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.

Growing Your Own Fruits and Veggies
Save on Groceries by Growing Your Own Fruits and Veggies
As the price of fresh, unprocessed food continues to rise, you’re probably looking for ways to stretch your grocery money. You can save on groceries by growing your own fruits and veggies you love. A small garden, and growing your own fruits and veggies, can provide fresh food for your family and save you hundreds of dollars each year.
Getting Started
If you’ve got a sunny spot in your yard and are willing to put a little muscle into the project, you can grow your own produce. A sunny balcony will also work since a variety of plants grow well in pots and planting boxes.
Let’s break down the cost of starting your own food garden. Seedlings are about $4.00 each. Garden soil costs about $5.00/cubic foot and plant food is about $10.00 for a 6 lb. bag.
Local Resources Specific To Central Oregon
In Central Oregon, not everything will grow equally well. For a list of vegetables, check out the list from Oregon State University Extension Service. The list includes when to plant, and when to harvest.
OSU Extension Service also has a great list of publications on Central Oregon, including fruits and vegetables. A couple are “Selecting Berry Crop Varieties for Central Oregon“, and “Central Oregon climate and how it relates to gardening“.
Savings Vs. Store Bought
Say you plant just one tomato plant. You’ll pay about $7.00 for the materials and yield at least 15 lbs. of tomatoes from one plant during the planting season. If you bought 15 lbs. of tomatoes at a grocery, you’d pay about $2.50/lb., for a total of $38. That’s a savings of $31.
Lettuce is another easy vegetable to grow. A 10 oz. bag in the grocery will cost about $2.50. If you purchase 20 bags during the growing season, you’ll spend $50.00. If you grow your lettuce, not only will you be able to pick it fresh from your garden, but you’ll save about $43.
Raspberries are a great fruit to grow. They require full sun and a little patience – most varieties won’t begin producing fruit until their second year – but the payoff is worth it. It’s a perennial and very prolific, so if you begin with one plant, expect to see at least 5 more plants each year. At a grocery, you’ll pay $5.00 for just a 6 oz. pack of organic raspberries. With your own berry garden, you’ll have pounds of organic fruit that can be eaten fresh off the cane, turned into jam, or canned for the entire year.
Start Small to Save Big
If you’re a beginner gardener, start with a small garden to get used to the work. Plant one or two of each variety and see how you manage with the harvest. If you think you can handle more, plant more next season.
Growing your own vegetable and fruit garden is a fantastic way get healthy, organic food at a fraction of the cost of buying it at a store.

Tidying Up Your Finances
Tidying Up Your Home Clutter
You’ve probably seen or at least heard about the show “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” which aims to help people clear the clutter from their homes. Hmmm, could we picture tidying up your finances?
Marie asks participants to assess each item and determine whether it “sparks joy” for them anymore. If it doesn’t, it goes to a charity shop or to the trash. By clearing the clutter in one’s life, Marie says it not only creates a better home environment, but it has beneficial effects on one’s mood, thought processes, and abilities.
Can You De-Clutter Your Finances?
The same exercise can be applied to your finances. Is your spending out of control? Do you have little to no idea how much you spend on food, clothes, or entertainment per year? Do you hate looking at your account balance because you’re afraid of what you’ll see? Then you may want to tidy up your finances.
Here are a few ways to help you get started:
• Create a budget. Start by adding up all the monthly expenses you MUST pay for – rent/mortgage, utilities, gas/transportation, groceries, credit card bills, out-of-pocket health expenses, insurance. Deduct that from your monthly take-home pay. What’s left is what you can either save or spend on non-essentials. Nerdwallet has an online budget sheet you can use to make these calculations. There are also many free apps, like Everydollar.com and Mint.com, to help you stay on budget.
• Get rid of credit cards with high interest rates. Their huge interest charges make them harder to pay off. For instance, say you bought a coat for $400 (on sale!) on a credit card with 16.99% interest. If you only pay $25 each month, that coat will end up costing you $456 because of the interest. The more expenses you put on that card, the higher your interest charges will go. Apply for credit cards with low interest and transfer the balances on these high-interest cards to the low-interest cards. Pay more than the minimum or the entire amount whenever possible.
Mid Oregon Credit Union has lower interest Visa Cards with no balance transfer fees. See our Visa Credit Card Webpage for details.
Spending and Saving Discipline
• Control impulsive shopping. Yes, that new (fill in your latest obsession) may “spark joy” at this moment, but is it really worth the financial stress it may create? Postpone the purchase for 24 hours and see if you still must have it.
• Save for big-ticket items. Instead of using credit cards for expensive items, plan ahead and save for them. Getting into a savings habit will help you live within your means and avoid the stress of deepening debt.
Mid Oregon has savings options to suit every purpose and amount. Visit our Savings web page for the choices.

Financial Advice for New Graduates
Are you a recent college graduate, or going to get your diploma this Spring? Or, do you have a new college graduate in your family or as a close friend. If so, this financial advice for new graduates my be important for you or those who are close to you…
For the Graduate…
You did it! You finally got your degree! You’re probably going to start handling all your own finances too (if you haven’t already started). Here is some financial advice to help you get a good start.
Student Loan Repayment
In about 6 to 9 months after graduation, you’ll have to start paying back your loans. Lenders give you that grace period so you can find your new job before you begin making payments. It’s important to know the total amount you owe and how much you’ll need to pay each month. There’s a repayment estimator online at the Federal Student Aid website. . If you have multiple loans, you may want to consider consolidating them so you only have one monthly payment.
Another good resource that answers the most common student loan questions is the Department of Education Federal Student Loan repayment page.
Savings
Create an Emergency Fund for unexpected expenses — things like a car or laptop repair. Even if you’re paying off student loans, try to put at least $10 into a savings account each time you deposit a paycheck. Creating a cushion will help you avoid overusing your credit cards and getting into more debt. Mid Oregon Credit Union has several savings options which will do the trick!
Credit
Credit cards tend to have high interest rates, so try to use them sparingly. If you do use them, be sure to pay your monthly bill on time. Ideally, pay off the entire balance each month, but if that isn’t possible, then pay more than the minimum payment. Potentially, a Mid Oregon Visa Credit Card may carry a lower rate, and be a better choice.
Insurance
Stay on your parents’ health insurance policy until 26, if possible. If you’ve moved into your own apartment, get renters’ insurance. It’s not too expensive and it will reimburse you in case your apartment gets robbed, or your possessions are damaged by fire, severe weather, or vandalism.
Keep the electronic files of all your legal documents and contracts, but also keep a paper copy as back-ups and put them in a small filing cabinet or box. Also consider getting a fire-safe lock box to keep important documents like your passport, social security card, title for your car, and sentimental items.