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Double Your Money with a Stimulus Payment Booster from Your Credit Union!
True or False: A Pop-Quiz on FICO Scores
On the Hunt for Credit
Vacation Safety Tips
Nomination by Petition
Partnership with Freehold Chrysler-Jeep & Freehold Mitsubishi
E-Banking Offers Convenience
CEO Corner with Thomas J. O’Shea
Double Your Money with a Stimulus Payment Booster from Your Credit Union!
Your Credit Union is pleased to introduce our newest loan, based on your federally issued Stimulus Payment. We call it a Stimulus Payment Booster and here’s how it works.
- Bring your Stimulus Payment check to your local branch or call 888.322.3732, option 5 to apply. If your check is electronically deposited into your Credit Union account, we can verify the amount.
- The loan amount will be for twice as much as your Stimulus Payment check amount. So if you receive a check for $600, your loan will be for $1,200. We keep your original deposit on hold until the loan is paid off and you get double the amount to spend however you want!
- Your rate, term and payment amount will depend on the amount of your Stimulus Payment. Call a Financial Service Representative at 888.322.3732, option 2 to discuss your personal options once you know how much your payment will be.
Take that special vacation you’ve been dreaming about, pay off some bills, or make home improvements and repairs. Spend your money on any worthwhile purpose. Best of all, you’ll still have the original amount of your Stimulus Payment check to use however you wish after the loan is paid off!
Boost Your Credit Score, too! Making loan payments on time is a terrific way to establish credit or improve your FICO score. Ask a Financial Representative about AutoPay, a FREE and convenient service that ensures you’ll never forget a payment.
*Some restrictions may apply and not everyone will qualify for this special loan.
True or False: A Pop Quiz on FICO Scores
Most lenders refer to FICO scores, the formula for which was developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation, to help determine a borrower’s creditworthiness. In other words, lenders use FICO scores to determine how likely a person is to pay back their loan on time. The lower your score, the less likely you are to be approved for a loan. And if you do get approved, you’re going to have to pay a much higher interest rate than someone with a high score. At your Credit Union, We’re Here For You – and we want to help you improve your FICO score as much as possible. Take this true/false quiz to see how much you know about FICO scores and what you can do to raise yours!
In order to view my credit report, I need to pay for it.
False. As per federal law, you are entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the three major credit-reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). You can order your reports from www.annualcreditreport.com. Check your reports for errors thoroughly. Be on the lookout for accounts incorrectly posted as delinquent or credit information about someone whose name is spelled similarly to yours. These types of errors could dramatically lower your credit score. If you find inaccurate information on any of your credit reports, be sure to report it to your lender immediately so that they can begin an investigation.
In order to get my credit score, I need to pay for it.
True. Your credit score is not included with your free annual credit reports and there are currently no laws in effect that require that information be made available to you. The good news is you can obtain your credit score relatively inexpensively. Be aware that there are several types of credit scores, but since most lenders refer to your FICO score, your best bet is to buy that one. You can purchase your FICO score from Equifax for $7.95 when you order your free annual reports. You can also get your FICO score from www.myfico.com. There, one credit report and one score cost $15.95; all three reports and all three scores cost $47.85. Please note that your scores and reports may vary slightly since some of your lenders may not report to all three credit-reporting agencies. Knowledge is power and once you know your credit score, you’ll be better positioned to improve it!
As long as I pay my bills on time, I can obtain a perfect FICO score.
False. FICO scores range from 300 to 850. When your personal score is calculated, several factors are taken into consideration. There is a general formula for FICO scores, as follows:
- 35% - Payment History
- 30% - Amount You Owe
- 15% - Length of Credit History
- 10% - Types of Credit
- 10% - New Credit
As you can see here, your payment history only accounts for 35% of your total credit score. Therefore, even if you pay all of your bills on time- all the time, there still may be factors that are lowering your score. For example, if you have a lot of unsecured loans or revolving credit, have several nearly maxed out credit cards, or open many new accounts in a short period of time, you will see your score begin to drop.
Paying down my debt will raise my FICO score.
True. The amount of money you owe accounts for 30% of your FICO score. Therefore, lowering your debt is a great way to raise your score. For example, if you have a $5,000 credit card limit and your balance is $3,000, your credit utilization is 60%. A good rule of thumb is to keep all of your balances at 10% of your available credit or lower.
If I open new accounts, my credit score will go up since I’ll have more available credit.
False. Opening new accounts can actually affect two of the factors that determine your FICO score: length of credit history and new credit, which together account for 25% of your score. The combined average age of all your accounts will drop when you open new accounts, which in turn hurts your credit score. Also, lenders must check your credit report each time you apply for new credit. These inquiries on your report may lower your score since people who acquire a lot of new credit are likely to become unable to make all of their payments on time. The moral of the story is that you should only open new lines of credit when necessary. Closing accounts will also lower your score. The best thing to do is to keep your accounts open with low balances and high credit limits.
To learn more about FICO scores, how to improve your credit score, and other tips on how to achieve and maintain financial health, visit www.myfico.com and click on Credit Education.
On the Hunt for Credit
Given Turmoil at Traditional Banks, Time May Be Right to Try a Credit Union
Click here to read an article by Andrea Coombes about the advantages of Credit Unions as posted on www.marketwatch.com on April 27, 2008.
Vacation Safety Tips
As the beautiful weather approaches and summer vacation is on everyone's mind, here are some important safety tips to help you plan a safe trip.
- Inform your neighbors of how long you expect to be away. Inform them if you will have a house sitter.
- Have a trusted friend or neighbor pick up mail and/or deliveries. Make arrangements to have the lawn mowed and leaves picked up.
- Simulate a "lived-in" appearance by using timers to run lights and a radio on and off during expected hours; Make sure garage doors are locked.
- Carry minimum luggage.
- Label each piece of luggage with your name and address.
- Be sure your luggage can be locked.
- While waiting, always keep your luggage close to you.
- Leave important non-travel papers, such as your social security and credit cards, at home.
- If traveling to a foreign country, photocopy all documents, including passport, credit cards and tickets, before leaving home and store copies in a safe place.
- Use traveler's checks and credit cards instead of cash whenever possible.
***3-1-1 for carry-ons = 3 ounce bottle or less (by volume) ; 1 quart-sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag; 1 bag per passenger placed in screening bin. One-quart bag per person limits the total liquid volume each traveler can bring. 3 oz. container size is a security measure.
- All liquids, gels and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller containers. Larger containers that are half-full or toothpaste tubes rolled up are not allowed. Each container must be three ounces or smaller.
- All liquids, gels and aerosols must be placed in a single, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag. Gallon size bags or bags that are not zip-top such as fold-over sandwich bags are not allowed. Each traveler can use only one, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag.
- Each traveler must remove their quart-sized plastic, zip-top bag from their carry-on and place it in a bin or on the conveyor belt for X-ray screening. X-raying separately will allow TSA security officers to more easily examine the declared items.
(There are exceptions for baby formula, breast milk, and other essential liquids, gels, and aerosols, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines.)
Nomination by Petition
Your Credit Union is pleased to announce our recent partnership with Freehold Chrysler-Jeep and Freehold Mitsubishi. These dealerships will be a valuable resource to our members, as their entire inventory can be conveniently viewed online 24/7 at www.FreeholdChryslerJeep.com and www.FreeholdMitsubishi.com.
Freehold Chrysler-Jeep and Freehold Mitsubishi are family owned and operated dealerships that have been in business for over 16 years. Over these years, they have gained the experience necessary to help their customers find affordable vehicles that will fit their needs - and their budgets! As a result, their customer satisfaction scores are continuously amongst the highest in the region.
The friendly and knowledgeable staff at Freehold Chrysler-Jeep and Freehold Mitsubishi is fully prepared to assist you throughout the car-buying process. They are committed to offering hassle-free, one stop shopping. Contact Bill Morgan at 732-780-2900 to schedule an appointment for your automotive needs or click on the web banner above for more information.
E-Banking Offers Convenience
In today’s fast-paced world, doing things that need to get done in a convenient and timely fashion is imperative. That can become a real problem, however, when the places you need to be are no where near each other. Fortunately, conducting your financial business with your Credit Union can be as simple as walking over to your computer!
Luckily for our members, E-Statements, Online Bill Payer, My Credit Union Online and E-Loan Officer make your PC a more convenient location than ever. With a simple click of the mouse you can conduct many of your financial transactions from the comfort of your own home. Apply for a loan, transfer funds, download statements, pay your bills, and much more!
Our E-Products are not only convenient and easy to use, they are also safe and secure. Your Credit Union understands the importance of your accounts’ security and that is why we take every measure possible to ensure your safety when accessing your accounts online, including our newly implemented Multifactor Authentication (MFA). MFA is a new security feature that adds a layer of protection to your online accounts by letting you know you're at our real website, and letting us know it's really you trying to access your account.
To see for yourself how convenient EBanking really is, go to www.faaerfcu.org and click on the My Credit Union Online login tab on the left side. If you have any questions, please call 888-322-3732, Option 2 to speak to a friendly Credit Union Representative.
CEO Corner with Thomas J. O'Shea
Do You Know Your Credit Score?
Your credit score is used for more than just credit. Many insurance companies use it as a factor when determining your auto insurance premium. Landlords often use it when deciding if they will rent you an apartment. Employers use it when deciding if they should give you a job.
It’s important for you to know your FICO® score. The FICO® score is the predominate score used by most lenders and insurers. Developed by FairIsaac Corporation, it is a statistically valid determination of your likelihood to repay a loan. Scores range from 300 to 850. The median score in the US is 723. Most lenders group the scores into about 5 categories ranging from “A+” to “E” with “A+” being the top tier (usually a FICO® of 750 and above) and “E” (a FICO® of less than 550) being the bottom end of the spectrum.
It’s important to know how you can improve your score. You score is composed of five general categories: your payment history, amount owed, length of credit history, amount of new credit and types of credit used. You FICO® score does not consider your race, religion, national origin, sex or marital status. Your age, salary and where you live are also not included in the calculation of your score. The score does not count “consumer-initiated” inquiries – requests you have made for your credit report in order to check it. It also does not count “administrative inquiries” – requests made by lenders to review your account with them.
Finally, you need to know how to improve your score. The biggest improvement comes from paying your bills on time. If you are not current with your bills, get current and stay that way. Pay off credit card debt. Reestablish credit by getting a new loan and paying it as scheduled, on time. If you have payments that are too large, give us a call. We can work with you to help you reduce your monthly payments and get you out of debt.
If you want to know your score, give us a call. We can go over your score and tell you how you can improve it. We can also give you an idea of what rates you should be paying for a car loan, mortgage or home equity loan. Usually, especially in today’s market, we can save you some money by lowering your rates or extending your repayment terms. Over time you can raise your score, lower your costs of borrowing and start saving for a new home, or retirement or a college education, or for that 50” plasma television!
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.
Thomas J. O'Shea
President/CEO
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