AFCU Money Matters - Fall 2007 - (Page 2)

president’s message FROM THE PRESIDENT IN THIS ISSUE 3 4 6 8 11 13 14 15 e-Statements e-Waste Live a Greener Life! Motley Fool: Hybrid Cars Looking More Attractive Jean Chatzky: Reduce, Reuse and Simplify Saving Energy, Saving Money It’s Easy Being Green Five Common Money Mistakes While American First takes pride in providing you the products and services you need to manage your finances, we’re also proud of the many things we do to be an environmentally responsible member of our community. This issue of Money Matters is full of tips and resources to help you join our efforts to improve operational efficiencies at your credit union and preserve and protect the environment. This past summer, in an effort to help our overcrowded landfills and combat the growing problem of identity theft, we hosted two special “Shred Day” events at our La Habra and Orange branch locations. Members came with boxes of old financial statements and sensitive personal documents to put into a giant shredding machine. By properly disposing of the information, members protected their sensitive information and did their part for the environment. We invite you to read on to see how you can join us in our efforts to make our community a richer place to live. Simple things like signing up for e-Statements or applying for a mortgage or car loan on our website can help save paper, eliminate unnecessary waste and help your credit union run more efficiently. On behalf of all of us at American First, we thank you for making us part of your life and your community and for all of your efforts to support our many socially responsible initiatives. Sincerely, MONEY TIPS Save and Spend I’ve opened two savings accounts for my kids, one named “Save” and the other named “Spend.” Every time they get some money for a birthday or holiday, we put half in the “Save” account and half in the “Spend” account. Whenever they want to buy something with their savings, they know they can only pull it from the “Spend” account. Stacey G., Huntington Beach, Calif. Cash Exchange When traveling internationally, I usually get just enough foreign currency to cover my travel expenses and incidentals. Then when I’m finally in my destination country, I hit the ATM (but not at or near the airport). The exchange rate is usually very reasonable and it’s a fun way to dive into the local culture. Plus, most big cities have an English option on their machines. Ryan Z., Fullerton, Calif. Our members have some of the most innovative ways to save money and use their AFCU accounts. Do you have a tip that you’d like to share? Send us an e-mail at moneymatters@amerfirst.org. If we publish your tip in the magazine, you win a $25 gas card. Please include your name and mailing address. Property Taxes, GOAL! We chose not to have an impound account with our mortgage, so each payday I put a little extra money aside into a “Goal Setter Savings Account.” This way, I have more than enough to cover our property taxes, and usually a little left over for myself. Lynn P., Brush Prairie, Wash. FEEDBACK We’d love to get your feedback about Money Matters. Visit us at www.vitalresearchsurveys.com/AmericanFirst to complete a short survey and tell us how we can help you achieve financial success. Bob Street President/CEO 2 FALL 07 http://www.vitalresearchsurveys.com/AmericanFirst

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AFCU Money Matters - Fall 2007

Money Matters - Fall 2007 Contents e-Statements e-Waste Live a Greener Life! Motley Fool: Hybrid Cars Looking More Attractive Jean Chatzky: Reduce, Reuse and Simplify Saving Energy, Saving Money It’s Easy Being Green Five Common Money Mistakes

AFCU Money Matters - Fall 2007

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