AFCU & You Blog

December 31, 2018 is the last day to receive $100 to share the love of an AFCU membership.

Refer your family and co-workers and AFCU will “Share the Love” with you, the new member, and a charity of the new member’s choice! AFCU will pay out $100* for each new member you refer that joins AFCU and signs up for AeroAccess Home Banking by December 31, 2018:

$33 to the referring member
$33 to the new member
$34 to the new member’s charity of choice**

Be sure to include the full name of the referring member and the choice of charity at the top of the paper application, or enter it in the Promotional Code fields when applying online. We’ll take care of the rest!

Select from one of these outstanding charities:
American Cancer Society
American Red Cross
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals
Heal The Bay
spcaLA

Apply Now

Or send this blog post to your family or co-workers!

*Existing AFCU member’s first and last name must be mentioned on the initial membership application submitted by the new member in order for the $33.00 referral award to be deposited to the existing members account. New member must qualify for membership and open an AFCU Share Account with a $5 minimum deposit and sign up for AeroAccess Home Banking by December 31, 2018 before the referring member and new member will each be credited $33.00 to their primary share accounts. New member must not have been an AFCU member at any point in time. The $100.00 total award will be granted upon verification that all member accounts are in good standing, with no delinquent loans and must never have caused the credit union a loss. Credits will be posted as dividends to the accounts and reported on a 1099. Federal, state and local taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the members. AFCU employees, board members, volunteers, committee members and their immediate family members are not eligible. Offer expires December 31, 2018 and is subject to change at any time without notice.

** The new member must choose from the charities of choice listed above upon initial account opening. Each charity selected will receive one total cumulative donation at the end of the year based on the number of members who selected each. Names of the individual charities are used with their permission but in no way constitutes an endorsement, express or implied by either party, of any product, service, company, individual or political position. For more information about each charity, please visit their individual websites.

"People Helping People" is the credit union philosophy and with that mission in mind, AFCU proudly supports The Aerospace Corporation’s Holiday Food and Gift Drive. We have an "Angel Tree" in our lobby filled with Angel tags containing the names of children in need from participating community agencies. Each tag contains the agency’s name, the child’s name, and their wish list. You can pull tags from the tree and return your gift to the collection bin with the tag attached by 8:30 AM on Wednesday, December 19. Please encourage your coworkers to take an Angel tag and share in the "People Helping People" effort. Thank you for your support and generosity during this Holiday Season!

If you love giving gifts to your family and friends, it can be hard to not overspend during the holiday season. Even those who are good about staying on budget all year end up splurging a little too much when it comes to gift giving. But sticking to your holiday budget doesn’t have to be hard. It’s all about planning ahead. Here are five quick tips for sticking to your holiday shopping budget this year.

Tip 1: Make a List for Everything

Lists are an important part of keeping your finances organized any time of year, but especially during the holidays. Make separate lists for holiday food, decorations, and gift costs. Keeping a list of all your potential expenses will help you to prioritize your holiday expenses. Purchase the items high on your list, then check them off, and see how much money you have left to spend on the remaining items.

Tip 2: Only Spend Cash

If you tend to purchase your gifts in a store rather than online, try using only cash to do your holiday shopping. It is much easier to overspend when you’re using a credit card. Using cash to make your holiday purchases helps you to clearly see exactly how much you’ve spent and how much is left in your budget.

Tip 3: Take Time to Find Deals

Start comparison shopping before the holidays even start. If you don’t know how much a product normally costs, how will you know if you’re getting a good deal on for Black Friday? It’s important to take time to find deals. Don’t be afraid to return an item to the store if a better discount for the same item comes along.

Tip 4: Cut Back Your Giving

Although the holidays are the time for giving, you shouldn’t put yourself in financial hardship over them. Keep your gift-giving list short. If your budget is tight, you may have to skip the office gift exchange or skip mailing greeting cards. It may not be what you want to do but come January your finances will thank you.

Tip 5: Set Expectations Ahead of Time

If you tell your family and friends about your holiday budget, they will likely understand; they are probably all on a budget too. Working together you may even be able to save each other money by going in on gifts together or by agreeing to not purchase each other gifts.

This article originally appeared on resourcecenter.cuna.org