One of the central tenets to any cooperative is democratic control. Credit unions put that into practice by allowing each member one vote. No one member has more control because of their account balance or their length of membership. If you are a member, you have the same ownership of the credit union. 

We further extend that to how we determine what products and services are needed in the credit union. You each have one vote, but you each have different needs, and we shouldn’t only strive to meet the needs of a chosen few for any reason. In addition, we understand that the services we do offer may seem overwhelming or out-of-reach to some. This is where our AFCU staff members come into play. Each of us is dedicated to being your trusted advocate, and we are here to help you navigate the sometimes complex processes and products we offer. We sincerely want each of our members to achieve the security that comes with being able to make informed and provident financial decisions. In fact, it is our mission to deliver products, services, and financial literacy outreach to enable our members to make informed and provident financial decisions. 

If you don’t know where to start or are struggling with financial decisions (or your finances themselves), stop by and see the good we can do. We will be glad to share the journey to your financial wellness with you! 

MLK Jr. Day – Saturday, January 14th and Monday, January 16th
Presidents Day – Saturday, February 18th and Monday, February 20th
Annual Meeting – Thursday, February 23rd, 6pm at Coastal Pines Technical College

While pulling your credit for yourself on legitimate sites like annualcreditscore.com doesn’t hurt or alter your score, keeping on top of the information showing on your reports may help improve your score, if you find inaccurate information on them. Each of the credit reporting agencies allow one free pull each year (two if you live in the state of Georgia), but you don’t have to pull all at the same time. You can stagger them throughout the year to keep fresh eyes on any new information that may be showing. 

If something inaccurate shows on one, you can take the time to pull the others again to resolve the issue. Otherwise, pull from just one of the agencies every so often to avoid paying for your reports. 

If your email or social media accounts have been hacked or you’ve been informed that your provider has experienced a breach that may have included your account, take time to update your passwords. This is especially important if you have the unhealthy habit of sharing passwords across websites and other platforms. Further, when changing them, be sure to take time to use unique and complex passwords. Finally, if you have work-related accounts and website access, where you have failed to use best practices, notify your employer of the event and update your passwords there too.

Moving? Have a debit card with us? Even if you use online and mobile services for all your interaction with us, be sure to update your mailing address with us to ensure that mailed renewal or replacement cards are sent to the proper address. 

Everybody has heard the good advice of “pay yourself first,” but what about “pay yourself instead?” This advice has some benefits too. Let’s imagine that you want a new car. You neither have the money for it nor want a hefty payment. So what do you do? You pay yourself instead. 

When you do this, you can make choices. While you are making payments to yourself to save for the car, you may experience an unexpected expense. If this happens, you can simply take a payment holiday from paying yourself. The benefit is three-fold. You can use the money you would have normally paid yourself to pay for the expense, you may not have to dip into savings to cover the expense, and neither may you have to borrow to cover it. Another reason, saving just makes good cents! 

Two AFCU team members saw promotions this past quarter. Ken Davis has been with the credit union since 2015, when he started as a teller. After a stint in member services, he moved into the accounting department, where he previously received another promotion. In December 2020, Ken completed his Associates in Accounting at Coastal Pines Technical College and was promoted to Staff Accountant.

Also hired on as a teller, Heather Ford has been at AFCU since 2019. In January 2021, she was promoted to Member Service Representative II, where she will be assisting members with both account and loan needs. Congratulations to both these team members! We are very proud of their accomplishments.

Keeping the oil changed and the tires balanced on your vehicle is important, but none of that matters if you miss an important safety recall on your vehicle. Make sure you know the very latest on your vehicle by doing these two things: 

• Check for recalls on most vehicles 15 years and newer by entering the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. 

• Subscribe to email alerts for future recalls at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/subscriptions. 

If you find or are alerted of a recall, be sure to have the needed service performed on your vehicle as soon as possible, so that you and your precious cargo are protected from dangerous malfunctions!