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.
Managing Money As a New Couple
6 Tips For Managing Money as a New Couple
Did you find “the one” and have decided to get married? Congratulations! Here’s a little financial advice to help your marriage start off on a good footing, 6 tips for managing money as a new couple.
Hopefully, you’ve already talked about your respective finances and how you usually handle your money. Does one of you pay your bills on time and the other often get late fees? See where you differ and where you agree.
Finding Compromise Important
Find a compromise you can both agree upon. Incompatible views on how to handle money are a leading cause of discord among couples, so to avoid trouble in your future, have these discussions now.
The following tips should also help you and your spouse stay on solid ground financially:
1. Write down your goals. Write down your lists separately and then compare them. See where you can compromise and work toward common goals.
Discuss The Types of Accounts
2. Decide whether to open a joint account. Some couples like to share one account, others like having their own personal account and another account for joint expenses, like rent, utilities, etc. Discuss which way you and your spouse want to handle your finances.
3. Divide financial responsibilities. Which of you is better at paying bills on time? How much should each of you pay for your joint expenses? Make sure each of you is clear on what you’re responsible for and how much you must pay.
Saving-For Emergencies and Retirement
4. Create an emergency fund. This should be a non-negotiable subject. Everyone should have an emergency fund to deal with unexpected expenses. Cars break down, laptops die, or one of you could lose your job. Relying on credit cards to cover the unexpected will only put you into more debt, so start an emergency fund now. Feed it a little each month until you have enough to cover at least 3 months of household expenses.
5. Save for retirement. If both of you have a 401(k), then pat yourselves on the back. If you don’t, then look into starting some kind of retirement fund, like an IRA. The younger you are when you start a retirement fund, the more you’ll earn through compound interest. Your credit union can help you find a product that works best for you.
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
6. Have regular meetings to discuss finances. Check in with each other on a weekly or monthly basis to go over expenses and discuss how you’re doing with your financial goals.
Of course, Mid Oregon Credit Union can help you decide what types of accounts might work best for you. We have several savings vehicles to match your goals and circumstances. We have an in-house financial advisor to provide perspective and advice. And we have the digital banking tools to work best with your communications.
Contact us by email, call us at (541) 382-1795 or visit one of our 7 Central Oregon branches to get started!
Will You “Adopt-A-Bear” for Healthy Beginnings?
Mid Oregon Fundraiser Helps Local Kids Receive Free Health Screenings
Mid Oregon Credit Union encourages the community to stop by a branch and “Adopt-A-Bear” from April 1 through April 19 in support of Healthy Beginnings. As a result, you will help ensure that every preschooler in Central Oregon is healthy and prepared to enter kindergarten ready to learn.
Since 2004, Mid Oregon’s Adopt-A-Bear annual fundraiser has raised more than $25,000 to help support Healthy Beginnings. These efforts provide no-cost health and developmental screenings to preschool children in our communities to remove any barriers to a successful entry into kindergarten. The state has identified universal community screenings as a best practice. These provide consistent, reliable, valid, evidence-based screening for young children. But it provides no state funding for this objective.
Healthy Beginnings Has Served 10,000 Children!
For the past 25 years, Healthy Beginnings has relied on community donations to keep their screenings free for all families who utilize their services. Healthy Beginnings has served more than 10,000 children across three Central Oregon counties as a result. The health screenings are performed by top-level medical, dental, nutritional, and behavioral specialists from the local area. As a result, these screenings provide parents with a thorough assessment of their child’s physical and developmental health.
“So many critical developmental milestones happen in those first five years,” says Diane Murray-Fleck, Executive Director of Healthy Beginnings. “Children can act out because they are suffering from unidentified medical or developmental issues. Our assessments help catch these issues before school starts, and gives parents an additional resource and peace of mind if they have questions about their child’s development.”
How You Can Participate in Adopt-A-Bear
Community residents can “Adopt-A-Bear” at any Mid Oregon Credit Union location through April 19, or by calling 541-382-1795. For information about child screenings go to www.MyHB.org.
About Healthy Beginnings
Healthy Beginnings is a registered 503(c) non-profit organization located in Bend, Oregon, dedicated to ensuring that all local children enter their school life ready to learn, contribute, and thrive. They conduct free, comprehensive health and developmental assessments for children under the age of five using state-of-the-art screening tools and performed by certified volunteer health and behavioral specialists. These free health screenings are available to every child in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson Counties. You can learn more about Healthy Beginnings at www.myhb.org.
Youth Month 2019-The Future Is Yours
The Future Is Yours: Picture it. Save for it. Share it- Youth Month 2019
Dreaming of our ideal future delights and inspires us. Children, with their fertile imaginations, are particularly good at dreaming. But to make dreams come true, you need to have clear goals and, very likely, save some money to make them happen. Mid Oregon credit union can help you on both counts.
This April, we’re celebrating Youth Month, and the theme is “The Future is Yours: Picture it. Save for it. Share it.” We’re encouraging all members, particularly our youngest, to write down their dreams, create vision boards, and encourage each other. These activities will help lay the groundwork for their future success.
Writing Down Goals Helps Achieve Them!
Putting your dreams and goals down on paper where you can see them every day actually helps you achieve them! Studies were conducted at Dominican University on the science of goal setting. The results revealed that writing down your goals on a regular basis makes you 42% more likely to achieve them than if you don’t record them. They determined that using your imagination (right/creative brain) and writing those plans down (left/logical brain) engages your whole brain, including your subconscious. This makes it easier for you to find and seize opportunities that will help you achieve your goals, as well as keep you motivated.
Help Young Members Start the Habit
Young members who begin a habit of envisioning and recording their goals are more likely to achieve future goals as adults. We hope this year’s Youth Month theme will give our younger members the encouragement they need to start this habit.
At Mid Oregon Credit Union, we enjoy talking to our youth about their dreams and goals. We have the tools- savings and checking accounts– to help them realize those dreams. Check our options online, or bring them by one of our 7 Central Oregon branches, and see for yourselves.