What is an IRA?

An individual retirement account, or IRA, is a personal savings account designed to help you save for retirement. It allows you to save without paying taxes on your money until you begin to make withdrawals.

Want to learn more? Click here.

Move Your Money Already!

Here’s a great story I found on ABC News that suggests that people move their money out of big banks and into smaller community-based institutions like credit unions and community banks.

They even have Facebook and Twitter pages along with a search function to find a smaller bank or credit union near you!

Click here to read about the credit union difference.

Annette
-Marketing

A New Year…A New Budget

Happy New Year! Well, the Savings Challenge is done and we won! We are so thrilled about winning. Thank you to Connex for giving us a great opportunity not only to win money but also to learn how to save money. We would also like to congratulate the rest of the families that participated. I’m sure they, too, learned valuable tools for saving and spending wisely.

The New Year always brings thoughts of resolutions and changes for the future. This year is no exception for the Roche family. The resolutions haven’t changed much. We still want to live healthier, spend more time together as a family, give back to our community and, of course, save money.

While saving money would give us the means to accomplish all of those things, we realize a great lesson: money, alone, doesn’t improve our financial lives. In 2009, we learned the importance of having a budget and needing to change it accordingly. We’ve decided to keep our goals the same this year: no more credit cards and save as much money as possible and still have a life (more family time.)

Balancing saving money with family time doesn’t have to be difficult. Game nights are fun. Hiking, biking and “beaching” are inexpensive and you can pack a picnic lunch to eliminate eating out. Pizza night is more fun when we make our own (though a bit messier.) Watching a movie at home with the lights out and eating popcorn is a favorite with our kids.

We are just as excited this year, as last year, to see the results of the savings and spending tools we use. Participating in the Savings Challenge truly helped us to make the life style changes necessary to be financially prepared for the day-to-day expenses of life. And also to be better prepared for the unexpected expenses that always come at the worst time.

Here’s to 2010! Best of luck with all the challenges that come your way. With some planning, compromise and diligence anything is possible.

Are you giving yourself a financial makeover or have a financial plan to improve your financial life for 2010?

Share in the moment! The Roches: 2009 Savings Challenge Winners

Congrats to the Roche Family, winners of the 2009 Connex Savings Challenge. Share in their winning moment! View the 60-second video of Lori and Chris Roche accepting their hard-earned prize!

Or click here to view the video and look back at what they did to win the Savings Challenge.

Fed up with your bank? 3 tips for simple switching

People are so fed up with the word “fee” defining their relationship with their banks….rather than “free.” Click here to view the MSN Money article “Fed up with your bank? 3 tips for simple switching” and video that tells you how to switch from a bank (it couldn’t be any easier!)

The article endorses credit unions as a great alternative where people can save money with access to free checking, where borrowing costs less, fees are lower and savings rates are higher.

Annette
-Marketing

Congratulations Roche Family! 2009 Connex Savings Challenge Winners

The Unbank has Teamed Up with the CT Food Bank!

Free Workshop: How Teens Can Save For Their Futures

Unbelievable Share Certificate Rates. Only from the Unbank.

Start on the path toward your savings goals today!

26-month term – 2.05% APY* with Your Choice Checking
20-month term – 1.55% APY* with Your Choice Checking
13-month term – 1.25% APY* with Your Choice Checking

Stop by the nearest branch or call 1-800-CR-UNION to speak to a Connex Member Service Representative. Connex members: Open your Share Certificate with the click of a button. Click here!

*APY=Annual Percentage Yield. Rates effective November 12, 2009 and are subject to expire at any time. 13-month Share Certificate has an APY of 1.00% without Your Choice Checking. 20-month Share Certificate has an APY of 1.30% without Your Choice Checking. 26-month Share Certificate has an APY of 1.80% without Your Choice Checking. $500 minimum deposit. Maximum deposit of $250,000. A penalty will be imposed for early withdrawal. May not be combined with other offers. Your Choice Checking requires full direct deposit or a $5 monthly fee is imposed. Business accounts are not eligible for Your Choice Checking or Bonus Rewards.

The Real Challenge

Everyone is asking us if we’re excited that the Savings Challenge is almost over. With less than one month to go, the Connex Credit Union Savings Challenge will end and a winner will be announced and rewarded with $10,000.00. Yes, it excites us they we may win. I would be lying if I said winning hasn’t crossed our minds a couple of hundred times. However, the way we see it, the “Savings Challenge” is never really over.

It’s always a challenge to save money, whether it’s for monthly bills or a vacation or for trying to keep a safety net for that unexpected repair bill that always happens at the worst time. I haven’t even mentioned keeping up with a savings or retirement fund.

Everyone’s income and spending is different. It would be easier to save money if we had more! What we have learned is that the challenge isn’t about the amount of money we have to work with. It’s the way we approach saving and spending money. It’s the tools we use to achieve financial comfort and success. Looking back on this year, I sometimes regret that we couldn’t have saved more money to better our chance to win the challenge. But sometimes, going to the movies for “date night” as a couple is more valuable to our family than putting $25 in the vacation fund. The $50 we spent to go out to dinner as a family was well worth the smiles and laughter. Not to mention, the conversation we shared about how much more we appreciate dinner out since it happens much less often now.

We will continue to follow our budget and use the strategies that we have learned and applied during the Savings Challenge. But, we will also continue to live our lives. We were able to go to Texas to be with our son when he graduated from Basic Training in the Air Force. We were able to go on day trips to an amusement park, car racing, hiking, biking and beaches to go boogie boarding…all without using our credit card. We could have saved much more money by not doing these things with our family, but at what cost?

Trust me. I’m not saying winning $10,000 is not important to us. We want to win. What I am saying is that it is necessary to live within your means and to save money, but don’t forget to enjoy life. Don’t let money take over your life, whether cutting your spending or increasing your savings. Make changes that will last a lifetime, not just for the short term. Find a balance that works for you. It will be difficult at the beginning, but in the long run it will be well worth the effort.

Do you think there are reasonable ways to “enjoy life” when you’re on a budget or are saving strictly for a specific goal? If so, what are they and do you them?

–Lori Roche

This is an entry from the 2009 Connex Savings Challenge Blog, a place where you can keep up with the Savings Challenge families and they can share great financial tips, ways they are saving and budgeting and much more! For more blog entries and information on the Connex Savings Challenge, visit http://www.connexcu.org.