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.
Free Document Shredding on April 20th!
Safely Dispose of Old Tax Records
Mid Oregon Credit Union and Secure Shred, a division of Bend Garbage & Recycling, have teamed up to help Central Oregonians stay protected from fraud and identity theft. We are offering safe disposal of sensitive documents to our community with free document shredding on Free Shred Day, Saturday April 20, at four Mid Oregon Credit Union locations:
Four locations, Two Times
Saturday, April 20—12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
- Redmond Branch – 2625 SW 17th Place (next to Bi-Mart)
- Prineville Branch – 305 NE Hickey Farms Road (in front of Bi-Mart)
https://www.facebook.com/events/571708216669585/
Saturday, April 20—9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
- Madras Branch – 395 SE Fifth Street (at Fifth and “F” Streets)
- Bend Olney Branch – 202 NE Olney Avenue (near Black Bear Diner)
https://www.facebook.com/events/411424902950899/
Personal Shredding
This free event is intended for private residential document shredding only—no commercial or business shredding provided. Shredding is limited to 3 boxes or bags per vehicle. Personal documents with staples and paper clips are accepted.
Benefiting Healthy Beginnings Through Adopt-a-Bear
Although the shredding services are provided at no cost, Mid Oregon will be accepting donations to benefit Healthy Beginnings as part of our annual Adopt-A-Bear fundraiser. Healthy Beginnings offers no-cost health and developmental screenings for preschoolers to ensure local children enter kindergarten ready to learn. Learn more about Healthy Beginnings at www.myhb.org.
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.