Road trip? Think green

It warms my heart when the Contact Center Representatives here at South Carolina Federal Credit Union are able to provide solutions that save our members time and money. I’m even more happy when we can do it and promote environmental awareness.

In honor of our Green Week I would like to share with you a recent success story that illustrates our ability to do just that.

We received a phone call from a member who recently retired and was planning a road trip that would allow he and his wife to travel across the country on a three month long discovery of the United States. He called us to find out how he could conveniently monitor and manage his finances long distance. We happily explained that our online banking system and eStatements would allow him remote access to his detailed account information. We explained how secure online banking really is. He was happy that he still had the security and control of his finances that he desired. He then mentioned that actually, eStatements and Payment Manager fit into his “go green” awareness plans as well. Another happy member!

We encourage you to visit a Branch, call, email, or chat with our Contact Center so we can help you find ways to conveniently manage your finances while also going green!

Guest blogger Corey shares his "nice thing" thought today

In Monday's post, Beth blogs about intentionally making a difference by doing one "nice thing".   Corey Fink, who works with me here at South Carolina Federal Credit Union had an interesting example which I asked him to share:

Almost anytime I arrive at a store where there are shopping carts, inevitably one is near my vehicle or on my way in to the store. So I began the habit of taking them into the store. On occasion I’ll even intercept a person who just finished unloading and return their cart for them. My wife calls me considerate and polite. I just smile quietly, because my motives are more selfish than that.

This habit started when I came out to my truck one time and there was a cart touching the side panel. Like most people who care about their investment, I was not pleased. Rather than get mad at something I could not undo, I decided to start returning carts that were near my vehicle hoping to lessen the chance of a new dent or scratch.

Fast forward two years. I now see the appreciative looks on people’s faces, especially the shopping cart cowboy who has to round up all those renegade carts. My motive has changed (somewhat) from selfishness to kindness. I know I’m not exactly leaving a $20 bill in the cart, but it’s my nice thing, as small as it may be.

Even if it’s small like returning a cart that you didn’t use, what's your nice thing?

Does your 2010 planning include a Chamber membership?

All last week the Simple Cents Bloggers talked about a series of financial workshops being offered to help individuals with financial education and planning.

How about business planning?

Do you work for a business in the Charleston area? If so, you should know the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce is in the middle of their 2010 membership drive.

Perhaps your business counts itself as fortunate to have successfully weathered this prolonged recession. Now you are in a position to do some real, longer-term, strategic planning. Your business should seriously consider a Chamber membership.

Back in October 2009, guest blogger Bridget Hearn-Simmons highlighted a couple advantages of being a Chamber member. These included discounts on office supplies, as well as sales and leadership training. She blogged about how the Chamber provides businesses with legislative insight and numerous networking opportunities. It’s also worth noting that Chamber members can acquire affordable health insurance for themselves and their employees.

If your company is a member, then so are you! Want to know more? Check out CharlestonChamber.net Better yet, call Bridget Hearn-Simmons at 843-569-4962 or Liza Rehill at 843-569-5197 and they can talk with you about how smart strategic planning includes a Chamber membership.

Are you ready for the recovery?

• Can you identify signs of the recovery?
• What is the relationship between consumer confidence and the stock market?
• What economic indicators should you be looking at?

Every day the mainstream media bombards us with a barrage of economic information. Frankly, it’s tough to make sense of all the information coming at us. As a result, many folks tend to tune it out…at their peril.

No one has a crystal ball to predict the future, but one guy, Greg Stidom, will be sharing a unique perspective on the state of the economy in March. Greg is a Chartered Life Underwriter and a Chartered Financial Consultant. He’ll be talking with folks just like yourself about the state of the economy, what to focus on…and what NOT to focus on. He’ll also be talking about real life, sensible, investment strategies for today.

Join Greg at the Orangeburg Branch of South Carolina Federal Credit Union on Tuesday, March 30th from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Registration is easy. For more information, please call 803-813-8300 (local from Orangeburg) or 800-845-0432.

With Greg's help you'll be sure you are ready for the recovery.

What’s your system?

My wife is obsessive about receipts…and I owe her a debt of gratitude!

Since we’ve been married my wife has developed a fool-proof system for preventing credit card fraud. Ready? Here it is: Match every receipt to the monthly statement. What? That’s it? OK, to some, this may seem like a no-brainer. To others, a good idea, but one that takes too much time and organization.

Whatever reconciliation system you use, you need to make sure you have one. Too many studies show that credit card fraud is on the rise and could be an even greater problem in the near future.

Looking for an easy system that works for you?

• How about the old envelope system?
• We’ve heard a lot of folks are snapping photos of receipts with their cell phones.
• An online company, Evernote, will copy and save your photo or scanned receipts for FREE.

For me, saving paper receipts in an envelope is easiest. And whoa is me if I don’t have a receipt to match to a statement line item, especially if it’s something blatant that I purchased. After a couple incidents that required some investigative research (which showed it was my purchase!), that doesn’t happen too much anymore!

Do you have a credit card reconciliation system that work for you? Kevin the online service-guy wants to know!

Fred’s new lease on life

Back in September, 2008, Fred was monitoring an “aortic aneurism”. It was Friday morning and he had just completed a series of medical tests when the unexpected news came from his doctor: He had five arteries each with >50% blockage. Five days later Fred was on the operating room table having quintuple bypass surgery.

Fred, who manages the sales finance team here at South Carolina Federal Credit Union, was born and raised in the south. He readily admits he enjoyed eating great southern cooking: chicken, biscuits, etc. But Fred was also very active. He enjoyed the outdoors, exercised regularly, and was an avid boater. The bypass surgery changed his life considerably. In discussions with Fred, he spoke highly of the recovery consultation he received from Roper cardio rehab specialists. His new heart healthy lifestyle can be distilled down to the following three points:

1. Cardio exercise is a must!

2. Eat heart healthy food.

3. Get regular checkups

How’s Fred doing today? In a word…GREAT! He’s lost weight with his new heart-healthy diet. Gone are the burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, and sausage biscuits. Fred heads to the gym religiously and does his cardio on the treadmill. He also sees his physician regularly.

Fred has a new lease on life. In talking with him it’s evident this Valentine’s Day will be extra special for Fred and his family. We want to thank him for sharing his story and reminding us of the importance of living a heart-healthy lifestyle!

A little hard work never hurt anyone

This week the credit union kicks off the search for our new 2010 Young & Free South Carolina Spokesperson. It got me thinking and reflecting back to some of the early jobs I had, lessons learned, and a solid understanding that a little hard work never hurt anyone.

Growing up in Vienna, Virginia, a small town in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., I began working in my early teens. My brother and I developed what turned out to be a thriving neighborhood lawn mowing business. About that time I learned ventriloquism and started entertaining at neighborhood birthday parties. My parents were supportive, but ensured school work was always the top priority.

While in high school I worked evenings cleaning offices at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). A gun-toting CIA security guy walked behind me as I vacuumed offices and emptied full ashtrays. Looking back, it seemed like everyone in those offices must have chain-smoked all day long! My other high school job was working at a lumber store, primarily to make $$$, but also to meet girls. The store owners hired the best looking high school girls as cashiers.

Fast forward to college. While at Virginia Tech I worked part-time during school in the cafeteria and then summers as a construction laborer. In fact, after a summer of backbreaking construction work, any thoughts about not going back to college in the fall were out the window. That hard work sure helped me crystallize my priorities!

What has all this taught me? First, a little hard work never hurt anyone. In fact, it helped me set definitive goals and become more financially independent. Second, it taught me how to be a more responsible individual. Third, all these jobs eventually helped me understand the importance of post-high school education.  Finally, having parents who instilled a strong work-ethic was a blessing.

That’s my perspective on work. Care to share yours?

Payment Manager makes donating easy and safe

Kimberly mentioned in her Monday blog post that South Carolina Federal Credit Union is accepting donations from members and the public to support relief efforts following the devastating earthquake in Haiti. If you follow my blog posts you know I often talk about the many benefits and security of online banking and electronic bill payment (a.k.a. Payment Manager). If you’ve been thinking about making a donation, using South Carolina Federals’ Payment Manager makes it easy as 1-2-3:

1. Access your personal account via the Online Banking Login at scfederal.org. Need help logging in? Click the appropriate help link below the login or contact us.
2. Click on Payment Manager…and then Add a Biller.
3. Search for your desired charitable organization and designate how much you want to send. South Carolina Federal Suggestion: Select Company without an account number. Payment Manager will ask you for a phone number. Type in 843-769-7395. You’ll see it found Water Missions International (WMI). Click Add Bill and you’re all set to make your SAFE, SECURE donation to WMI using Payment Manager.

South Carolina Federal encourages folks to support relief efforts by donating to Water Missions International (WMI), a locally-based organization that already is working to provide water purification systems in Haiti. The credit union will also match your donation to WMI up to $5000. Click here for more information on the specific steps to have South Carolina Federal match your donation.

With Payment Manager, your donation will be routed immediately…securely…and there is no cost to mail your check or send a text message.

Never used Payment Manager before? This could be just the reason to give it a try. Why not share your donation experience today.

The Contact Center digs deep again

Back in December I wrote a post about Chase and an opportunity employees of the Contact Center at South Carolina Federal Credit Union had to really understand the impact of their donations to MUSC Children’s Hospital.

Meeting Chase and his mom, Whitney, reminded us that funds raised for the Children’s Miracle Network were helping to save the lives of children like Chase and others you’ll meet this week.

So when South Carolina Federal announced in early January that we were supporting MUSC’s Change Bandits Program to raise funds “to make miracles happen in the lives of area children”, the Contact Center, along with other South Carolina Federal employees, dug deep.

Want to know more about what your change supports at MUSC? Check out a post from Troy last summer. Or you can check out Chase’s News and Updates blog. In a post from January 4th Whitney thanks all those that have helped Chase and encourages readers to provide financial support:

If you think there is nothing you can do to help….you are wrong. Every dollar that goes to research is instrumental in funding these clinical trials. Clinical trials SAVE LIVES!!!

If you want to help, simply bring your loose change and cash to any of South Carolina Federal branches. You can make a difference in the lives of area children like Chase.

Is there a “typical” user of online banking?

Here at the credit union, you may be surprised at the wide range of folks who have embraced online banking, mobile banking, and electronic bill payment. It’s certainly a contrast to the picture painted by the mainstream media of Gen X’ers and young college students checking balances by mobile phone, or double-checking debit card balances online.

Take Mr. Brown in the photo to the right. He’s 70 and has been a South Carolina Federal Credit Union member for more than 20 years. He’s also been an avid user of online banking for two years. When I spoke with him last week, he shared that he uses online banking to view his eStatements, to transfer money, and to generally help him manage his funds more effectively.

Mr. Brown recognizes he’s not the typical person one thinks of when they picture a user of online banking. He has embraced the change to the new online world and encourages others to give it a try.

Since most of the folks reading this blog are already users of online banking, the question is: have you helped others embrace it? If so, perhaps you could share your story.

Note: Member name and photo used with permission.