Pursuit of Excellence

http://www.thepennyhoarder.com/most-common-credit-union-myths/

When you’re looking for a new place to park money and cash checks, it’s tempting to just pop into the nearest bank and open an account. Not so fast, my friend. You might want to give credit unions a look because they’re a great alternative to standard banking options. There are 4 myths that the author reveals aren’t true: “I’ll never be able to find a free credit union ATM”,  “Banks have better consumer technology than credit unions”,  “Credit unions only want customers with high bank balances”, and “You have to belong to a union or military branch to join a credit union”. Several of the credit unions are plugged into a co-op network which allows access to over 30,000 ATMs nationwide. Also, most credit unions have the same online banking technology as banks that’s either equal or even superior to some banks online banking. The reason is because the same company that creates the software for banks can in turn do the same for credit unions. Credit unions also have accounts that have low minimum balance requirements like banks, and finally membership is open to almost anyone in credit unions. As a voting member, you help elect the Board of Directors and can even show up at public meetings to offer input and opinions. My credit union takes benefits a step further. It offers discounts on everything from satellite television service to home security systems. It even provides access to a free budgeting app so I can hoard my pennies responsibly.  Credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, the same type of regulatory agency as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which oversees banks. It’s worth considering a credit union to give yourself extra options when considering loans or higher interest rates for the sake of safe returns.

http://www.inc.com/associated-press/trump-financial-deregulation-dodd-frank-executive-order.html

President Donald Trump is taking his first steps aimed at scaling back financial services regulations, and the Republican-run Congress cast a vote early Friday signaling that it’s eager to help. The president will sign an executive order Friday that will direct the Treasury secretary to review the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law, which reshaped financial regulation after the 2008-09 financial crisis. The president would be meeting with top CEOs and banking executives at a meeting at the White House on Friday as of the writing of this article. One of the attendees is Jamie Dimon CEO of JP Morgan Chase. “There’s nobody better to tell me about Dodd-Frank than Jamie, so you’re going to tell me about it,” Trump said. He told the group that he expects his administration “to be cutting a lot out of Dodd-Frank because frankly I have so many people, friends of mine that have nice businesses that can’t borrow money. They just can’t get any money because the banks just won’t let ’em borrow because of the rules and regulations of Dodd-Frank.” It’s likely that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will be reviewed because of its ability to police consumer products such as mortgages, credit cards, student loans etc. Dodd-Frank has been viewed as many critics as an example of government overreach. It’ll be interesting to see what banks will do if the regulations are loosened.

If you need are interested in creating a budget, then contact me for a financial checkup in the contact me section. Also, learn more about Mustard Seed in the mustard seed section.

For this week, I’ve included Focus On One Goal At A Time – Motivational Video from the Endless Motivation YouTube channel.

“If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure; real survivors learn wisdom from others.” Proverbs 28:26 MSG