Dear Home & Family Finance Resource Center Subscriber:

Are You Up for a Challenge? 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.

In January, your first challenge is to calculate your net worth. Why start here? It’s akin to having a physical checkup before you begin an exercise program. It gives you a look at the big picture, financially speaking.

And that leads to your second task this month--take a look at the small picture by tracking your spending.

You can’t make progress on your financial goals until you know where your money is going.

This month’s basic maintenance task is to request a free copy of your credit report. You’re eligible for one free credit report from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion each year.

Good luck; look for the Challenge on H&FFRC in early January.

Net-Worth Statement Reveals Financial Progress

For more information click here

A net-worth statement provides a snapshot of where you stand financially. A new statement stuffer from the Credit Union National Association, “Net-Worth Statement Reveals Financial Progress,” includes a work sheet to help track assets and liabilities. From these findings you can determine what action to take--for example, spend less, earn or save more, curtail credit--to achieve your financial goals.

And for details about calculating your net worth participate in this month’s Financial Fitness Challenge (see details above).

Tools to Promote

Remember, your members can win cash by participating in the Challenge, and your credit union staff can win prizes, too (details in a later issue) for high participation. Look for the Financial Fitness Challenge logo to use in your newsletter and on your Web site—coming soon in Tools to Promote.

---

To connect to Copy & Art Express, or to order, click here

Copy & Art Express^TM (CARTX) subscribers--The number in parenthesis after each summary is the item number of a shorter version of the article available in CARTX. To locate the article, enter this number in the key word search.

Forgot your password? Click here

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

Trying to Find Happiness With Higher Gas Mileage (featured week of Jan. 1)
Small cars aren’t the only vehicles out there with good gas mileage. (arl-1690)

Say ‘I Do’ Without the Debt (featured week of Jan. 8)
Couples spent an average of $26,800 to tie the knot in 2006. You can have the wedding of your dreams without seeing too much “red.”

IRS Imposters Among the 2006 “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams (featured week of Jan. 15)
Here’s the bad news about any unexpected good news you receive in an e-mail from the IRS: It’s probably bogus. (tr-1694)

Roth IRA Early Withdrawals May Prompt Penalties (featured week of Jan. 22)
Like chocolate woos a dieter even when it’s stored in a drawer, money in a Roth IRA can tempt accountholders who need funds in a hurry. (rt-1692)

Lenders, Counselors Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure (featured week of Jan. 29)
A financial bump in the road does not have to spell a mortgage disaster. (ml-1693, ml-1698)

Getting Tax Records Organized Video Clip
The newest Home & Family Finance Resource Center video clip tells members how to get records organized for tax season. Look for this new video on the Resource Center’s home page in January.

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 January’s What’s Your Story about many women’s sense of financial insecurity (featured beginning Jan. 2).

Get the March articles here

In the February issue (available beginning Feb. 5)

Financial Fitness Challenge
--Use the Budget Blueprint calculator to create a spending plan you can live with.

Planning and budgeting for that special vacation
You’re finally going on that dream trip. We can help you prepare.

What to consider if your boss offers a buyout
When your employer offers you a buyout package to leave the company, it can come as a rude shock, a welcome opportunity, or anything in between.

Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission and what it may mean for consumers
Pressure for change is on the insurance industry. But how will these changes affect consumers?

Mortgages: Swing and bridge loans
People building or buying a new house while trying to sell their old one may need to turn to special types of financing: a construction loan or bridge loan.

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.