Monthly Bills Most People Have, and Ways to Reduce Each Bill

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1 Making the most of your dollars & cents... Cents Abilities The South Jersey Federal Credit Union Quarterly Update Autumn 2015

2 South Jersey Federal Credit Union Monthly Bills Most People Have, and Ways to Reduce Each Bill Everyone has bills they pay on a monthly basis. Of course not everyone s bills are the same, but there are a few that are common for most American families. This issue of CentsAbilities is jam-packed with moneysaving tips that you can use to reduce each of these bills do them once and your bill will go down for the foreseeable future. Energy Insulate Your Home. Insulation is your home s all-purpose force field against high energy bills. It minimizes heat transfer in winter and summer, provides ventilation to control moisture and makes your home more livable. And, it will save 20 percent to 30 percent off your monthly bill. Install New Windows. Many homes lose costly heat the oldfashioned way: through outdated windows. Double-pane thermal windows arrest the heat transfer by inserting dead-air space, a poor conductor, between two panes. A whole-house window upgrade can save 16 percent to 21 percent on annual heating. Get a High Efficiency Furnace. Today s high efficiency furnaces consume at least 30% less fuel than older furnaces. They also produce more even heating and maintain their temperature at more constant level. Most home heating systems operate at roughly a 75% rate of efficiency. Install a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat allows you to set a nighttime temperature and a daytime temperature for your home so that your furnace and/ or your air conditioner are not running while you re not at home or when you re sleeping, automatically. And don t forget... SJFCU offers low rate Home Equity Loans to help pay for those energy-saving home improvements!

3 Cents Abilities Ready for Improvement? Let us help you with a Home Equity Loan! Home Equity Loans Home Equity Loans 3 99%apr Up to 5 years * Get a Home Equity Loan from SJFCU while rates are still low and get your house looking the way you want it! *This product is a fixed rate, closed-end loan. No Appraisal fee. Title insurance required for loan amounts over $100,000. Other home equity loan rates and terms available to qualified borrowers. All rates and terms subject to change at any time at the discretion of the credit union. NMLS#

4 Car payments Cents Abilities Do the research yourself before stepping onto a lot. Know exactly what you re looking for before you ever visit a car lot. Figure out what you need/want, research cars that match those requirements, and know what you should be paying for those vehicles. All of this can easily be done online. Consider alternative cars you ll save money on fuel and possibly insurance. Keep up with the maintenance schedule. Speaking of maintenance schedules, most car breakdowns occur because people ignored the maintenance schedule printed in the car s manual. Follow it faithfully. The small costs incurred by following the maintenance schedule are much lower than the huge costs of a major car repair if you ignore them. Make car payments to yourself. Instead of making car payments and celebrating when they re finished, keep making those payments straight into an SJFCU savings account. In the long run, this will make a huge positive difference in the cost of the next car you purchase, as you ll be paying the cash you saved plus the interest you earned. Without it, you ll be paying interest to whoever finances the car loan. Refinance. If you re having difficulty with your car payments, consider refinancing your car loan for a lower rate. South Jersey Federal Credit Union has refinanced members car loans, saving them hundreds of dollars! Just ask... Pheon Young who reduced her rate by 13.5% when compared to dealership, allowing her to afford a newer, more reliable car for less of a payment. Kristyn Pomianek who got her RV financing from the dealership at 16% APR. SJFCU was able to refinance the loan at 5.49%, saving her $220 on her monthly payments and reducing the term by two years. Total Savings over the life of the loan amount to $43,000!!!!

5 South Jersey Federal Credit Union A new branch located at 220 Rowan Boulevard in Glassboro!

6 Cents Abilities Mortgage Don t buy more home than you need or can afford. The biggest mistake is to purchase more home than you can afford, and using a mortgage to cover it. Later on, they find that the monthly payments are crippling. If you re looking to buy, avoid this mistake. Buy something small, build up some equity, and buy something bigger later if you find that you need it. Automate the payment. Being late on a mortgage payment can lead to some real devastating problems. Your best move is to automate such payments. Use SJFCU s free online bill pay to automatically pay your mortgage bill for you at a certain time each month (or each week, even). Refinance. The interest rates on home mortgages right now are still low. This is a perfect time to look into refinancing your mortgage, particularly if you can shave a full percent (or more) off of your interest rate. A reduction of your interest rate from 6% to 4% can knock 30% off of your monthly house payment. Insurance Keep only liability insurance on older vehicles. If your vehicle is more than six or seven years old, don t carry comprehensive insurance on it. The amount you d get from such insurance in the case of a total loss is likely not worth the amount you have to pay each month. There s a decent case for comprehensive insurance on a newer model, but not on an old one. Bundle your policies. Shop your homeowner, renter, and auto insurance together and see what kind of rates you can get as a bundled package. Again, this almost always ends up with you taking home significant savings on the deal. Keep your credit strong. Insurance companies take your credit into account when considering what rates to give you when you re shopping around. Sometimes, they even adjust your rates depending on recent changes to your credit score. Keep your nose clean and keep your bills paid. As an SJFCU member, you are eligible for a discount on insurance products! MEMBERS Homeowners and Renters Insurance provided by Liberty Mutual and Auto Insurance provided by TruStage TM Visit SouthJerseyFCU.com for more information.

7 South Jersey Federal Credit Union As you can see, from this issue of CentsAbilities, there are many ways SJFCU can help you save money on your monthly bills. However, we can also help save you time. If you already use SJFCU s online bill pay, know how easy and convenient it is to pay your bills...including from your mobile phone using our specially designed mobile app. For those of you who ve never used our online bill pay, this is a great time to start! Don t forget: epay is FREE when you use it regularly to pay your bills. In addition to paying your bills, SJFCU s epay comes with these additional great features: Make expedited payments. You can either overnight a check (for next day payment) or make a same-day expedited payment. A small fee for this service is minimal, compared to the long-term consequences of a late payment. Make account-to-account transfers. Quickly move money from another institution to your SJFCU checking or savings account easily and safely! Popmoney lets you do person-to-person fund transfers. All you need is the recipient s cell number or address. Pay your share of last night s dinner to your friend, or send birthday funds to a favorite grandchild, or send money to that college student of yours! SJFCU s epay lets you pay your bills whenever and where ever you want. So go ahead... relax and pay your bills in your robe and bunny slippers! The holidays are fast approaching and SJFCU has a special Holiday Loan to help you get through a financially challenging time of the year. Holiday Loans will be available beginning November 23. Borrow $1,000 or $2,000 at 7.99%* apr for 12 months. Remember: This loan will only be available from November 23 through December 31. Keep checking our website for more details. Applications must be submitted 11/23/15-12/31/15 to be considered for this offer. Proof of income required. Must meet minimum requirements to qualify. This product is a fixed rate, closed-end unsecured loan. Terms and conditions apply. Subject to change at any time at the discretion of the credit union.

8 Cents Abilities Holiday Club 2016 Receive a set of 2 decorative, absorbent stone coasters when you open up a Holiday Club account! Two designs to choose from! While supplies last. Open a Holiday Club this October and you ll be ready for a stress-free 2016 Holiday Season! Club funds will transfer to Savings or Checking on October 1, Withdrawals prior to maturity will be subject to a 10% penalty, with a minimum withdrawal of $250. FREE GIFT WITH ENROLLMENT * *I agree to have $5.00 deducted from my Christmas Club as payment for the free gift if I fail to complete my club. Signature Only one free gift per member please. (While Supplies Last.) Name Address City State Zip Home Phone Cell Phone Account # ( ) Check here if you need to change the amount of your payroll deduction. OFFICE USE ONLY $ Gift Received Payroll # Initial Payment Method P/D Mail Weekly Bi/Wkly Monthly 10 Month School Plan

9 South Jersey Federal Credit Union Welcome to the Family New Employer Groups with SJFCU Dare Direct Medical Billing provider of quality and efficient billing services amongst the physicians in the Cumberland County community. The company has grown significantly over the past 9 years, largely as a result of referrals from their very satisfied clients. Billing services are available to various specialists that include, single physicians, large multi-provider and multi-facility practices. Their industry knowledge and technical expertise gives them the ability to offer their clients an unmatched level of service. Gold Medal Environmental is in the business of non-hazardous solid waste management services. Since acquisition of a Philadelphia collection company, Gold Medal Disposal, several hauling companies and a highly strategic materials recovery facility ( MRF ), the company has become one of the fastest growing and among the largest independent providers of non-hazardous solid waste Don t Forget to Fall Back! Daylight Saving Time ends on November 1st, which means clocks should be set back one hour. And while you re Falling Back... It s a good time to check the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide dectors.