The Bottom Line
Small business is important to Central Oregon, and to Mid Oregon. Find tips and resources for business, and information about Mid Oregon’s commercial services and business members.
Pickleball Zone Is Taking Shape!
Pickleball Zone in Bend
Mid Oregon Credit Union is proud to support the economic expansion of Central Oregon through our commercial financing. Just down the street from our Administration building is one of the latest projects in which we are involved, the Pickleball Zone.
The Pickleball Zone, being built on 18th Street near Empire Avenue, is in construction. Planned to open this spring, it will give a year around opportunities to the over 2,500 enthusiasts in Central Oregon. The Pickleball Zone is part of Cascade Indoor Sports, also located nearby on High Desert Lane.
Indoor Recreational Opportunities
We are excited about the year around recreational opportunities which will be available. From the Pickleball Zone website, we learn some interesting things:
This state of the art 48,000 square foot multi sport facility will house the Trampoline Zone on the ground floor and 8 dedicated Pickleball courts on the second floor. The easy accessible lot has more than 120 parking spaces with room to grow.
The address of the new facility is 63040 NE 18th Street in Bend. Steele and Associates Architects are the designers and Kevin Spencer, Empire Construction and Development is the builder.
Butch Roberts will be managing the facility. He owns and manages Cascade Indoor Sports which is just around the corner. Butch has many years of experience in running an indoor soccer facility and sports programs.
About Pickleball
Pickleball is the fastest growing racquet sport not only in the country, but also in Central Oregon. Started in 1965 on Bainbridge Island WA, Pickleball almost lay dormant until a few years ago. Now Pickleball has moved out of the RV and retirement communities and, while still very popular amongst the baby boomers, the sport is attracting younger generations.
In August of 2017 the Bend Pickleball Club hosted the Pickleball Zone USAPA Pacific Regional tournament at Pine Nursery. With over 500 players, (90 of them from the Professional Pickleball Federation (PPF), the tournament was a huge success. The best players from all over the country competed in this major tournament of the Pro Tour.
Central Oregon has over 2,500 pickleball players from La Pine in the South to Prineville in the North. While there are lots of places to play outdoors, there are very limited indoor facilities.
Mid Oregon is glad to be part of creating a solution and bringing pickleball to more Central Oregonians.
Tax Tips for First-Time Filers in College
Unless you’re an accounting major, filing taxes may not be your idea of a good time. But if you don’t file, you may end up leaving a lot of money on the table. Going to file taxes for the first time this year? Here are a few tax tips for first-time filers in college to make this task easier and less stressful:
• If taxes were withheld from your paycheck, even if you only earned a little money, file your taxes so you can get some of that money returned to you.
• If you earned more than $10,400 in 2017, you must file a tax return.
• You’re eligible for at least 3 tax breaks in the years you pay tuition. They are the American Opportunity Tax Credit, the Lifetime Learning Credit, and the tuition and fees deductions.
• If your parent still claims you as a dependent, you must mark off “I can be claimed on someone else’s return” on your form.
• File early. Waiting until the last moment will only make the process more stressful.
IRS and Other Resources
• You can file your Federal taxes for free and online by going to www.irs.gov. There are other free filing websites, found easily through an online search. Mid Oregon Credit Union members also get a discount on TurboTax. Through 2/15/18, using TurboTax online automatically enters you for a chance to win up to $25,000!
• You’ll have to pay state taxes to each state you are a resident of during the tax year. If you attend college in one state but live in another, check the residency requirements. See if you qualify as a resident or nonresident of the state in which you attend school.
• See the IRS resource page, “Reminder for Parents, Students: Check Out College Tax Benefits”
Tax Forms You Might Need
Here are the forms you’ll need to file your taxes and get your returns:
• W-2: Your employer will give this to you. It’ll show any taxes that were withheld from your paycheck.
• Form 1098-T: Your college will send you this tuition statement. It includes information you’ll need to claim education credits.
• Form 8863: This form will tell you if you qualify credits like the American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit.
• Form 1098-E: Use this to deduct the interest you paid on a qualified student loan during the tax year. Your lender will send this form to you if you paid more than $600 in interest.
Filing taxes may seem like a boring chore, but if you don’t, you’ll miss out on a nice tax return. And who wouldn’t like a little extra cash in their account?
Credit Cards- Pay More Than Minimum for Faster Payoff
January Credit Card Hangover?
So it’s January, and many of us are getting our credit card statements showing all of our holiday gift transactions. Is it worse than you expected? Or did you decide to go the credit card route intentionally to supplement what you were able to budget in advance?
In any case, you need to make your payments, so what should you do? Here are some suggestions to help you manage your credit card debt, and hopefully save you money. Putting you in a better position for next year would be a bonus.
The Minimum Payment Trap
Minimum payments on credit cards are now between 1% to 4% of the balance due. While paying the minimum will satisfy your credit card provider, it’s not a good lon-term strategy. If you can afford higher payments each month, you’ll benefit over the long haul. If you can’t afford to pay this percentage of your balance, chances are you’re in over your head.
Consider the example of a $2,000 balance at 18% interest. If your minimum payment is 2% of the balance due each month, it will take you about 19 years to pay it off and you’ll pay $3,862 in interest. (A 2% minimum payment would start at $40 and taper to $20. Maintain the $40 and you’ll pay off the debt faster.) If your interest rate is over 18%, the cost and time increases.
If you’re paying 4% of the balance due, you’ll pay off the balance in seven years and four months and cut your interest costs to $1,031. (A 4% minimum payment starts at $80 and tapers to $20.)
By paying 8% of the balance due, much more than minimum, it will take you three years and nine months to pay off, and you’ll pay about $433 in interest. (An 8% minimum payment starts at $160 and tapers to $20.) Remember, these calculations assume you add no more charges to the card.
Always pay at least the minimum amount due so you don’t incur a late fee, and if possible, charge only as much as you can pay in full each month or within a few months.
The Debt Snowball
Have you heard of paying off your debt using a debt snowball? It works if you have more than one credit card to pay off. The debt snowball method is a great way to get started and stay on track. To better describe a debt snowball, below is an excerpt from Dave Ramsey’s blog article “How the Debt Snowball Method Works“:
“When you were a kid rolling a snowball in the backyard, the best way to do it was to pack some snow into a tight ball, then start rolling it through the yard. Your snowball would become a snow boulder much quicker than it would if you just built it up by hand. That’s exactly how the debt snowball method works.”
There are two schools of thought on this principal. One is to pay off the most expensive (highest interest) debt first, the other is to pay off the smallest debt first.
If reducing interest expenses is your priority, and paying off the expensive card first ultimately limits your debt costs and saves you the most money. Pay off your highest interest rate cards first while making minimum payments on all the rest. With the smallest debt methond, start with the lowest balance card. You’ll see faster progress, pay off more creditors quicker, and build on that success.
Lower Credit Card Rates
And if you’re paying high credit card rates elsewhere, check out Mid Oregon Credit Union’s credit cards for consistent savings. Not only do we have some of the lowest rates in Central Oregon, we have no balance transfer fees. So you could move your expensive card balances to our Visa credit card. Pay no fee, and save more on your interest payments. To see how much you might save, try our debt consolidation calculator.
If you’d like more information about our Visa credit cards, visit our Mid Oregon website, drop in to one of our seven Central Oregon branches, or send us an email with your request.
In any case, get started cutting down that credit card debt. With a plan and seeing it through, you’ll get rid of that hangover in no time!