Volume 25, Issue 2 Spring 2015 www.fortcommunity.com Fort Community Credit Union A quarterly newsletter for Fort Community Credit Union Members Some of our FCCU staff met with local politicians to advocate for credit unions and our members. Employees participated at the Bowl-a-Thon to benefit the Children's Miracle Network. FCCU staff volunteered at the Special Olympics Basketball Tournament at FAHS. Buzz made an appearance at the Tomorrow's Hope Hoops for Hope event. Community Calendar Fort Atkinson 3/12 First Home Buyers Seminar 5/2 FCCU Shred Event (Main Branch) 5/25 Fort Koshkonong Rendevous 6/18-6/21 Generals Baseball Festival Jefferson 4/25 FCCU Shred Event 5/2 City Wide Rummage Sale 5/30 Jefferson County Dairy Breakfast 7/8-7/12 Jefferson County Fair Whitewater 5/9 FCCU Shred Event 7/3-7/5 4th of July Festivities Holiday Hours 4/3 Good Friday - open normal hours 5/25 Memorial Day - Closed 7/4 Independence Day - Closed Locations Fort Atkinson (Main Office) 800 Madison Ave 920-563-7305 Southside 1610 Janesville Ave 920-563-0869 Jefferson 100 North Main Street 920-674-7020 Whitewater 203 East Milwaukee 262-473-2130
JOIN US! Please join us at our annual meeting on Thursday, March 19th at 4 pm, located at our Jefferson Branch in the Puerner Room. Join the Buzz Kids Club! Ella Dehnert $25 VISA Gift Card Winner! Bring your membership card in each month. Make a deposit of $5 or more and get a gift each month. Do this 3 months in a row and we will enter your name into a drawing to win a $25 VISA Gift Card! First Home Buyers Seminar FCCU will be holding a First Home Buyers Community Seminar for anyone who is interested in purchasing a home. This info session will be held on Thursday, March 12th from 6:15-7:15 pm in the FCCU Community Room - 732 Madison Ave (between Crimson and MK Cellular). Please RSVP to Marissa at mweidenfeller@fortcommunity.com or by phone 920-723-0943. We hope to see you there! Don't Forget About Shredding! Protect your identity this year by shredding your confidential documents with FCCU. We will ensure that your confidential information is shredded and disposed of safely. Jefferson Branch 4/25 from 9 am to 11 am Fort Main Branch 5/2 from 9 am to 11 am Whitewater Branch 5/9 from 9 am to 11 am
Congrats on Retirement Ed! As sad as we are to see Ed leave, we are happy that he has the freedom to travel and will be spending time with his family and friends. We celebrated Ed's retirement at our annual employee meeting in January. A teary eyed staff listened as Ron gave his final remarks on Ed's retirement. As our FCCU family ate dinner together, we were able to hear some memorable stories about Ed and his time at FCCU. We thank you Ed for your time and commitment to FCCU and we wish you nothing but the best for the future! Impacting Our Communities FCCU initiated the Buzz Points reward program as a way to promote spending locally. Rewards include gift cards to local merchants and the ability to donate your reward points to local charities. We recently received this email from one of the local charities that has seen a positive impact because of Buzz Points. We want to truly Thank You for starting the Buzz Points Program. We just hit the $500 mark of donations to the Walworth County Alliance for Children. Thanks to Fort Community Credit Union, the Buzz Points program has made a significant difference in the lives of abused and neglected Children in Walworth County. For that, we are truly Grateful. We are proud to say we are now at 21% spending locally! Buzz Points has made a difference in where we shop, making sure we support our Local Businesses. The awareness you bring for supporting the Local Businesses is great! Again, Thank You and Fort Community Credit Union for finding ways to support your Members and the Community. Take Care, Ron & Sandy
Building and Maintaining a Strong Credit Score Originally, credit scores were meant to help lenders figure out whether you were likely to pay back borrowed money. They re still used primarily for that purpose, but over time their use has expanded. Now landlords check them to choose the best tenants, and even employers think they re an indication of how responsible a job applicant may be. But it s all too easy to end up with poor credit because of a medical emergency, identity theft or just plain bad luck. Understanding the factors that go into credit scores makes it easier to reach the top of the ladder and stay there. Here s a quick guide. Payment history: 35% This category has the biggest impact on your score. Lenders want to see that all debts have been paid on time. The only thing you can do to remedy a spotty history is to make and keep a commitment to pay all bills on time. Obviously, bills like credit cards, student and car loans shouldn t be neglected, but some utilities also report to credit agencies, so don t let those slide either. In fact, paying a mortgage and certain utility bills late can do even more damage than other types of delayed payments. Amounts owed: 30% Improve this part of your score by reducing your overall debt, especially on credit accounts. If you do carry unpaid balances, be mindful of your debt-to-credit ratio. That s the amount you owe compared with the level of credit available to you. A lower ratio helps your score, so reducing debt on cards that are almost maxed out is a good idea. Length of credit history: 15% This category refers to the age of your accounts. The longer your history is, the higher your score. If you re young or just started building your track record, you ll have to be patient with this one. One way to begin amassing a track record is to have a parent or grandparent authorize you as a user of one of their accounts. If you re well established as a borrower, it s worth keeping older credit lines open in most cases, and avoiding opening too many new cards that will bring down the average age of your accounts. Continued on next page
New credit: 10% Here s another good reason not to open a bunch of new accounts. Every time you apply for a new loan, for instance, it creates what s called a credit pull on your account and too many of those in quick succession will cut your score. Open only the accounts you really need, and focus on responsibly using what you already have. Types of credit: 10% Credit scores are weakened when you only have one type of account only credit cards, for instance, or just student loans. Judiciously spreading your borrowing across many types of financial products looks good to lenders, so diversify if you possibly can. If you already have a credit card and student debts, consider applying for a personal loan from a financial institution like Fort Community Credit Union. If your debt is out of control and you re making payments late, tinkering with the other components of your credit score won t help you much. So make a plan to reduce what you owe, and put behind it a rock-solid commitment to pay everything on time. Do that, and your credit score will gradually improve. Virginia C. McGuire, NerdWallet Wanna Feel that Summer Wind in your Hair? With warmer weather approaching, a number of things come to mind, such as flowers blooming, trips to the beach, and car washes. What better way to celebrate the nice weather than to have your windows down in a new car! FCCU is the place to go for a new or used car loan. Check out our awesome rates below! Speak to a FCCU loan officer or visit www.fortcommunity.com to learn more. *APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Some restrictions apply. Loan rates are subject to qualified credit. **Term may be limited based upon age of vehicle and credit history.