MoneyWisdom Blog

With September coming up quickly, many big banks are offering flashy benefits for new college students. Banks create special offers, such as waiving monthly fees for a number of years or offering credit cards with cash back on certain purchases, to attract these new account holders.

But it’s important to realize that the fees don’t go away forever, many accounts have minimum balance requirements, and credit cards can come with exorbitant interest rates.

There's a solution, however. Just bring your credit union to college with you this fall!

Receiving your first paycheck at your first job is a rite of passage into adulthood. It feels good to look at that piece of paper and know that you earned the income it represents. Your hard work means you have money to spend as you like!

In the past, there was only one way to cash that check: You signed the back and brought it into your financial institution, where it might take a few days to clear before you got your money.

Today, there are multiple ways to cash your first payroll check...and you don't even have to wait for the check to clear with some of them! Here's how:

Due to increased security in credit card and Internet transactions, traditional targets of electronic theft, many thieves are turning to other options to steal money, such as hijacking ATMs. This can be done several ways. One popular method involves skimmers. Skimmers are card-reading devices that are attached to the card slots of legitimate ATMs. (Gas station payment terminals are another frequent target of skimmers.) They are not obviously noticeable, and they still allow the ATM to operate normally. When you insert your ATM or debit card, the skimmer reads your card information. When you enter your pin, the thieves capture it with a hidden camera or keyboard overlay device. Then they can put your information onto a blank magnetic card, and use it at ATMs or in stores, or just use your information to shop online, until your account runs out of money.

There was a bit of buzz in the banking world this past week about the rising cost of out-of-network ATM fees. And it reminded me — again! — about the benefits of credit union membership. In its 2015 survey, Bankrate.com revealed the average cost of an out-of-network ATM transaction rose 4% to $4.52. This is a fee that our members never have to pay.