Didn’t Get a Wii? We have 3!

Okay, while I may not see myself as the up-to-the minute source on video games. When it comes to Nintendo Wii’s, let’s face it, they’re fun, no matter what age you are-since Black Friday is over, and we’re hearing more and more that folks can’t find them. I’ve got some good news-we have 3 to giveaway!

Now’s a good time if you’ve been thinking about switching to a credit union and want to make your child or teen’s holiday too-to become a member! Then,open a checking account at Hopewell Federal and add either direct deposit or on-line bill pay to get entered into our drawing for a Nintendo Wii-remember, we have 3 up for grabs! If you’re already a member and have a checking account, great! You have to mail in your entry-see our website for details!

Again, for more details, visit our website at www.hopewellfcu.org!

Black Friday Shopping

A few posts ago, I discussed what you were going to use to do your holiday shopping, whether it was spending cash or using plastic? As I bravely ventured out during my lunch hour today-I was surprised to see how many folks don’t use cash anymore. It’s amazing to me-just like those VISA ads-the world seems to stop when you write a check or use cash and coin.

Cars packed parking lots, traffic everywhere and believe me that’s a good thing.  So, with a credit crunch on the rise-and gouging gas prices, is it easier to buy now and pay as you go or do you buy and max out your card now and worry about consolidating your debt later? With cloudy, financial skies ahead, I often wonder how our members and non-members are spending and what kind of products and services they are looking for to help manage or off-set their holiday shopping costs.

I feel that it’s worth mentioning, that now would be a good time to open up a Ho Ho Club account for next year-it really does help by taking money out monthly so that you’ll have it saved when the holidays come back around this time next year.

So, I’d love to hear from you-are you doing your best to make this a memorable Christmas, but will you be paying for it later? And/or are you just trying to make the most out of the holiday bargains, or does it even matter, when it comes to finding the perfect gift. Just some of my thoughts…and as the holiday shopping season commences, let’s be careful out there.

 -Al

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

May you eat and nap happily.

Christmas Shopping

Right from the start, I might be offending someone but I do Christmas shopping with my wife once a year.  It’s not holiday shopping because I’m buying Christmas gifts for five children, five in-laws, and fourteen grand children.  Yep you’re right, I’m not a young man. I do also buy for my wife.  The question always comes up:  how much to spend for each individual and should one borrow to fund Christmas shopping.  I’ll tell you what I think and you can join in.   When I was much younger I would try to save for Christmas shopping by using a Christmas Club account.  Only problem, sometimes the kids need to go to the doctor or new shoes or whatever, so the club account always came up short when it was time to go shopping.  What did I do?  I pulled out the plastics and said, I’ll buy now (kids had to have nice gifts) and pay later.  You know the toys I bought rarely were around when I paid the credit card bills off.  Now that I’m older and somewhat wiser, I figure if I don’t have the money to spend, I just cut down on my gift giving with maybe one exception.  The wife always comes first and if I need a little extra to buy her gift, I will pull out the plastic card.  And we’ve now tried to limit the number of gifts per family members not necessarily spending the same amount on each person.  Do you think my 3 year old grandson cares if I spend $100 on him or $50?  He just wants presents to open.   So jump in here.  Should you use the plastics for Christmas shopping or stay within the dollars you saved?  Now that I’m older and wiser, I say stay within your savings.   

A Salute to those who are Serving and Have Served.

This Monday, is more than just a holiday. It’s a day to honor those who have valiantly served and protected our country, including those who are fighting now.

I’m not sure how many of you know this, but we were originally known as Newark Aerospace Federal Credit Union, before we became Hopewell Federal in 1993. We were located on the Newark Air Force Base, so Hopewell Federal’s history runs deep with veterans in Licking County.

Hopewell Federal would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all veterans in Ohio and across America. And in memory of those we lost, who courageously fought to serve and protect the United States of America, we are observing a day of Blog Silence on Monday, November 12, 2007.

We remember you and we thank you.

-Al

Update on the Phone Drive

I just wanted to send a big thank you out to everyone who participated in our Cell Phone Drive. We tallied the number of phones we received today and we are at 108! Thanks so much to all of our members and those out in the community who participated in this event. We feel that for our first year, it was a great success and can’t wait to pass our donation to the New Beginnings domestic violence shelter next week.

Thanks again to all who contributed and don’t forget we still have a United Way raffle happening-stop in to either of our offices to purchase tickets for the items you’re interested in and good luck-we appreciate you supporting this cause as well.

-Al

Members vs Customers Debate

Around the credit union blogosphere lately, there’s much debate as to whether credit union member/owners would preferred being called customers, like a bank calls the people who use their financial institution customers, because in essence, that’s what they essentially are, they come in and do their finanical transactions everyday just like a member/owner at a credit union right?

Wrong! Call me old school, but I’m a firm and steadfast believer in the credit union movement, as a member/owner, you stand for something different. Credit Unions work for the financial benefit of our members-unlike a bank-so we don’t concentrate on how much money we can make off of a “customer” to pay off our stockholders-why? Cause we don’t have any stockholders!

Yes, we need to make enough money to pay salaries, the electric bill and the like, but not to line the pockets of any stockholders. And I think our members appreciate that. Unlike being a customer at a business, where you can get treated any which way. I think being an actual “member” makes me think of a simpler time, when it felt good to belong to something, like a baseball team, football team etc. Even now, say you belong to any worthwhile organization, whether it’s  a service organization like Kiwanis, Rotary or Sertoma, or even at your local church or school, you get a sense that belonging to something is comforting. It’s a kinship you share with others. You’re more than just a customer, you’re special, because you’re a member/owner. 

When every other place you go these days, treats you like a customer, it’s comforting to know that at Hopewell Federal, we make an extra effort to get to know our members by name, because you’re more than just a customer. And thanks to shared branching, your membership will allow you even greater access to your account because you can take it with you wherever you go, can your financial institution do that?

In my opinion, it feels great to be a member/owner.