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Enjoy Safe Holiday Shopping
Just as you would exercise caution with your wallet and belongings in a crowded store, Mid Oregon Credit Union reminds you to be alert with your plastic cards – online or in a store. We want you to enjoy safe holiday shopping. Thieves know that the holiday season is a busy time with all the shopping, decorating, and entertaining- so be extra alert – there are a lot of ways thieves may try to take advantage of you to get your sensitive information.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind for safe and secure holiday shopping:
Review Your Purchases
1. Always monitor credit and debit card account charges and contact your financial institution immediately if anything looks unusual or even causes you to pause. Mid Oregon Online Banking provides security tools as an extra layer of protection. You can set up Account Alerts, check your balances, print statements, change your security PIN, and more.
2. When shopping online, check to make sure the site is verified and the URL begins with https://. Treat public hot spots like the transparent environment they really are. Only shop from your home computer with a private Wi-Fi connection. And finally, don’t ever store your card information on a retail site – it may be convenient but it’s just not safe.
Credit Cards Offer Best Protection
Credit cards offer consumers the most protection. Consider a local Visa credit card from Mid Oregon Credit Union where it can be easily monitored and where you can talk to a local person if you need assistance.
3. When you make a debit card purchase, always run your debit card as a credit. If a thief runs off with your card number, there is a time lag before the issuer pays the charge. When using your PIN, the charge essentially comes out as cash so the thief can run your account dry before you have time to react.
4. ATM safety: Check to see if the card reader has been tampered with or if there are any cameras or prying eyes watching you. If something seems odd about the machine, don’t continue and report it to your financial institution.
5. Mid Oregon Credit Union offers a notification service for credit or debit charges. If a suspicious charge is made to your card for a set amount, or any amount, they’ll contact you so that you can investigate it right away if needed.
Use Prepaid Cards
6. As an alternative, use Pre-paid Debit cards or Gift Cards and load them with the amount you want and spend only the amount you have. Cardholders can get reimbursed for stolen pre-paid cards, if you report them right away.
7. Stickley on Security keeps you informed with up-to-date security news, education, and alerts. Go to midoregon.com and hover over the “Resources” drop-down in the navigation menu, then click on “Security Alerts”.
Last but not least, don’t let holiday stress get the best of your holiday spirit. Make time to get together with family, friends, and neighbors. And think about reaching out in the spirit of the season and helping someone who’s less fortunate or lonely.
Know Your Priorities to Make Holidays Special
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or the solstice, the holiday season can be stressful—with financial stress often playing a large role. To cut through the noise, you have to know your priorities to make the holidays special.
What Is Most Important To You?
Figure out what makes the holidays special for you and your family and allocate most of your spending to those things. Maybe there are other, less important things you can scale back or skip.
For instance, if you love hosting a lavish holiday dinner but are ho-hum about festive holiday clothing, don’t buy that new outfit. Budget more for your dinner instead. The key is to set priorities and identify the important things.
And remember that handmade or homemade goodies, charitable gifts, or the gift of time can mean much more to recipients than presents.
Special Ideas
Here are some ideas:
- Give loved ones a framed photograph of a place or event that is special to both of you.
- Make a charitable contribution in someone else’s name to a fund that person believes in. Mid Oregon Credit Union’s “Holiday Dough” program is a great opportunity to help those who need food, clothing, or shelter, and 100% of the cash collected will go to support local organizations that do good things for people during the holidays. You need not be a Mid Oregon member to contribute. To learn more, visit People Helping People: The Holiday Dough Fund
- Offer to help with a project around the house, take a friend to lunch, or just go for a walk together.
- Give baked goods or pre-made dinners to family or friends.
- Offer to pet sit or babysit free of charge.
Time To Mend Relationships
The holidays tend to bring people together. “So if you have a bad relationship it’s a great gift to mend it and make amends,” says Rob Severson, a financing coach in Deephaven, Minn. “You’ll be a lot happier if you don’t wait and it will probably mean a lot more than a box of candy.”
The holidays are all about giving, so think about next year. Having a planned spending plan will certainly help lessen the stress and help you focus on what’s really important. With Mid Oregon’s Saver’s Club, or a Save to Win account, you can conveniently set money aside with automatic deposits from your account. Visit a branch, or call (541) 382-1795.
Mindfulness Key to Spending Control
Mindfulness Key to Spending Control
Are you spending too much? For many Americans, the answer is, “Absolutely.”
The reasons are varied—lack of a budget or a desire to maintain appearances—but, to better manage your spending, many financial advisers recommend tracking your cash flow and monitoring your emotional state.
Here’s how:
Planning is Key
* Plan. It’s not only big expenses that put you in debt. More likely it’s “death by a thousand tiny cuts” eating up your income. Track your spending with a notebook or online app, shop with a list, consider using only cash for a couple of months, and set up monthly automatic deductions from your share draft/checking account into an emergency savings fund.
* Be mindful. Try to understand why you’re overspending. Maybe you’re trying to keep pace with high-rolling friends or spending makes you feel better—temporarily, anyway. Regardless, when you feel compelled to buy something you maybe don’t need, wait 24 hours and consider why you’re buying it. Ask yourself, “How will I feel when the credit card bill comes?”
Know Your Limits
* Set limits. Know what pleasures you can’t live without and decide in advance how much you’ll spend on them each month. Try to focus on the joys in your life that cost nothing—friends, family, a favorite public park—and for big-ticket items, set aside a little each paycheck until you can afford to buy it.
For help getting started to bring your finances under control call a Mid Oregon Credit Union Loan Officer at (541) 382-1795. You can also email info@midoregon.com, or visit one of our seven Central Oregon branches.