluted a brand…

Money is simple – people make it complicated.

That’s what Jean Chatzky believes, based on 20 years of helping people answer their money questions. Jean is the author of five books, financial editor for NBC’s Today show, contributor to Prevention and Newsweek magazines, and she has put together over 90 easy-to-understand tips in her book: “Money Rules: The Simple Path to Lifelong Security“.

Read more on People who live by these rules don’t have money problems…

Never tell my mother I said this, but…I was a lucky kid. You see my father was the director of a state agency in South Dakota through the eighties and early nineties. When the State of South Dakota decided to upgrade their technological infrastructure, they allowed employees to purchase PCs on their bulk order. Because of this “perk” I was the first kid on the block to have an IBM with floppy drive.

Read more on Lemming let down…

POP QUIZ: How much of your annual income should you be saving?

If you answered 10 – 15%, you get an A.

Next question: How many of your members are actually doing that?

Read more on Savings advice for 49% of us…

How many direct mail offers have you received that made a point of telling you their offer was SPECIAL or EXCLUSIVE? It was kind of intriguing wasn’t it? Probably caught your eye, even for just a minute, before you decided to throw it out.

Read more on Members really are special. Really….

Just for fun, I want you to look at your credit union’s brand a little differently.

Just for fun, I want you to think about your credit union as a person and with a little guidance, try to determine what his personality is. What he looks like. What his hobbies might be.

Read more on Would you want your credit union as your friend?…

How many affinity cards do you have in your wallet or on your key chain right now? If you’re like most people, it’s probably a lot. And if you’re like me, you may have a kind of love-hate relationship with them.

Read more on Should your members be carded?…