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.
Tips to Avoid a Holiday Spending Hangover
You can survive the season without suffering a fiscal holiday hangover. By examining the reasons for overspending, planning expenditures, and identifying what’s important to your family, you can rein in your spending and rediscover the joy of the holidays.
USA Today recently reported that Holiday shopping will be bigger this year. They quoted a recent American Express survey, which said “38% of consumers said they’ll spend more on the holidays this year in anticipation of a more celebratory season. On the one hand, that’s a good thing, because the holidays are supposed to be a happy, positive time. But the last thing consumers need is a pile of credit card debt to close out the year.”
In other words, they need to avoid a holiday spending hangover.
Tradition Influences Spending Habits
Examine your motives. What fuels the gift-giving mania? Tradition strongly influences holiday spending habits. If your family always broke the budget to buy presents for every living relative, odds are you’ll carry on the practice. So even though you haven’t seen Aunt Connie in five years, you buy her a gift.
Then there’s the time factor. People’s lives are busier than ever before. Decades ago we used to make gifts at home. Now we just buy it all because it’s easier. Hectic schedules may prevent us from shopping until the official rush begins after Thanksgiving. By then, we’re battling throngs of shoppers and racing through town looking for something, anything, for people on our list.
Overbuying Encouragement
Malls cater to our desperation; witness the appearance of countless specialty stands and calendar kiosks that appear only during the holiday season. Their easy access encourages impulse buying.
Credit also is a prime culprit. Department stores try their best to add one more credit card to your wallet by offering a 10%, one-day shopping discount. But it’s a deceptive bargain. Since department store cards charge high interest rates, if you carry over the balance into a second month, you’ll eliminate the discount you got. (You may want to check out Mid Oregon’s credit cards to save money!)
Plan & Budget
Spend some time planning and budgeting before you start your holiday shopping spree.
- Evaluate how much you can spend. What was the final bill last year? Too much? Estimate how much you can comfortably save between now and the holidays (or what you can pay off quickly afterward) and set that as your limit.
- Start saving money now. Build it into your regular budget as a periodic expense set aside for the holidays. Consider establishing a separate credit union savings account for holiday purchases. The more money you save, the fewer purchases you’ll have to charge on credit cards.
- Set a holiday budget. Holiday spending goes beyond gifts. There are decorations, postage, extra food, etc. Organize expenses into categories and if your total exceeds what you can afford, set priorities for purchases and cut back where you can.
- Start your gift list early. Planning ahead will help you avoid costly impulse spending.
Free Webinar on Budgeting
Want to learn more about budgeting? Join us on December 14th at 7 p.m. for our free webinar to set your spending plan, in five steps. You will learn how to set realistic goals, track where your money goes, and develop a spending plan you can really live with. Register online.
Check out other Mid Oregon View posts about Holiday spending.
Shopping Securely Online- Ten tips
Keep your finances safe from sneaky scammers this holiday season.
It seems just couple of years ago, consumers were skeptical about shopping online, but today, shopping online for everything from groceries to televisions has become the norm. But it comes with some risk. The FBI Internet Crime Report shows that cybercriminals were responsible for $4.1 billion in losses in 2020, with Business Email Compromise (BEC) schemes being the costliest for online shoppers. With holiday shopping just around the corner, cybersecurity is — and should be — a top concern for consumers. Here are 10 tips to keep your data safe while shopping securely online:
- Beware of online deals that seem too good to be true. This is especially important on social media. Many times scammers set up fake shopping sites in order to steal your personal information and your money.
- Be smart about site security. Check to ensure that the site you’re purchasing from has encryption that guards your information. Look at the URL, which should read HTTPS instead of only HTTP. The “S” at the end indicates the site has secure socket labels. You’ll also see a lock at the left of the URL, which is standard for all secure sites. The Google Chrome browser flags any site that is not secure, with the HTTPS designation, and sends a warning message to the user.
Email Scams Too Good to be True
- Be wary of email scams offering amazing bargains. And be careful of claims that there’s a problem with delivery, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the sender. Never open attachments or click links that are included in the email unless you can verify the sender is legitimate.
- Avoid shopping while connected to public Wi-Fi — it’s a sure way for hackers to spy for your online activity and gain access to your personal information. Shopping securely online is hard to do on public Wi-Fi.
- Whenever possible, buy with a credit card, not a debit card. Most credit cards offer $0 liability for account fraud, while a debit card gives shady sellers direct access to your bank account.
- Guard your sensitive personal information. No legitimate online retailer will ever ask for your Social Security number. If they do, it’s a major red flag.
Preventing Identity Theft Webinar
Join us for a FREE webinar, Preventing Identity Theft, presented by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Digital Forensics Team. It will be held Thursday, December 9 at 10 a.m. Register for this virtual workshop, and learn how to recognize potential scams, the ploys suspects use to gain personal information, and common-sense steps you can take to protect your identity.
- Pay close attention to the details of the transaction, such as shipping notices and tracking information. If a retailer refuses to give details about your order, such as a shipping date or order status, chances are you may not receive the merchandise. Report the charge to your credit card company to get your money back.
- Check your accounts regularly to ensure that all charges are purchases you actually made. If you see a charge you don’t recognize, notify your credit union or credit card company immediately.
- Choose strong and unique passwords for your online accounts. Never use your or family members’ birthdates, addresses, or other personal information that scammers can easily find online. Combine letters, numbers, and special characters to create complex passwords that are difficult to hack. This is key to shopping securely online.
- Report suspicious activity or file a scam complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov/. You’ll be helping to keep yourself and fellow citizens safe against present and future scammers.
Get the Latest Information
Want to keep up with the latest security information? Visit our Security and Fraud Prevention page. There you can view the latest articles, search by topic, and sign up for ongoing Stickley on Security emails.
Read more Mid Oregon View articles about security and shopping securely online.
Holiday Dough Shows Local Generosity
Mid Oregon’s Annual Holiday Dough
Each year, Mid Oregon Credit Union’s annual fundraiser, Holiday Dough shows local generosity, of our members and Central Oregon. In 2020 almost $9,000 was raised, the most ever. This year, we are on pace to exceed that amount, with two weeks to go!
Mid Oregon Credit Union is encouraging the communities we serve to contribute to our annual fundraiser, Holiday Dough supporting local charities. The chosen Central Oregon organizations provide food, clothing and shelter for individuals and families in greatest need during the holidays.
If you haven’t already donated, it’s not too late! The needs for this season are greater than ever. With anticipated spending this holiday season to exceed last year by 38%, we hope to surpass last years donations.
Accepting Financial Contributions Through November 30th
Members and the general public can stop by any Mid Oregon branch to make a Holiday Dough donation. You can use cash or check through November 30, 2021. For contactless donations, members can complete the convenient online form at www.midoregon.com. Or you can call our Contact Center at (541) 382-1795. All contributions stay in the community where they are collected. No amount is too big or too small.
One hundred percent of the donations will benefit these local agencies:
• The Giving Plate of Bend, coordinating the Monthly Food Box program, Grow & Give Garden, Kid’s Korner food bank, and Backpacks for Bend.
• La Pine Christmas Basket Association, providing food during the Christmas holiday for people in the South Deschutes County area
• Redmond Jericho Road, Providing hot meals, backpacks of food, emergency and housing assistance to those in need in the Redmond area.
• Jefferson County Food Bank (Madras), supplying food to families and individuals
• Crook County Holiday Partnership—(Prineville), providing holiday support to families with children, senior and disabled citizens in need in Crook County
• Sisters Kiwanis Food Bank – Distributing more than 60,000 pounds of food annually and helping more than 100 families each month, the food bank offers a shopping-style food pantry to patrons.
Living Out “People Helping People”
Giving back to the community is a core value of Mid Oregon Credit Union. It aligns with the credit union philosophy of “people helping people.” Mid Oregon members and the community responded generously during 2020 Holiday Dough effort, donating nearly $9,000 to local holiday food banks.
We appreciate the continued kindness expressed through financial giving our members have shown.
Read more about Mid Oregon’s efforts to support the community in Central Oregon.