Weld Community Credit Union

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep across the planet, the race to find a cure has taken on desperate urgency. Pharmaceutical companies and researchers around the world are scrambling to find a way to stop the virus and to immunize people against becoming infected.

Unfortunately, scammers have recognized an opportunity to rob innocent victims of their money while giving them false hope for defeating the virus. The FBI is warning of a surge in COVID-19 cure scams in which criminals peddle an alleged vaccine or treatment for coronavirus. Scammers are also claiming they can disinfect a home and all surfaces against the lingering virus after a family member was infected.

“The last thing the American people need, in the middle of this pandemic, is criminals trying to take advantage of them and profit off their concerns,” FBI Director Chris Wray said.

Here’s all you need to know about these scams.

How the Scams Play Out

There are several variations of coronavirus cure scams, most of which profit off the fear and panic of those who are already infected by COVID-19 and people who are fearful of contracting the virus.

One such scam involves a bogus website allegedly selling a vaccine against the novel coronavirus. In one instance, during the last weekend of March, 2020, a federal court ordered the shutdown of a website, “CornavirusMedicalKit.com.” The spammy site offered visitors a vaccine kit to protect against the coronavirus for just a nominal shipping fee of $4.95.

“In fact, there are currently no legitimate COVID-19 vaccines and the WHO (World Health Organization) is not distributing any such vaccine,” the Justice Department said about the website.

In another scam, victims receive a phone call in which a recorded voice offers to send them a free testing kit for the coronavirus. The victim need only pay the shipping charges for these testing kits — which, of course, are worthless. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released several samples of these calls to raise awareness and alert the public about their circulation.

In yet another scam, bogus cleaning agencies advertise about their disinfecting and sanitizing services, claiming they can eradicate the virus from patients’ homes.

“For only $79 our highly trained technicians will do a full air duct cleaning and sanitation to make sure that the air you breathe is free of bacteria,” a voice on one of these calls says.

Unfortunately, after making a payment for the service, the victim will never hear from the agency again. In another variation, the “cleaning agency” will show up at the victim’s home, and perform a rudimentary cleaning using a simple solution of ordinary soap and water, which does little to disinfect against a lingering virus.

How to Spot the Scams

The coronavirus cure scams are fairly easy to spot. With just a bit of awareness and the knowledge of some basic information about COVID-19, you can recognize a scam and keep yourself safe from being victimized.

First, as mentioned, there is currently no approved vaccine or cure for the novel coronavirus. When a vaccine and cure do become available, it will likely make national headlines. You won’t first hear of it through a robocall. If a company reaches out to you trying to sell you a vaccine or cure, you’re likely looking at a scam. Hang up and don’t engage further.

Similarly, there are no FDA-approved at-home tests for the coronavirus available for the public. If a company tries to sell you one, it is likely a bogus test that won’t tell you if you’re actually infected by the virus or not.

Finally, if you or a member of your family has tested positive for COVID-19 and you’d like to sanitize your home from all traces of the virus, there’s no need to call a cleaning agency. You can do it yourself by following the CDC’s guidelines for disinfecting your home and all surfaces from the virus.

Don’t let the pervading fear and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic get your guard down. Arm yourself with the information you need to recognize potential coronavirus scams, and keep yourself aware and alert at all times. Stay safe!

Some of the financial terms flying around in the wake of the recently approved Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act may be confusing. We have broken down some of the key components and how they relate to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deferred Interest

What it means: Deferred interest is when interest charges on a loan or a line of credit are deferred or delayed for a specific period of time. The interest will usually accrue, or continue to grow, during such a deferral period. Call us and ask us about our Skip-A-Pay program.

How it relates to COVID-19: Many major credit card companies are allowing consumers to defer interest on their March and April payments due to the coronavirus. Also, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES), lenders must stop collecting payments for federal student loans through Sept. 30. Interest will then be deferred throughout these six months and will not continue to accrue.

Forbearance

What it means: Forbearance is the delaying of a payment on a loan, such as a mortgage or auto loan. Interest generally continues to accrue. Any missed payments are either moved to the end of the loan’s term or are collected when the period of forbearance is over.

How it relates to COVID-19: The Federal Housing Finance Agency offered payment forbearance to homeowners affected by COVID-19, allowing them to suspend mortgage payments for up to 12 months. These loans, funded by lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, account for 66 percent of all home loans in the country. Many private lenders are offering homeowners forbearance at this time as well. Some state governments have also instructed all mortgage lenders in their states to offer forbearance for three months.

Freelancers

What it means: Freelancers are self-employed workers who sell their work or services by the hour or by the job.

How it relates to COVID-19: Under the CARES Act, freelancers are eligible for unemployment insurance.

Furlough

What it means: A “furloughed” worker is someone who is “out on furlough” – or temporarily laid off without pay.

How it relates to COVID-19: Millions of workers are now on furlough as companies temporarily shut down for complying with social distancing mandates, statewide orders to “shelter in place,” or due to a lack of business during the pandemic. Furloughed workers are eligible for unemployment insurance.

Gig Workers

What it means: Similar to freelancers, a gig worker, or independent contractor, enters into a formal agreement with a company to be on-call when the company needs to provide service to its clients, such as rideshare drivers working for Lyft or Uber.

How it relates to COVID-19: Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES), gig workers are eligible for unemployment insurance.

Stock Buyback

What it means: Also known as a share repurchase, a stock buyback refers to a company’s reacquisition of its own stock. Stock buybacks are common when stocks are falling as the company will use its cash reserves to buy outstanding shares for reducing the number of available shares on the market.

How it relates to COVID-19: The CARES Act has prohibited stock buybacks for any individual while they are receiving government funds and for a full year for companies receiving federal loans at this time.

Unemployment Insurance

What it means: Unemployment insurance offers laid-off workers partial compensation while they are seeking a new job. Eligible candidates must have been laid off through no fault of their own and be actively seeking a new position or undergoing job training. Weekly benefits are determined by each state, generally capping at 60 percent of the worker’s former income.

How it relates to COVID-19: With millions of workers temporarily or permanently out of a job, unemployment benefits have been greatly expanded. Restrictions and qualifications have been loosened and an additional weekly $600 will be added to most checks for up to four months.

Where do young parents go to learn about getting rid of debt and building wealth? To the world of Marriage, Kids and Money of course!

Andy Hill is a father of two who learned hard financial lessons early on in life when he purchased a home he couldn’t really afford at age 22. He was thrilled to have achieved the American Dream at such a young age, but soon realized that his $200,000 investment was going to eat up 70% of his monthly after-tax income. To make matters worse, the house started requiring expensive repairs, forcing Hill to take out a HELOC against his home just to keep pace with his living expenses. Eventually, he decided to sell the home, barely breaking even with its initial price. This costly mistake was the catalyst that spurred Hill onto his journey toward financial wellness and empowerment.

Today, Hill and his family are in a completely different place. As part of their struggle to gain financial freedom, the Hills have reached the following remarkable goals:

  • Paying off $48,032 of debt in one year
  • Paying off a $195,000 mortgage in less than four years
  • Increasing net worth from -$50,000 to $750,000 in eight years

On his blog, podcast and online platforms, Hill shares his hard-won tips and advice for achieving and maintaining financial wellness while raising a family. The award-winning blogger and influencer has been featured in major media outlets like Business Insider, Market Watch and NBC News. His message of financial empowerment has resonated with thousands of followers across the country.

You can check out Hill’s blog to read about his financial journey and timeless advice, follow him on Instagram and Twitter, and/or like his posts on Facebook.

Your Turn: Which financial influencers do you follow? Tell us about them in the Facebook comments.

Find the app on Google Play Store or Apple Store… on a phone or tablet near you!

  • Scholastic: The leading educational company has set up a “Learn From Home” website with free daily courses for kids ages K-12.
  • Zoom: The popular video conferencing app is offering free service during the coronavirus outbreak. It’s also lifted its 40-minute limit on conferences, making the app a perfect choice for hosting your child’s classroom learning, or even a video chat with friends.
  • Neoufitness: Help your kids stay fit through the pandemic with this super-fun fitness app for kids ages 4-12. The app offers a selection of 10-20 minute exercise classes and is free for the first 30 days.
  • Issasedibleadventures: If your child is an aspiring chef, they’ll love this free cooking app, in which gamers race to collect ingredients from around the world and use them to create a requested cross-cultural dish.
  • SmartMusic: The popular music practice app is offering free service through June 30 for all schools impacted by COVID-19. The app includes practice tools like a tuner, metronome and fingerings, along with an extensive music library and immediate assessment of pitch and rhythm.
  • DuckDuckMoose: The adorable educational app for kindergartners and preschoolers makes learning super-fun! The app is always free and features a delightful array of characters, a brightly colored interface, and a special focus on maps and puzzles.
  • World of Cents: The NCUA’s free money app is the perfect way to teach your kids about personal finances. They’ll learn all about earning, spending, saving and more through the app’s fun games designed for kids ages 5-10.

It isn’t easy to be holed up at home with just your family for company. After two days, you may be thinking there isn’t enough coffee or chocolate in this world for a parent who’s stuck home with their kids for weeks at a time. As the parent, though, you have the unique opportunity to set the tone in your home and decide if these weeks will be a nightmare for everyone, or filled with precious memory-making and family-bonding activities.

Here are some fun activities to keep your kids busy while you wait out the pandemic at home:

Marshmallow Tinker-Toys:

For a fun twist on the classic building toy, take pretzel sticks and mini-marshmallows and let your child build a world of sweetness. Have them create pretzel-marshmallow people, houses and towns. It’s creative, sticky fun, and best of all, when they’re done, they can eat their sweet creations!

Puppet Shows:

All you need for the show of a lifetime is a cardboard box, some Popsicle sticks, old socks (which may have lost their match) and markers for decorating. If you have googly eyes in the house, glue them on for more realistic-looking sock puppets. Have your child entertain you, or be the entertainer — either way works. Let the show begin!

Scrapbook:

Spend some quality time reliving precious memories by digging out the scrapbooking supplies and old photos to create a timeless masterpiece together.

Salt Painting:

Move over, glitter; this new painting technique makes designs that are just as pretty and twice as fun! Lay a piece of cardstock on top of some old newspapers. Have your child draw patterns on the paper using Elmer’s glue. The glue lines should be on the thick side. Next, pour table salt over the wet glue, making sure all the glue is covered in salt. You can speed up this step by tilting your paper after pouring the salt. Shake off all excess salt. Now, using watercolors, let your kids paint the salt! This works best if the paint is a bit watery so the brush doesn’t have to touch the salt too often; it can simply drip onto the paper. When your child is done painting, they’ll be left with a spectacular, super-cool design!

Teach a Household Skill:

Instead of complaining about the endless housework, enlist your child’s help! Even very small children can help sort laundry, load the washing machine and press the buttons to turn it on (with your supervision, of course). Have the older ones help you bake, letting them put their math skills to use by adding fractions in recipes. And, of course, everyone cleans up their own messes when the day is done!

Simon Says, “Draw!”: 

Give this old favorite a twist by breaking out the craft supplies. Set up a table with paper, crayons, markers, stamps and any other fun coloring supplies you have in your house. Seat your kids around the table and begin an intense game of Simon Says, only instead of movements, instruct your kids to draw something on their papers. You can have them draw basic shapes in specific colors, or something more complex if they’re a little older. Anyone who messes up is out of the game!

Balloon Ping-Pong:

No need for a bulky ping-pong table! Just tape large popsicle sticks to the backs of paper plates, blow up a balloon and have your preschoolers play ping-pong with their makeshift paddles over your empty kitchen table!

Let it Snow!:

It’s been a snowless winter in many parts of the country, but that doesn’t mean you can’t bring the blizzard home. Whip up a batch of homemade snow while you’re stuck inside during the COVID-19 outbreak. Let your kids have a blast creating a winter wonderland that’s almost as good as the real thing. In a large pan or bin, mix 3 cups of baking soda with ½ cup hair conditioner. Note: If you don’t have enough baking soda on hand, you can also use shaving cream for your “snow.” Keep on stirring until the mixture turns cold, soft and feels like … snow!  Dig out the toy cars, small beach shovels and collections of Little People or Playmobil people and let the fun begin!

Scavenger Hunt:

If your kids are bouncing off the walls from being cooped up at home, have them let off some steam with a good old-fashioned scavenger hunt. Set up hints around the house and have them race from clue to clue searching for the treasure you’ve hidden for them. If your kids are too young to read, this can work with picture clues as well. The “treasure” can be a special treat you have in the house, a new game or art supply you’ve been saving or their favorite stuffed teddy.

No, it isn’t easy to be holed up at home with your kids. But, with some creativity and a positive attitude (and lots of coffee and chocolate), you can fill this challenging time with warm memories your children will treasure for the rest of their lives.

Your Turn: How are you keeping your kids busy during the pandemic? Share your best ideas with us in the comments on Facebook.

Shop your local stores online

Most retailers are offering their products through online purchasing, even if they hadn’t been doing so before the coronavirus pandemic. Continue supporting local businesses by choosing to order through their websites until they reopen their brick-and-mortar locations.

Buy gift cards

Service businesses like spas and theaters that don’t sell products, are hit particularly hard by the coronavirus shutdowns. Help them continue to turn a profit by purchasing gift cards now for later use.

Order in

Dining out is a luxury that most of the world will have to do without for now, but you can still enjoy your favorite takeout food at home. Most restaurants and fast-food chains are taking precautions to prepare their food within hygienic conditions to meet the CDC guidelines. You can safely order through a food delivery service, like UberEats or Postmates, or use the restaurant’s drive-thru or curbside pickup service.

Tip extra

Whether you’re ordering dinner in or just having your groceries delivered because you can’t leave your home, you can help local businesses make it through this economic crisis by tipping a little bit more than you normally would. You can usually add your tip to the total being charged on your card to avoid physical contact with the delivery person.

Take advantage of discounts

In an effort to boost their sales, many small businesses are offering steep discounts on their products at this time. Take advantage by purchasing larger than normal quantities of the sale items to help the business stay afloat.

After days of negotiations and last-minute changes, the Senate and the White House have signed a historic $2 trillion stimulus plan to help mitigate the economic fallout of COVID-19. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) will put cash directly into people’s pockets, provide desperately needed funding for hospitals and help struggling businesses remain afloat in these financially fragile times.

Here’s all you need to know about the CARES Act.

Stimulus checks

One of the most crucial elements of the bill is the plan to distribute stimulus checks to Americans in the middle class and lower income levels. Officials hoped to deposit the one-time payments as soon as early April, though Americans likely won’t see the funds until a few weeks later.

Aid amounts will be based on household income reported in 2018 taxes (or 2019 taxes if they’ve already been filed), and will average $1,200 for each adult earning up to $75K a year and married couples earning up to $150K a year. Check amounts will begin to phase out for individuals whose income exceeds the $75K threshold, and for couples who earn more than $150K. Individuals earning more than $99K, and couples with no dependents earning more than $198K, won’t receive stimulus checks. Each household will also receive an additional $500 for every child under the age of 17 living at home. You can look up your anticipated check amount on this calculator.

The feds are hoping the stimulus checks will help the floundering economy and be a welcome relief to the millions of Americans struggling with a job loss or decreased hours due to COVID-19. The checks will provide benefits quicker than a tax credit and offer more spending freedom for recipients.

Increased unemployment benefits

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the stimulus plan would put “unemployment insurance on steroids” to help employees in every sector survive the pandemic with their finances intact.

The enhanced unemployment insurance includes four months of full paid leave for laid-off workers; expanded coverage for employees who were furloughed; the inclusion of workers who generally do not qualify for unemployment, like gig workers and freelancers; and increased unemployment benefits for all eligible workers by $600 a week for four months in addition to each state’s predetermined unemployment compensation.

Funding for the health care system

The stimulus plan will pump $150 billion in the country’s overtaxed health care system to help it

meet the overwhelming demands of the pandemic. Of this funding, $130 billion will go directly to hospitals struggling to deal with a shortage of masks, ventilators, beds and protective gear; and $1 billion will go to the Indian Health Service. The rest of the money will be used to fund research and treatment and to help the Strategic National Stockpile raise supplies of ventilators, masks and other equipment for hospitals across the country.

Small business bailouts

Small businesses are among the hardest hit by the pandemic and national shutdown to help “flatten the curve.” The stimulus plan will offer $350 billion worth of funds to these corporations to help them remain solvent during these economically lean times. These funds take the form of loans, some of which may ultimately be forgiven.

Funding for state and local governments

State governments are especially active and vocal at this time, as they are the sole elected officials authorized to enact and enforce lockdowns on their jurisdictions. State treasuries are also straining to meet the surge in requests for funding from hospitals and individuals seeking unemployment benefits. Local governments are similarly mobilized during the pandemic, with law enforcement authorities in heavily infected areas putting in long, hard hours daily ensuring the safety and health of citizens.

The CARES Act will distribute $150 billion directly to state and local governments to enable them to address their spending shortages and to fund their increased labor at this time.

Additional provisions and addenda

There are several other components of the CARES Act, including the following:

  • Establishment of a Treasury Department special inspector general for pandemic recovery and a Pandemic Response Accountability Committee to oversee loans to businesses
  • Prohibition for all businesses controlled by the president, vice president, members of Congress and heads of executive departments from participating in the loan or investment programs. Their children, spouses and other relatives are also banned from receiving benefits.
  • Provisions to ban stock buybacks during the period of government assistance. There is an additional ban of a year for all companies receiving a federal loan from the CARES Act
  • Establishment of worker protections for businesses receiving the federal loans
  • Prohibition for airlines from using the federal loans for CEO bonuses

The country is going through historically challenging times, but with the combined effort of the federal government, the cooperation and compliance of the public and generosity of each individual, we can all get through this together. Wishing all of our members and their families continued health and safety at this time.

Your Turn: How do you plan to use your stimulus check? Tell us about it in Facebook comments.

The coronavirus pandemic has taken the world as we know it and turned it upside down. Hospitals are scrambling to meet the needs of their patients as the federal and local governments are issuing stricter guidelines to help stop the spread of the virus.

Shopping malls that were filled with crowds just a week ago now stand vacant. Universities and schools have emptied out and students are continuing their education online to diminish the spread of the virus. Small businesses have shuttered their doors as they choose their health and the health and safety of their customers over profit.

As part of this upheaval, millions of Americans have been sent home from work with laptops in hand and strict instructions to remotely tend to their usual workload. Unfortunately, this can prove to be a lot harder than it sounds. If you find yourself struggling to complete your workload from home during the outbreak, we can help!

Here are some tips on how to stay focused, on-task and productive as you work from home.

Create a workstation.

Propping up your pillows and working in bed can sound like a good idea until you find yourself nodding off in front of your computer screen. To keep your brain focused and in “working mode,” it’s best to designate one area of your home to serve as your workstation as you wait out the outbreak. Keep the area clean and stocked with all the supplies you may need during your work hours.

Set your hours.

A major boon of working from home is choosing your own hours — but this can backfire quickly. Lack of a proper schedule is the biggest enemy of the procrastinator. To keep from finding yourself with a huge amount of work to complete in an impossibly short amount of time, set up working hours and stick to them. If there are children home with you, work around their routine by scheduling your work hours during naptime or late at night when they’re asleep.

Collaborate.

For most of us, home is where we unwind and kick off our shoes after a long day of work. Keeping focused and staying on task when working in your own comfortable surroundings can be super-challenging. Bring home some of the motivational work atmosphere by collaborating with your colleagues as much as possible. Utilize video conferencing to swap ideas, plan long-term projects and communicate on platforms like Slack, which is created just for this purpose.

Get rid of all distractions.

It can be hard to keep your mind on work when each beep of the phone brings more horrific news and updates about the spread of the coronavirus. If you can, hide or shut off your phone during your work hours. If that’s not possible, consider turning off your notifications and social media apps. You can also use an app, like ColdTurkey, which makes it easy to minimize distractible apps and websites on your phone.

Your Turn: Are you working from home? Tell us how you’re making it work in the comments.

Did you know there were 14.4 million victims of identity theft in 2018? According to Javelin Strategy, each case cost the victim an average of $1,050 – and that’s only the cost in dollars. When an individual’s identity is stolen, the thief wreaks major havoc on the victim’s financial health, which can take months, or even years, to recover from.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prevent yourself from becoming the next victim. Here is your complete guide to identity theft protection.

1. Monitor your credit

One of the best preventative measures you can take against identity theft is monitoring your credit. You can check your credit score for free on sites like CreditKarma.com and order an annual report once a year from each of the three credit reporting agencies at AnnualCreditreport.com. Check your score for any sudden hits and look through your reports for suspicious activity. It’s also a good idea to review your monthly credit card bills for any charges you don’t remember making.

2. Use multi-factor authentication

When banking online, or using any other service that utilizes sensitive information, always choose multi-factor authentication. If possible, use your thumbprint as one means of identification. Otherwise, use multiple passwords, PINs or personal questions to make it difficult for a hacker to break into your accounts.

3. Use strong unique passwords

Never use identical passwords for multiple accounts. If you do so, you’re making yourself an easier target for identity thieves. Instead, create strong, unique passwords for every account you use. The strongest passwords use a variety of letters, symbols and numbers, and are never mock-ups or replicas of popular phrases or words.

If you find it difficult to remember multiple passwords, consider using a free password service, like LastPass. You’ll only need to remember one master password and the service will safely store the rest.

4. Only use Wi-Fi with a VPN

Did you know you are putting your personal information at risk every time you use the free Wi-Fi at your neighborhood coffee shop (or any other public establishment)? When using public Wi-Fi, always choose a Virtual Private Network (VPN) instead of your default Wi-Fi settings to keep the sensitive information on your device secure.

5. Block robocalls

Lots of identity theft occurs via robocalls in which the scammer impersonates a government official or the representative of a well-known company. Lower the number of robocalls reaching your home by adding your home number to the Federal Trade Commission’s No Call List at donotcall.gov. It’s also a good practice to ignore all calls from unfamiliar numbers, because each engagement encourages the scammers to try again.

6. Upgrade your devices

Whenever possible, upgrade the operating system of your computer, tablet and phone to the latest versions. Upgraded systems will keep you safe from the most recent security breaches and offer you the best protection against viruses and hacks.

7. Shred old documents

While most modern-day identity theft is implemented over the internet or through phone calls, lots of criminals still use old-fashioned means to get the information they need. Dumpster-divers will paw through trashed papers until they hit upon a missive that contains personal information. It’s best to shred all documents containing sensitive information as soon as you don’t need them.

8. Keep personal information personal

Be super-cautious about sharing sensitive data, like your Social Security number and banking PINs, with strangers – and even with friends. It’s also a good idea to use the strongest, most private security settings on your social media accounts to keep hackers out.

9. Invest in identity theft protection

If you’re still nervous about being the next victim of identity theft, you may want to sign up for an identity-theft protection service. They don’t come cheap, but services like LifeLock and IdentityForce will monitor your personal information online and immediately alert you about any suspicious activity.

Identity theft can be an expensive nightmare. Be proactive about protecting your identity and keep your information and your money safe.

There’s lots of talk in the world of personal finance about how to best manage a savings account. You might read up on financial experts who recommend keeping three to six months’ worth of living expenses in your savings account, or maybe you’ve seen a tip about socking away enough money to cover larger expenses. Either way, there’s lots of discussion about the ideal amount of money to keep in a savings account.

But what about our checking accounts? Most of us use these accounts on a daily basis. Every swipe of a debit card, every bill we pay and every personal check we write takes money out of our checking account.

How much money should we be keeping in these super-convenient accounts? Let’s find out.

What’s your magic number?

According to a 2019 NerdWallet survey, the average American checking account balance is approximately $2,900 but this number may not be right for you.

Everyone’s financial realities are different, and because of that, we have different answers to the question of how much money we should be keeping in our checking accounts. The general rule of thumb is to try to have one or two months’ of living expenses in it at all times. Some experts recommend adding 30 percent to this number as an extra cushion.

To determine your exact living expenses, track your spending over several months, including all bills and discretionary spending. Be sure to include seasonal and occasional expenses as well.

Why keep that much money in your checking account?

Your checking account is your transactional account. This is where you’ll draw the money for all of your spending throughout the month, so you’ll want to be sure you have enough funds to cover those expenses. But it goes deeper than that. Here are three reasons you want to keep your checking account well-padded at all times:

1. Avoiding overdrafts. Even high-income earners can miscalculate their spending and end up with an overdrawn account. Why risk being charged overdraft fees for every transaction when you can easily avoid this mistake? [Here at Weld Community Credit Union, you can sign up for overdraft protection to ensure you never again pay a fee for an overdrawn account.]

2. Providing a cushion for pre-authorization holds. Some merchants, including those that operate gas stations, hotels, and car rentals, will place a pre-authorization hold on your debit card until you complete a transaction. Pre-authorizations can reduce your available checking account balance by up to $100 per hold. Once your transaction clears, the hold is released and the funds are available to you again. However, until then, the money is tied up. Keeping your checking account well-funded allows you to comfortably agree to pre-authorization holds without fearing an empty or overdrawn account.

3. Keeping liquid funds available. A robust checking account means access to cash is just an ATM transaction away. While most vendors accept various forms of payment, it’s helpful to know you have cash available if and when you need it.

Can I be keeping too much money in my checking account?

While it’s great to keep your checking account well-padded, taking it to the extreme is not recommended. Having an overstuffed checking account means you’re possibly missing out on the higher returns you can earn if you were to keep those same funds in a Weld Community Credit Union Money Market Account or in a Savings Certificate.

Once you’ve determined exactly how much money you should be keeping in your checking account, look into other options for the rest of your funds. You can speak to an MSRP at Weld Community Credit Union to learn about our available options and other high-yield options to find the one that’s right for you.

If you dare

Now that you’ve got your checking account numbers all worked out and you’ve chosen a place to keep the rest of your money, you may want to consider an unconventional practice, which makes money management simpler: opening two separate checking accounts. Some financial experts, such as Kristen Euretig, founder and CEO of Brooklyn Plans, recommend using this approach to give you a separate place for keeping the funds you’ll need for bills and the money you’ll use each month for your discretionary spending.

Here’s how it works. Open a second Weld Community Credit Union Checking Account, and as soon as your monthly paycheck clears, transfer all the funds you need to pay your monthly bills into your second account. If you have any bills linked to your previous checking account, be sure to update the information before they are due. This way, you’ll be paying all of your bills from one account. Best of all, with two accounts, you’ll be able to tell exactly how much spending money you have left each month without doing mathematical gymnastics to determine how much of your money is still earmarked for bills. It’s budgeting made simple!

Here at Weld Community Credit Union, we take the stress out of money management. Optimize your Weld Community Credit Union Checking Account by learning the ideal amount of money to keep in your account at all times.