Black Friday – Protect yourself from identity theft

Posted by: Kristina Flores, Director of Marketing

For most consumers, the biggest fear they relate to Black Friday is the possibility of losing out on a great deal or having to take a few elbows to the ribs to ensure their place at the front of the line. While we encourage all shoppers to stay physically safe (and wear an extra padded winter coat to ward off those elbows) we also want to remind you of a less obvious danger on Black Friday – identity theft. Thieves see the chaos and distractions that come with Black Friday as an opportunity to take advantage. Here are a few tips to ensure you keep your finances and your identity safe.

1. Leave any credit or debit cards that you don’t plan to use at home. If possible, try to use only one card for the entire day. (This may also help you to avoid the temptation to shop outside your budget and will help you more easily track your expenses.)
2. Make a copy of the front and back of your cards so you have contact information in case your card is lost or stolen.
3. Never carry your social security card with you.
4. Don’t leave your card sitting out after you use it; swipe it and put it right back in your wallet or hold on to it. A simple click of a camera phone could capture all the necessary information that a thief might need.
5. Keep all your receipts in your wallet – not in the bag. If a bag of merchandise is stolen, return to the store to report it as soon as possible. If a thief tries to return the merchandise for cash they will have a harder time and this might cause a sales person to remember and identify them.
6. Men – do not tap or draw attention to the pocket that you carry your wallet in. Consider carrying your wallet in an inside jacket pocket instead of a pants pocket. Women – keep your wallet closed and purse zipped. Consider carrying a purse that goes across your body rather than just a shoulder. Don’t leave your purse in the cart.
7. Keep all your receipts; check your account online when you get home and daily over the week following to ensure you quickly catch any suspicious activity.
8. If there is an error when your card is originally swiped and needs to be re-swiped make a note of the time, the store, the register and the person doing the transaction in case you need to take action or report it later.
9. When using your debit card choose credit and sign for your purchases rather than debit with a PIN.
10. If carrying a Smart mobile phone, clear your cache and make sure you don’t have any passwords saved on it.
11. Be aware of those just standing around and watching.

If you fall victim to identity theft you should file a police report, contact your financial institution and have them put an alert on your accounts, check your credit reports, notify other creditors and dispute any unauthorized transactions. You should also contact all three credit bureaus:

• Equifax: 1-888-766-0008
• Experian: 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

For even more information on identity theft, watch this short video. Safe and happy shopping to all!

Bank Transfer Day – Credit Unions are a Smarter Choice

Posted by: Kristina Flores, Director of Marketing

With the recent buzz around Bank Transfer Day and its support of the credit union movement, we felt the need to provide some education on the subject. So, here’s a little bit about what it all means.

What is it and why was it started? Kristen Christian, a 27-year old Bank of America customer, deemed November 5, 2011 Bank Transfer Day –  a day that encourages bank customers to take their cash out of big banks and put it into smaller banks and credit unions instead. The creation of this day can be traced back to the Durbin Amendment – an add-on to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This amendment was signed into law by President Obama on July 21, 2010 and allows the Federal Reserve to regulate debit card interchange fees of financial institutions with over $10 billion in assets. The final rule limits debit card interchange fees to a maximum of $0.21 per transaction.

What does that really mean? A debit card interchange fee is the cost a retailer or merchant pays to accept your debit card. When you swipe your debit card, the above noted $0.21 is paid by the merchant or retailer and split between the financial institution that provides the card, and the payment technology company (VISA, Mastercard, Discover, etc). Prior to the $0.21 cap the average interchange fee was $0.44. Therefore, some financial institutions in response to this loss of income have begun implementing monthly fees of $3-$5 for consumers who use their debit card.

While we do believe there are several sides to every story, ultimately we cannot ignore a cause that supports credit unions! Durbin Amendment and debit card interchange fees aside, credit unions are a smarter choice for far more reasons than what this amendment has brought to light. Credit unions have been a powerful alternative all along and especially through the financial crisis. We should get some credit for the smart decisions we have made from the beginning – it’s simple since they are the principles we were founded on.

If you are reading this blog, you are likely already a member of our credit union or another. So we encourage you to tell your friends and family to join the movement and find out why credit unions are the smarter choice. Here’s a website to help you explain the benefits (or learn them for yourself) and find a credit union near you and/or your friends and family. Of course I can’t forget to mention that Prospera has a referral program – you and your referred friend and/or family member both receive $25 when they open a new Prospera checking account. In honor of Bank Transfer Day we’ll double it to $50 if you refer a checking account that is opened between October 31 and November 12, 2011. (All the same guidelines apply.)

Design Your Own Credit Card

Posted by: Kristina Flores, Director of Marketing

Are you one of those people who likes to put your personal stamp on everything you own? You know who you are; just take a look at some of your favorite possessions. I’m willing to bet you have a uniquely designed cell phone cover, a custom skin for your laptop, and a special mug that you drink your coffee from everyday. If I just hit the nail on the head, this new product is for you! With Design Your Own Card (DYOC) you can show off your favorite photo every time you shop for just $9.95!

DYOC allows you to customize your VISA ® Platinum credit card by uploading a personal custom image or choosing one from our catalogue of distinct images.

To get started log into your online credit card account right from our homepage. Once you have successfully logged in you will see a white button for DYOC; click here and follow the step-by-step instructions. (Not so tech-savvy? Click here for a manual that will walk you through the process.) If you have never logged into your online credit card account you can easily do so by completing the new user registration steps on the left hand side of the log-in screen.

If you do not have our VISA Platinum credit card apply today! It’s easy and comes with the following great benefits:

• A low rate of 9.90% APR
• No Annual Fee
• Credit line up to $25,000
• No transfer fee
• No cash advance fee at Prospera
• Payment required is only 1% of balance

Click here for more info.

So what will your image be? Go ahead, get started!

International Credit Union Day

Posted by: Kristina Flores, Director of Marketing

Each year on International Credit Union Day we find it important to reflect on who we are, what makes us different and how it all began. Therefore, it is no mistake that on this day we hold our annual 50 Year Member Luncheon. This luncheon celebrates those members who have been with the credit union fifty years or more. We value the relationships we have with all of our members, and this group is no exception. To be committed to a credit union for 50 years takes loyalty and dedication, values that each member of this esteemed group have. We currently have approximately 200 members that belong to this group, and each year we are lucky enough to have about a quarter of them join us with their spouse or significant other for food, champagne and celebration of how we began as a credit union. The members, of course, enjoy socializing and catching up with old friends. We have been celebrating this event for more than 20 years and hope to continue the tradition for twenty more!

Here are a few pictures from the event; visit our Facebook page to view the entire collection. In addition, we’ve added some audio from Prospera’s CEO, Sheila Schinke, October Viewpoint which outlines what makes credit unions different.

Credit Unions Joining Together to Stock the Shelves

Posted by: Kristina Flores, Director of Marketing

This October marks the third year of the Do it! Stock the Shelves Challenge, a campaign aimed at collecting donations for our local food pantries. This campaign is a great demonstration of collaboration at its best here in the Fox Valley, Oshkosh and Green Bay – thirty credit unions, J.J. Keller Foundation, Inc, Express Convenience Centers, The Post Crescent, Green Bay Press Gazette and The Oshkosh Northwestern.

Here’s how it works. The thirty credit unions act as collection sites for both monetary donations and non-perishable food items. The monetary donations  are matched three to one through matching fund grants from the J.J. Keller Family Foundation and the collaborative group of credit unions. In addition, Express Convenience Centers will donate $0.05 from every gallon of gas purchased during the campaign (October 16th through November 15th) up to a certain dollar amount. This means a $5.00 donation becomes a $15.00 donation, a $10.00 donation becomes a $30.00 donation, etc. Then the funds and non-perishable food items are donated to our local food pantries just in time for the holidays!

The credit unions also held a golf outing for the food drive in August with $12,000 in proceeds going towards the 2011 Stock the Shelves campaign.

Last year the campaign collected $265,000 and we are hoping for similar results this year. Please consider stopping in to make your donation. Every little bit helps! Look for the shopping cart in each branch (courtesy of Festival Foods) to place your non-perishable food items and/or visit the teller line for monetary donations.

Click here for more information.

Mobile Banking

You Can Take it With You – Mobile banking services a hot trend

We were recently mentioned in an article by Sean Johnson for Insight on Business. Read more.

Great Ways to Save – Around the House

Posted by: Kristina Flores, Director of Marketing

Here is the  last post in what has become a six-post series based on an article AARP published entitled 99 Great Ways to Save. This last section is specific to how you can save money around the house. I did not list all 99 tips on our blog, so I encourage you to check out the entire article. We hope you have enjoyed the series. Thanks AARP for the great tips!

1. View for less. Netflix streams movies to your home for $8 a month. See free TV shows at Hulu.com, TVClassicShows.com and TVLand.com. Or pick up a film at Redbox kiosks for $1. Network websites also offer some free viewing.

2. Repurpose pantyhose. Use the legs to scrub dishes, shine shoes, train shrubs or store onions, flower bulbs and paintbrushes. The seat can protect squash and melons from garden critters or be stretched over a wire hanger to make a pond or pool skimmer.

3. Soft touch. Cut dryer sheets into two. Each half has enough active ingredient for a large load of laundry.

4. Hang up. Ditch your cell plan if you use the phone only for emergencies. You can call 911 from any working cellphone, even if you don’t have a service plan or assigned number. A mobile phone costs as little as $10. Check out freebies at American Cell Phone Drive.

5. Penny-wise superfoods. What foods give you the most vitamins and minerals for the least money? In descending order, the best vegetables are cabbage, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens and carrots. Top fruits are watermelon, plums, oranges, apples and strawberries.

6. Free music online. Internet radio stations such as nuTsie, StereoMood and Jango offer music to fit your taste and mood. Radio Tuna searches for online stations currently streaming the artist or genre you’ve requested.

7. Down the drain. Don’t brush your hair over a sink. Discard cooking grease into cans, not into the drain. Pour a kettle of boiling water down each sink monthly to dislodge grease and soap scum before it hardens into clogs.
8. Use every bubble. Don’t discard slivers of soap. Melt them in a double boiler and pour the liquid into a pan to make new bars. Or put them into a leg from old pantyhose and use until the suds are gone.

9. Tomorrow’s soup. When you prepare a chicken, turkey or ham for dinner, freeze the bones to use later for soup stock. And make more than you need for one dinner — the leftovers can be frozen as take-to-work lunch.

10. Natural pest control. Cockroaches hate catnip-simmered water sprayed near baseboards. To repel mosquitoes, dab lavender oil on your skin or drink two teaspoons of cider vinegar in a glass of water for a pore-emitted repellent. If this repels you, check out the many commercial products on the market.

11. End postage hikes. Buying “forever” stamps means you won’t have to worry about higher postage costs when mailing a 1-ounce first-class letter, regardless of future hikes. And some stamp dealers will sell you bulk quantities of old regular stamps at a discount from face value.

12. Cheap textbooks. Cut the average $1,000 annual book bill for your college offspring by guiding them to Bartelby.com or Gutenberg.org for free downloads of selected textbooks. To rent books, there’s Chegg.com, BookRenter.com and CampusBookRentals.com.

13. Return to sender. Reply envelopes in junk mail can be slit, turned inside out, and closed up with a dab of glue. Voila! A perfectly good envelope for mailing.

14. Pet meds. Lower-cost generic versions of Frontline flea and tick protection are available at Walmart, PetSmart and Petco. Ask local pet shops and animal shelters about low-cost vaccine and spay/neutering clinics.

15. A little off the top. At barber and salon training programs, students provide free or low-cost haircuts, stylings and sometimes manicures, usually under the supervision of experts.

16. Weigh in. Not every 10-pound bag of potatoes is created equal. The weight marked on prepackaged produce is actually the minimum required by law. So use the scale to find the best buy.

17. Home spa. Your kitchen is stocked with natural beauty products. To soften skin and exfoliate, pour a gallon of whole milk into a warm bath, then climb in. (Cleopatra did.) Add honey or lavender oil for scent. Or wrap whole oatmeal in a cloth, immerse in warm water and squeeze out several times, then splash your face with the water. Make a scrub by mixing 4T cornmeal with the juice and pulp of half an orange.

18. Call overseas for free. Freephone2phone.com gives you 10 minutes of free talk to landlines in 55 countries and cellphones in some. You listen to short ads, then connect.

19. A personal windfall. Lots of free firewood drops in your yard over the course of a year (this is where the word “windfall” comes from). Gather it. Or visit building supply businesses that are giving away old pallets made from untreated wood.

20. Pickle perks. Pour brine from pickle jars into almost-empty salad dressing containers and shake to mix with the dressing still clinging to the sides. Or whisk mayonnaise with brine to make an instant salad dressing.

21. Remove the fish first. Don’t throw out the water from the fish tank — pour it on your garden. It’s a great fertilizer. And green to boot.

Great Ways to Save – Shopping

Posted by: Kristina Flores, Director of Marketing

Here is the second to last post in a series based on an article AARP published entitled 99 Great Ways to Save. This section is specific to how you can save money on shopping  expenses. This is my favorite post of the series; who doesn’t like a great bargain when it comes to shopping? Make sure you take a close look at number seven. This is just one way Prospera can help you save money!

1. Compare online. PriceGrabber.com, Nextag.com, Bizrate.com and Pricewatch.com provide price comparisons from scads of vendors selling just about everything. Decide what you want, and a link takes you directly to the product site.

2. Time is money. On average, coupon users save $8 per supermarket visit from 13 minutes of clipping—more than $400 a year, according to the coupon industry. Those who devote 20 minutes a week to the task shave their annual grocery bill by nearly $1,000.

3. It’s a wrap. Use Sunday comics or old maps and calendars for colorful gift packaging. Twist a nice dish towel around a bottle of wine to create a
double gift.

4. Deal-a-day. Social buying websites have taken off this year. You can join Groupon, LivingSocial and BuyWithMe for daily deals that show up in your email promising local discounts on everything from teeth whitening and yoga classes to maid services and fly-fishing. Dealfind and Dealon also feature deals on food, local events and services. Dealery.com and Yipit aggregate offerings from multiple sites for one-stop e-shopping.

5. Organics on a budget. Fruits and vegetables grown without pesticides can cost twice as much as non-organics in supermarkets. Local growing means lower shipping costs. Go to the Organic Consumers Association for bulk-buying co-ops and farmers’ markets in your area.

6. Menu online. Before you leave for a restaurant, find dining bargains online. Many chains and local spots post menus on their own sites, or if you’re in a major city, check Grubstreet.com or Gayot.com.

7. Click, don’t stick. Many banks offer a secure and convenient way to pay bills online for free, saving you the cost of checks, envelopes, stamps and the occasional late fee. Check with your bank. (Prospera does offer free bill pay!)

8. Rebate follow-up. Some 20 to 40 percent of shoppers never collect the rebate that helped seal the deal. Merchants are counting on this — prove them wrong! Save all receipts, forms and packaging needed to apply. Send them in immediately. Be careful to follow all directions and keep copies. Cash or spend your rebate right way — it may expire.

9. Treat everything as returnable. Don’t throw up your hands if a new purchase breaks or you decide you don’t like it. Many merchants and manufacturers will give you a replacement for free, no questions asked, with or without a receipt — but you’ve got to ask.

10. Say when. Winter is the best time to buy homes, exercise equipment and TVs; spring is best for computers, digital cameras and carpeting; summer for indoor furniture, camcorders and snow blowers; and fall for lawn mowers, gas grills and GPS navigators.

11. Books for less. Many libraries sell donated books to raise funds. You can often find like-new recent titles at a low cost — and support your library at the same time.

12. Hang on to hangers. When you buy clothes in a store, ask if you can keep the hangers they’re on. Many clerks will say yes.

13. Be a yard sale shark. Wall Street knows how to exploit price differences between markets. Likewise, you may make pocket money buying choice items at yard sales, then selling them on online auction sites or community boards.

Great Ways to Save – Traveling

Posted by: Kristina Flores, Director of Marketing

Here is the fourth post in a series based on an article AARP published entitled 99 Great Ways to Save. This section is specific to how you can save money on traveling expenses. If you are planning a trip yet this summer or even a winter getaway, this article is for you! Enjoy!

1. Wait for a weekday. Avoid buying airline tickets on a weekend — prices are often highest then. The best day is usually Tuesday, because many sales are launched Monday night and competitors typically scramble to match them by the next morning.

2. Ship ahoy! A day pass to an island resort may beat the price of paying à la carte for a day’s fun around a Caribbean island. Or book your own excursions before you sail, to avoid high-priced outings offered onboard. Check out pass costs at Resortforaday.com or call 631-630-3907.

3 Ye olde travel agent. Price out your trip components (air, hotel, rental car) at several online booking sites, then ask an agent to do better. Some large agencies buy blocks of tickets and rooms at bulk rates and charge less than discount websites; smaller agencies may be privy to obscure package deals.

4. Stand — and save. Many cafés and restaurants in Europe give you a choice of sitting at a table or standing at a counter. The food’s the same, but you’ll pay double for chairs and waiter service.

5. One-way wonders. In late spring, rental car companies move their fleets north from Florida; in late fall, it’s the opposite. Cash in on drastically reduced one-way rates — in April, Hertz charged $5 a day (plus taxes) to take a compact from Jacksonville to Washington Dulles Airport, with no drop-off fees.

6. Bring your ATM card. Pass up the foreign currency exchange kiosk — you’ll likely get a bad rate. Use an ATM instead.

7. Take photos. Avoid rental car damage charges by documenting your vehicle’s condition before and after you drive it, just in case the rental company blames you for somebody else’s dent.

8. Beach bargains. Shop seaside thrift stores for well-priced local souvenirs.

Great Ways to Save – Utility Costs

Posted by: Kristina Flores, Director of Marketing

Here is the third post in a series based on an article AARP published entitled 99 Great Ways to Save. This section is specific to how you can save money on your utility expenses and includes several tips that you can quickly and easily put into action. Enjoy!

1. A blanket solution. By insulating your electric water heater and its outgoing pipes, you can lower the temperature setting and save up to $200 a year. Pipe sleeves start at $2 for 12 feet, while heater blankets run about $20. Check with a plumber for safety.

2. Go solar. Advanced systems let you light your home and sell excess electricity to your power company. Simpler ones heat your home and water. All cut your energy costs but require major upfront investment with a seven- to 20-year payback. To reduce that expense, buy used equipment, collect tax credits and stick with simpler systems. Find more information at dsireusa.org and energystar.gov.

3. Auto-temperature. By installing a programmable thermostat, homeowners can save up to $180 a year in heating and cooling bills.

4. Go fluorescent. Replace those energy-hog incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, replacing a 60-watt incandescent bulb with a comparable 15-watt CFL could save you $69 over the life of the new bulb — typically seven years.

5. Stop gushing. Turn the valves under the kitchen and bathroom sinks halfway off. When you open a faucet above, the water won’t come gushing out, but there’ll be plenty to wash dishes or brush teeth.

6. Hang out. Your electric clothes dryer is the biggest energy-gobbling appliance in your home after the refrigerator, costing about $85 a year to run. So hang clothes outside, or inside until they’re almost dry, then pop them into the dryer.

7. A drip in time. Your AC system and dehumidifier pull water out of the air that’s perfect for gardening or car washing. Some devices will route the water to your garden.

8. Banish dust bunnies. Keeping your refrigerator’s coils dust-free can save about 6 percent on its power consumption. Access varies by model; check the manual. And, of course, unplug the fridge before you do anything.

9. Unplug. Disconnect your cellphone and other electronic gadgets when they are fully charged, or you’re just wasting energy. They draw power when they are plugged in, so don’t let them soak up juice all night.

10. Be convectional. If you’re buying an oven, consider a convection model. It can cut oven energy use by 20 percent because it continuously circulates heated air around the food, reducing both cooking temperature and time.

11. Don’t vent. Use bathroom and kitchen vent fans sparingly in summer and winter — the fans cost money to run and blow your cooled or heated air outside, forcing your furnace or air conditioner to make up the difference.

12. Winter savings. Inflatable fireplace dampers keep your home’s warm air from escaping through a fireplace with a leaky metal damper. Pay $50 to $200 once and save $50 to $200 every year.

13. Heat health. To conserve energy, turn off radiators or close heating and cooling vents in vacant rooms. Heavy drapes also lower energy bills.

14. Power down. If you have an electric water heater, install a switch so that it’s on only when you need hot water. Or buy a timer to do the job automatically. Turning down the temperature on an electric or gas water heater will also save you money year-round.

15. B.Y.O.B. Supermarkets in some areas charge 5 cents a bag. Some big stores give credits if you bring your own bag. Target discounts 5 cents for each throwaway bag not used, while CVS issues a $1 coupon every fourth time a customer checks out with a 99-cent “Green Bag Tag” that’s sold at the store.

16. Don’t fill the kettle. When you boil water for a cup of tea, put in just the amount you need. You’re wasting energy for anything extra.