Have high prices got you looking for ways to stretch your dollars? We’re sharing our money management best practices to help you stretch your dollars, create an inflation-proof budget, and increase your savings. Discover how you can manage your money wisely in any economy. 4 tips for better money management Have high prices got you looking for ways to stretch your dollars? We’re sharing our money management best practices to help you stretch your dollars, create an inflation-proof budget, and increase your savings. Discover how you can manage your money wisely in any economy. Want to be more financially savvy? These tips will help you skillfully manage your money Have high prices got you looking for ways to stretch your dollars? We’re sharing our money management best practices to help you stretch your dollars, create an inflation-proof budget, and increase your savings. Discover how you can manage your money wisely in any economy. Create an inflation-proof budget Rising prices can make it feel impossible to create a budget that allows you to enjoy life and still build your savings. But it is possible. Here's how to get started. Review your expenses. The first step to creating a budget is to review your bills and expenses. This is a great way to track where your money goes each month. Are you spending too much on dining out? Could you get a better deal if you switch cell phone providers? Are you paying for music and video streaming services that you don’t use anymore? Reviewing expenses gives you a better understanding of how your money is being spent and how you can modify your choices to live a more financially successful life. Increase your income. Take a look at your current salary and compare it to other people in similar roles (Glassdoor's salary index is a great place to start). Is it in line with industry averages for your role? If not, consider negotiating a higher salary with your current employer. Another option is to move to a different company. Protocol reports professionals who job-hopped in the past few years “received a 30% increase in salary.”If increasing your salary isn’t possible now, there are other ways to grow your checking account balance. Many individuals are starting side-hustles to supplement their income. If you have many years of experience in an industry, you can offer consulting or training services. If you have musical talent, you can perform at gigs or give music lessons. And, if you’re on social media all the time, consider that social media management and blogging are considered some of the most profitable side jobs. Expand your professional skills. Learning new skills can open up new job opportunities—and access to industries where you may not have experience. Start saving In addition to modifying your budget and increasing your income, saving money is a vital part of money management. Set aside a fixed amount to deposit into your savings account each month. It doesn’t have to be a large amount—you can start with 5 percent and increase that amount as your earnings increase. What’s important is to make savings a habit. Consider setting up an automatic transfer to savings every time you get paid. Invest for the future Investing can sound scary, but it doesn’t have to be. Investing is simply making your money work for you instead of having it sit in your bank account. Even if you’re not ready to invest in the stock market, putting your money in a high-yield savings account or a certificate of deposit can produce profitable results. If you’re not sure how or where to start investing your money, talk to a financial adviser for help evaluating your various investment choices. Review your retirement options Planning ahead for your golden years ensures your retirement will be enjoyable and relatively stress-free. If your employer offers a retirement plan like a 401(k), it’s a great idea to start investing in it as soon as you can, especially if they offer a matching contribution. If you don’t have access to an employer plan, or if you want to save more than your employer’s plan allows, you have two options for opening an individual retirement account (IRA). Traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA) A traditional individual retirement account is funded with pre-tax money. This means you have the benefit of getting a tax deduction on your contribution. Be aware: This means you may owe taxes on the money when you withdraw it. You will also not be able to withdraw funds until you reach the age of 59½. Expect your retirement savings needs to change over time, especially if you change employers. Investopedia notes, “Rolling your money over into an IRA will often reduce the management and administrative fees you've been paying.” Your financial advisor can counsel you on the best course of action to take for your retirement funds. Sign up for Vibrant Credit Union’s personal banking services Transforming into a financially savvy superstar is easy when you take advantage of Vibrant’s personal banking services. Our friendly and knowledgeable team makes banking services easy to understand so you can achieve your financial goals. Contact us to discuss all that we can help you achieve. FAQs Q: What do I need to open a Vibrant checking or savings account? A: To open an account, you’ll need to provide the following: Full name Address Social Security Number Valid, government-issued photo ID: driver’s license, passport or military ID. Minimum deposit of $5 to activate your account. Every Vibrant member must open a membership savings account with a minimum $5 deposit before they can take advantage of other products and services. Q: How much money should I keep in my checking account? A: We recommend keeping 1–2 months of living expenses in your checking account. Q: How do I open an IRA? A: Schedule an appointment with a Vibrant personal banker to review your goals. They'll set up your account and help you choose a portfolio that's the right fit. Previous Item Next Item

In late 2023, following the kind of light remodeling it takes to transform a credit union into a full-service restaurant, Vibrant will reopen its Bettendorf branch as the newest location of Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen. Why Vibrant turned its Bettendorf branch into a coffeehouse In late 2023, following the kind of light remodeling it takes to transform a credit union into a full-service restaurant, Vibrant will reopen its Bettendorf branch as the newest location of Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen. In late 2023, following the kind of light remodeling it takes to transform a credit union into a full-service restaurant, Vibrant will reopen its Bettendorf branch as the newest location of Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen . Naturally, people have a lot of questions. Here are a few answers. How does a credit union decide to start a coffeehouse? People used to choose where to bank based largely on which financial institutions had the closest branches—because every time you needed to make a deposit or get cash, you had to visit in person. Now that nearly 80% of Americans prefer to bank online, there’s a lot less need for multiple branch locations in every city. So a few years ago, we started looking at other ways we could maintain a presence in the community that went beyond traditional banking. How will the Bettendorf Coffeehouse compare to the Moline location? The menu will be the same, and the look and feel are similar—but the vibe is a little different. While our Moline location is in a mostly commercial area, the Bettendorf Coffeehouse will have more of a neighborhood feel—with a large patio and plenty of space for after-school hangouts and family gatherings. Can I bank there? One of the highlights of the new space will be a new interactive teller machine (ITM) that can handle all your banking transactions and connect you to a live representative when you need assistance. What will happen to the people who work at the Bettendorf branch? Don’t worry, we’re not going to make them learn how to brew coffee (unless they really want to!). Our branch employees will be moving into similar roles either at Vibrant HQ or at one of our other branches. Previous Item Next Item

To save money, you have to spend less than you earn. Simple enough, right? The truth is that it’s easier said than done. Saving money takes discipline, especially when you’re fresh out of college. No more classes and no more homework, but there are bills to pay and plenty of opportunities to spend your hard-earned money now that you’ve entered “the real world.” 5 money-saving tips for college graduates To save money, you have to spend less than you earn. Simple enough, right? The truth is that it’s easier said than done. Saving money takes discipline, especially when you’re fresh out of college. No more classes and no more homework, but there are bills to pay and plenty of opportunities to spend your hard-earned money now that you’ve entered “the real world.” To save money, you have to spend less than you earn. Simple enough, right? The truth is that it’s easier said than done. Saving money takes discipline, especially when you’re fresh out of college. No more classes and no more homework, but there are bills to pay and plenty of opportunities to spend your hard-earned money now that you’ve entered “the real world.” Here are five simple tips for how to stay on top of your savings after you graduate college. Start with a simple budget You can certainly keep a running list of expenses and then add it up at the end of the month to see if you spent less than you earned, but making a budget might be more helpful. Consider the 50/30/20 approach to budgeting. Set aside 50% of your budget for your “needs” like rent, utilities, and groceries, 30% for your “wants” like road trips, tickets to concerts, and pizza on Friday nights, and the last 20% for savings. The idea is to figure out how much you have to spend on what you need, so that you know how much you can afford to spend on what you want. Make your student loan payments According to the most recent statistics, about 45 million Americans have student loan debt. If you’re one of them, the sooner you start making payments, the better off you’ll be. Most student loans have a six-month grace period after graduation, but you’ll save on interest if you can start paying off that debt sooner. Most importantly, make sure you are making your payments on time. If you have federal student loans and are struggling to make payments, it might be worth considering applying for an income-driven repayment plan. Work on building your credit Need another reason to make your student loan payments? Well, aside from the fact that that debt isn’t going anywhere unless you start paying it off, making payments helps build your credit. It’s an opportunity to show lenders that you are a responsible borrower, improving your chances of being approved for a mortgage or a car loan. You should also explore other ways to build your credit, like applying for a credit card. Just remember to spend responsibly! Keep enough in your savings for emergencies Not all savings is for retirement. And considering you’re a recent college graduate, it’s safe to say retirement is probably not in your immediate future. Savings at your age is about creating breathing room, because a budget will only get you so far before an unexpected expense wrecks your budget. You can start by aiming to save at least 20% of your paycheck and setting it aside in a high-yield savings account. Consider that your emergency fund. If you can reach the point where you have at least $500 set aside for emergencies, you’ll have a great start. Understand the basics of investing The next best thing to saving your money is investing it. Now before you start dreaming about trading on Wall Street, there are simpler ways to invest than buying individual stocks. You can invest your income in a retirement account like a 401(k) or IRA, allowing your money to grow over time due to compound interest. Retirement may be in your distant future, but your future self will almost certainly be thankful you invested as early as you did. If you are interested in learning more about how you can start saving post-graduation, please get in touch with us . The learning never stops, even after college! Previous Item Next Item

Opening a checking account is a big deal for a lot of people. Suddenly, you have a place to put your money besides your wallet, your piggy bank, or under your mattress. But what does a checking account mean for your credit? It may not be as important as you might think, but knowing what does and does not affect your credit score can be helpful as you start to build your credit history from scratch. Will a checking account affect your credit score? Opening a checking account is a big deal for a lot of people. Suddenly, you have a place to put your money besides your wallet, your piggy bank, or under your mattress. But what does a checking account mean for your credit? It may not be as important as you might think, but knowing what does and does not affect your credit score can be helpful as you start to build your credit history from scratch. Does opening a checking account affect my credit score? Even though opening a checking account is usually the first box you check when you first take steps into the financial world, the cold hard truth is that your credit score does not care. As far as your credit score is concerned, your deposits and withdrawals are your business. There are a handful of exceptions, though. The lender you open your account with may perform a hard inquiry on your credit report. To be clear, this isn’t the norm. Most financial institutions will only make a soft inquiry before opening a new checking account. Soft inquiries have no impact on your credit score, but a hard inquiry could drop your score a few points. Lenders have also been known to make hard inquiries if you sign up for overdraft protection. On that same note, not signing up for overdraft protection and then overdrawing your checking account could impact your credit score. Should you fail to repay the amount in a timely fashion, the lender could turn the matter over to a collections agency. The same thing could happen if you close your account with a negative balance and don’t pay the lender back. Long story short, your credit score is not as excited as you are about your new checking account, but it will be paying attention if you mismanage that account. What affects my credit score? What exactly is a credit score? And who exactly is keeping score? Two good questions that not everyone knows the answer to — even if they might pretend like they do. “Credit score” is such a common financial term today that many people never even question it, when actually understanding how it is calculated can help you boost your score. Credit bureaus are the ones who calculate your credit score. Each of them has their own unique algorithm for calculating credit scores and they are all as tight-lipped as a magician’s assistant when it comes to revealing the specific math behind their algorithms. But what we do know is that five basic financial categories are the keys to determining your score: Payment history. Your payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score. Credit utilization. The amount of credit you have available to you and the percentage of that credit you are using regularly accounts for 30% of your score. Length of credit history. The age of your accounts is 15% of your credit score. The longer your credit history, the better your score, usually. Types of credit. The different types of credit you utilize — credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, etc. — accounts for 10% of your score. New credit. The final 10% of your credit score is determined by how many new lines of credit you have applied for. Opening multiple new accounts in a short period of time can be seen as a sign of financial troubles to a lender. What is a good credit score? Your credit score is a number between 300 and 850. If your score is less than 600, you have what is considered a poor credit score. The sweet spot is between 661 and 780, which is where the good credit scores live. If you’re an overachiever, aim for 781 or higher. If ever you find yourself with a credit score higher than 781, you have done pretty well for yourself. You deserve a gold star, but you’ll have to settle for a great credit score instead. If you are interested in opening a new checking account or have questions about your credit score, please get in touch with us . Math is our specialty! Previous Item Next Item

Is it just us, or does Black Friday feel more like Black Autumn lately? If your inbox is like ours, you’ve been receiving early holiday deals from your favorite retailers since the first week of October. Your Guide to the Best Guides to 2023 Black Friday Deals Is it just us, or does Black Friday feel more like Black Autumn lately? If your inbox is like ours, you’ve been receiving early holiday deals from your favorite retailers since the first week of October. Is it just us, or does Black Friday feel more like Black Autumn lately? If your inbox is like ours, you’ve been receiving early holiday deals from your favorite retailers since the first week of October. We’re all for getting your shopping done early and staying home watching football and eating leftover turkey sandwiches instead of braving the crowds before sunrise—but, especially this year, it makes sense to try to get the maximum bang for your holiday buck. Whether you prefer to shop online or in person, the good news is that there’s now a whole cottage industry devoted to evaluating the newest products and tracking down the latest deals. Here are some of the most useful. The best guide when you’re shopping for the best (fill in the blank): The Wirecutter Thinking about getting someone you love a digital piano? An espresso maker? A new bike? If you haven’t got your heart set on a specific make and model, a great place to start your search is The Wirecutter . The site offers buying guides for everything from down jackets to insulated coffee mugs to computers and kitchen appliances—and not only offers readers the best options based on value or overall quality, but also provides up-to-the-minute pricing information from big retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target. The only downside is that the site produces such thorough, easy-to-use reviews that it was purchased by The New York Times a few years ago, which has recently started charging for a separate subscription to the site. Now, you can only view 10 articles for free each month—but the good news is that unlimited access only costs $5 a month. (Even better, The New York Times now allows you to cancel your subscription online, without speaking to a customer service representative, if you plan to log in for the holiday season only.) Do they publish specialized Black Friday deal finders? Yes! Typical review: The best fitness trackers The best guide when you need a little gifting inspiration: The Strategist Are you the kind of person who wants to know which products your favorite celebrity can’t live without? Or perhaps someone who wants gift suggestions for teenaged girls made by actual teenaged girls? How about an introduction to the best choices for some luxury item (velvet duvet covers, cashmere socks, fancy moisturizers) you never considered buying before? Then New York Magazine ’s shopping blog The Strategist offers exactly the kind of advice you’re looking for. One of the site’s specialties is combing through all the latest sales and compiling all the best available deals in a single list—which is a great way to find yourself suddenly buying a $400 state-of-the-art cordless vacuum and a cute ceramic pie plate when you had no previous intention to purchase either. Beware, impulse shoppers! On the bright side, you can read their content without paying for a full New York subscription. Do they publish specialized Black Friday deal finders? Yes! Typical review: The Best Secret Santa Gifts on Amazon under $25 The best guide when you’re making a major purchase: Consumer Reports Consumer Reports is the granddaddy of product review sites—in fact, it got its start as a print magazine that it still publishes. It’s still the gold standard for evaluating big-ticket items from refrigerators to trucks. Of course, they review smaller appliances, as well as some truly unusual items like flooring, paint, and portable generators. Their monthly subscription rate ($10) is pricier than The Wirecutter, but an annual subscription is only $39.95. What’s more, Consumer Reports is a nonprofit organization that puts all the money it earns back into its labs, scientists, researchers, and technicians. Think of them as the only credit union in a market full of banks. Do they publish specialized Black Friday deal finders? Yes, and organized by category and price (for those of you who don’t want to spend more than $50 on Aunt Hilda) Typical review: All-Season Tires (searchable by year, make and model of vehicle) The best guide for checking whether you’ve found an actual bargain: Google Shopping As a review site, Google Shopping offers minimal content—just the average consumer rating from Google's own review system, as well as advertisers, sellers, and other third-party sites. But once you think you know what you want, it’s a fast and easy way to check if there’s a better price available. Just plug in the name of the product you want to buy, and it will bring up listings from multiple retailers and their current advertised price. Google also understands that all retailers aren’t created equal—and that many consumers are afraid of getting ripped off if they purchase an item from a retailer they don’t recognize. If Google finds reviews attesting to fast shipping, an easy return process, and good user ratings, it will indicate that a retailer is a “trusted store.” Do they publish specialized Black Friday deal finders? No, but they can find you a deal on a DVD of the horror movie Black Friday Typical listing: Diptyque Feu du Bois Scented Candle (available for $40 compared to a list price of $72) The guide for wasting your time: BuzzFeed Shopping It should come as no surprise that when BuzzFeed shops, it shops in clickbait-y headlines: “30 ShopDisney Products So Good, You’ll Be Tracking Delivery Until They Arrive. ” “37 Travel Products that Will Make You Want to Book Your Next Flight ASAP .” “33 Things To Help You Fit Way More Stuff In a Small Space .” Most featured products don’t include original reviews, just links to purchase the product and a couple of representative consumer reviews copied from retail sites. But, hey, it’s free, so long as you’re willing to put up with a dozen different banner ads flashing past as you scroll and to reward this kind of lazy content with your precious clicks. Do they publish specialized Black Friday deal finders? Yes, but their coverage of early Black Friday specials is … not great Typical review: Target Finds (sponsored by Target) The guide that’s not a guide, just a really good place to spend Black Friday: Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen This is the Black Friday destination that has everything: ample parking, delicious coffee and food, comfortable seating, and a wide assortment of everything from hoodies to mugs to locally made earrings for sale. Grab a holiday mocha and sip while you browse—or stake out a booth and use our WiFi to shop online while you enjoy free refills of house-roasted P.O.B.C. (that’s “plain old black coffee”). Do they offer special Black Friday deals? Well, members save 20% on food and drinks when they pay with a Vibrant credit or debit card every day—but keep an eye out on social media for some last-minute surprises and exclusives! Previous Item Next Item

With the back-to-back-to-back failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate Bank, followed by widespread turmoil in the financial markets, it's only natural to wonder whether your own money is safe where it is. Understanding recent bank failures and what they mean for you With the back-to-back-to-back failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate Bank, followed by widespread turmoil in the financial markets, it's only natural to wonder whether your own money is safe where it is. With the back-to-back-to-back failures of Silicon Valley Bank , Signature Bank , and Silvergate Bank, followed by widespread turmoil in the financial markets, it's only natural to wonder whether your own money is safe where it is. The most important thing to know is that these recent bank failures were the fault of decisions made by those institutions specifically — and that they don’t necessarily reflect on the financial stability of other banks and credit unions. Nevertheless, their collapse is a timely reminder to learn more about the financial health of your own credit union or bank. Here are a few tips for evaluating how safe your money is. If you have less than $250,000 in deposits with a single NCUA- or FDIC-insured financial institution, you’re not at risk. If you have less than a total of $250,000 deposited among your accounts (including checking, savings, money market, CD, IRA, and Revocable Trust accounts), your funds are protected. If you share any of those accounts with another person, then both of you are individually insured up to $250,000 in deposits. That means that if you and your spouse share a checking account and a savings account, then you’re protected up to $500,000 of deposits. Three account owners? Then you’re protected up to $750,000. How do you find out if your financial institution is NCUA- or FDIC-insured? Deposit insurance for credit union members is provided by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). All federal credit unions and nearly all state-chartered credit unions (including Vibrant) are protected by NCUA deposit insurance. You can confirm your credit union’s NCUA status by searching the NCUA member database . You should also see notices about its NCUA insurance posted on its website and on its premises. Deposit insurance for U.S. banks is provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Nearly all U.S. banks are FDIC-insured. As with the NCUA, the FDIC also requires member institutions to post notices about its FDIC membership on its website and on its premises. You can also confirm a bank’s FDIC status through the FDIC website. If you DO have deposits in excess of FDIC or NCUA limits, take a closer look at your financial institution’s performance. There may be situations where you need to maintain a total balance above the deposit insurance limit of $250,000 — for instance, if you’re running a business with large cash requirements for payroll or inventory or if you're trying to maximize your interest earnings by consolidating your money in a single account with the best available rate. If that’s the case, here are some ways to assess your financial institution’s overall health. 1. Find out where your credit union or bank invests its deposits. Financial institutions generate revenue in two ways — either by lending money out and earning interest on those loans or by investing in other forms of equity — stocks, bonds, and other securities. You can look at Vibrant’s statement of financial condition to get a broad overview of where we invest deposits. In the case of Silicon Valley Bank, by comparison, more than 40 percent of its income came from investments — many in the form of long-term Treasury bonds, which have lost value as interest rates have risen in the last year. Meanwhile, Signature and Silvergate heavily invested in cryptocurrency, which has also lost significant value in the past year. 2. Look for steady deposit growth. When people and businesses continue to deposit their money with an institution, it’s a sign there’s strong confidence in how the institution manages its assets. In Vibrant’s case, total deposits have grown from about $407 million at the end of 2012 to about $774 million at the end of 2022 — a 47 percent increase in deposits over the last decade. (You can access past financial statements for Vibrant or any credit union via the NCUA website if you really want to get in the weeds.) 3. Look at the institution’s capitalization classification. Every NCUA- or FDIC-insured financial institution must meet certain capital requirements that ensure it has enough cash on hand to meet its depositors' needs. NCUA considers a credit union “well capitalized” if it has a net worth ratio above 7 and a capital ratio above 10. For reference, Vibrant’s current net worth ratio of 9.48 and capital ratio of 14.93 place it well within the "well capitalized" category. (Capitalization classifications are available for every credit union within the quarterly call reports posted on the NCUA website.) Why a credit union can be a less risky choice than a bank The bank run that led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank resulted from widespread panic among depositors after its financial reporting showed the bank might not have funds available to meet all its financial obligations. Rather than risk losing any deposits in excess of FDIC insurance limits, many customers decided to withdraw their funds while they could and move them elsewhere — making Silicon Valley Bank’s existing issues even worse. In general, credit unions like Vibrant are far less likely to experience bank runs because the overwhelming majority of their deposits are federally guaranteed. More than 90 percent of credit union deposits fall within deposit insurance limits, while only about 50 percent of bank deposits do. Additionally, credit unions tend to prioritize safe, sound, and fiscally responsible investments over the pursuit of the ever-higher profits expected by bank shareholders. As member-owned nonprofits, credit unions don’t answer to Wall Street — only to their members. For Vibrant, that means lending money at affordable rates and providing a fair return for members who put their savings into money market accounts and certificates of deposit. If you’re considering moving your money now, talk to us about how we can help safeguard your deposits while enabling you to meet your financial needs. Open an account today . Previous Item Next Item

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