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.
Make Your Financial Goals Stick in the New Year
Stimulus payments provide an opportunity to jump-start your 2021 financial goals. No need to sugar-coat it—we’re all glad to see the end of 2020. Although this year has been difficult for so many of us, 2020 has also given us the opportunity to examine our goals and priorities in ways we haven’t before. Whether you’re recommitted to purchasing your first home, reducing your debt levels, or being more prepared for a financial emergency, most of us will have a chance to get a head start on reaching those objectives.
2021 could be the change you’re looking for
If you tend to ring in the New Year with more debt, less money in the bank—and a few more pounds—than you’d like, this year could provide a refreshing change. Many Americans will receive a second round of COVID-19 recovery funds from the U.S. Treasury in the coming weeks. (Visit our COVID-19 Information Page for details.) It’s tempting to spend the money on something you’ve been wanting. But, if you’re focused on your long-term goals, this unexpected windfall could make a real difference.
Setting SMART goals you can reach
Have you made your 2021 financial goals? To give yourself every chance of success, make sure your goals meet the SMART standard. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Adjustable, Realistic, and Time-Oriented. If you need a refresher, this post from a couple years ago also includes a quick video to get you started.
Or, join us on Thursday, January 28 at 10 a.m. for our free virtual webinar “Reaching Your 2021 Financial Goals.” Presenter Wayne Hanson will help you master goal-setting using the SMART method, and give you some tips for making financial goals that work for you.
So if you have the goal to create an emergency fund of $1,000 by the end of the year, your goal may be to deposit 1/4 of the total by the end of the first quarter. By taking half of your stimulus payment and putting it into savings, you’ve just achieved that goal! Easy, right?
Or, if you want to help your kids to learn good financial habits, perhaps you can start by opening your child a savings account with a portion of the funds. You can talk about the importance of saving, and discuss with your child some ways they can add to their savings this year—or even set a SMART goal of their own!
Maybe you want to buy a home this year. If so, consider your family’s stimulus payment as an opportunity to pay down debts and start improving your credit score before applying for a mortgage pre-approval. By using the tips and recommendations provided as part of Mid Oregon’s free Credit Savvy credit-management tool, you can use those extra funds to make the biggest impact on your credit score.
Keep it in perspective
Lastly, the emergency stimulus payments are just that—something we are receiving because of a crisis. If you need those funds to stay afloat and avoid taking on additional debt, that’s also a great goal. Don’t beat yourself up. Things will get better.
Here’s to a brighter New Year!
2020 Holiday Dough Fundraiser Finishes Strong
Our Holiday Dough branch fundraiser finished up last week, and the totals were amazing—even by 2020 standards.
Our branches collected nearly $8,700 in donations, more than doubling last year’s fundraising total of $3,480. We received donations ranging from a few pennies, all the way up to a $500 donation from a Bend-area art gallery.
In a year full of disappointments, we were astonished by our community’s generosity and willingness to give.
Need is greater, and so is community support
Traditionally, Mid Oregon’s Holiday Dough fundraiser invites members to make small cash contributions at the branches to assist local food pantries with holiday meals. This year, we predicted the need would be greater—and the branch traffic would be lower.
So we introduced another option. We launched an online form to make it easier for members to donate without having to visit a branch. And they came through!
Mid Oregon is proud to partner with these local non-profits to provide holiday meals for local families in need:
- 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.
It’s not too late!
Do you want to support these excellent nonprofits during the holiday season? Please visit their websites, or contact by phone to arrange to make your donations of cash or food items. Please make sure to contact the agencies in advance to verify that your donation adheres to their individual COVID-19 protocols.
To see other ways that Mid Oregon supports our communities, feel free to visit our Community Involvement page for a full listing of fundraisers, community events, and corporate sponsorships.
Tips for Last Minute Holiday Shoppers
Some people are experts at Holiday shopping. They start shopping for Christmas at the beginning of the New Year, searching for deals year-round. They squirrel away gifts in closets and attics, to have them ready for the holidays well in advance. They are definitely not last minute Holiday shoppers.
Waiting Until Right Before Christmas
On the other extreme, there are those who do not enjoy shopping. They wake up a week before Christmas, realize they have nothing for their sweetheart, and go into panic mode. If you usually find yourself in this camp, we have a few tips to help you.
The Week Before
If you have a week before the holiday get-togethers, try these options:
● Download the Wikibuy browser extension. Shopping online will save you time as well as enable you to compare prices at various stores. This browser extension automatically compares prices when you shop online, searching thousands of sites to find the best deal and to find online coupons for the item.
● Shop at Department stores offering extended sales. Because of the Pandemic, many stores want to avoid the usual holiday crush on Black Friday. Stores like Target, Best Buy and Walmart are offering extended sales events starting now and lasting until the Holidays. This gives you the opportunity to shop the last week before Christmas and still get comparable Black Friday prices. Check the stores’ website for specific details.
● Gift basket of small items. Buy small gifts like perfume, candles, envelopes of hot cocoa, a journal, whatever you think the gift recipient may enjoy, and put those items into a small decorative basket or box.
Christmas Eve
If you are truly one of the last minute Holiday shoppers, and you’ve only got a few hours left before the holiday, try these options:
● Give a subscription box. Subscription boxes are an easy gift to purchase that continues giving year-round. There are a variety of subscriptions services to choose from. You can give your loved one new clothes each month with Stitch Fix, Trunk Club, and ThredUp, for example. Other subscriptions deliver toys, arts and science projects, and books each month.
● Give a membership. Pay for a year’s membership to Amazon Prime, or a few months of Netflix, a wine club, or a coffee of the month club.
● Give a Gift Card. These are available at most retail outlets, particularly the big chains. You can get them for specific restaurants or stores, or simply purchase a Visa Gift card with a fixed amount loaded on to it to be used anywhere Visa is accepted.
Mid Oregon Credit Union offers its members Visa Gift Cards. They can be used almost everywhere Visa cards are accepted in Central Oregon, and at millions of places around the world-including retail and online merchants as well as mail and phone orders. The only exclusions are gas stations, ATMs, hotels, car rentals and airline reservations. It has all the protection and security features you expect from a Visa card.
Visit one of our seven Central Oregon branches to purchase a Visa Gift Card. But if you are shopping on Christmas Eve, come in early. Our branches close at 2 pm.