Dear Home & Family Finance Resource Center Subscriber:

Make 2007 Your Year to Become Financially Fit

The brand new Home & Family Finance® Resource Center rolls out another great idea for 2007—a yearlong Financial Fitness Challenge.

Each month, the Financial Fitness Challenge brings you a mix of options:

• A big picture task—say, calculating your net worth—you can tackle to make progress on your financial fitness goals
• A consumer protection or maintenance task, for example, a reminder to claim flex benefits before they expire
• “Set it and forget it”—ideas to automate some financial chores so you don’t have to address the same question over and over, for example, by simply using direct deposit and automating mortgage payments

And when you least expect it, we’ll throw you a curve to sharpen your instincts and remind you that life is, well, unpredictable. What if you suddenly lose overtime hours you’ve been counting on? What happens if your car is totaled—and insurance coverage is less than what you owe on the car? We’ll set up a Fickle Finger of Fate situation, make some suggestions, and open the floor to online feedback from other consumers.

We’ll give you tips and tools all year long to help you make the most of your finances—calculators, articles, videos, audio, and Web sites—and a talk-back message board so like-minded consumers can share strategies and ideas. We’ll provide an online checklist so you can chart your progress. After all, you only get out of the Financial Fitness Challenge what you put into it.

Cash! Did we forget to mention cash? Each month, 10 consumers will win $50 each, just for participating in the Financial Fitness Challenge.

We have rewards for credit unions, too, for high participation. Involve your staff members and your SEGs—they all can benefit from financial fitness training.

Why the Financial Fitness Challenge? Many people are overwhelmed by their financial options. They’re busy with daily living and keep meaning to get around to all those tasks that build financial fitness. We break it down—make it logical, make it meaningful, make it doable. What else would members expect from their credit union?

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New Home & Family Finance Resource Center content featured in December:

Credits and Deductions Save You Tax Dollars (featured week of Dec. 4)
Are you taking advantage of all the credits and deductions available to you? (tr-1645)

Ten Ways to Avoid Airline Flight Delays (featured week of Dec. 11)
Most travelers assume that there’s nothing they can do to alleviate flight delays. This article gets them off the ground. (tl-1644)

Live Simply to Reap Savings (featured week of Dec. 18)
Just one piece of advice has the power to both simplify and transform your life: Live beneath your means. (mm-1643)

Your Money Personality—It’s All in Your Head (featured week of Dec. 25)
Find out how different cultures view money and spending. (mm-1650)

Fast Fact: Multifactor Authentication: What It Means for Consumers (featured week of Dec. 25)
It might take a little longer to log into your credit union’s online banking Web site. Before getting frustrated, realize that it’s for your safety.

Killer Credit Score Video Clip
The newest Home & Family Finance Resource Center video clip tells members five ways to improve their credit scores and encourages them to stop at your credit union for help. Look for this new video on the Resource Center’s home page in December.

Use these "In the next issue..." messages in your traditional newsletter and online to regularly tell members what's coming in the Home & Family Finance Resource Center as you remind them to visit your Web site. Also remind your members to participate in December’s Snap Survey about how you’ll be handling holiday expenses (featured beginning Dec. 4).

Get the February articles here

In the January issue (available beginning Jan.1)

Trying to Find Happiness with Higher Gas Mileage
Small cars aren’t the only vehicles with good gas mileage. Here are some options if you’re getting tired of spending a fortune every time you stop at the pump.

Say ‘I Do’ Without the Debt
Couples spend an average of $27,000 to tie the knot. You can have the wedding of your dreams without seeing too much “red.”

Roth IRA Early Withdrawals May Prompt Penalties
Like chocolate that woos a dieter even when it’s safely stored in a drawer, money deposited in a Roth IRA (individual retirement account) can tempt accountholders who need funds in a hurry.

Lenders, Counselors Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure
If you’re a homeowner, the thought of not being able to make the mortgage payments probably tops your list of financial worst-case scenarios. While serious default can lead to foreclosure, a financial bump in the road does not have to spell disaster.

IRS Imposters Among the 2006 “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams
Here’s the bad news about any unexpected good news you receive in an e-mail from the Internal Revenue Service: It’s probably bogus.

Looking for fresh ways to attract members to your Web site and to the Home & Family Finance Resource Center? Send these "coming soon" announcements to your sponsor/sponsors and suggest that they be posted on the Intranet or published in the sponsor newsletter every month.

What do you like about your Home & Family Finance Resource Center subscription? What would you change? What would you tell colleagues at another credit union about the Resource Center if they were considering a subscription? Have good ideas to share about how you promote it to your members?

Click here to let us know.