The Magic of Credit Unions

Imagine walking into a banking institution that treats you like a valued part of their organization. Think about what it would be like to talk to a loan officer who is finding reasons to loan you money at a good interest rate and may even be interested in giving you a 2nd chance at credit. Sounds like a banking paradise right?
This banking paradise exists and its called a “Credit Union.” Credit Unions were created in 1933 by an act of Congress during the Great Depression. Credit Unions enabled local communities to form financial institutions whose job was to pool the collective savings of that community and then loan it back to the community. It was one of the first community based lending institutions. In the face of the banking collapse of 1929, many rural communities were left without banking institutions. Credit Unions sometimes feel magical and becoming a member of one is fairly easy depending on the institutions. Requirements can range from places of employment to organizations you’ve donated to and state residency.
Credit Unions have a few distinct advantages over regular banks:

• Credit Unions have a few advantages:
• You are not a customer, you are a member.
• Minimum balance rules are very different, in most cases if you keep the minimum required balance in the savings account you can run the checking down to zero and even keep it there long term.
• Credit Unions are not-for-profit organizations.
• Thanks to the Credit Union Network every credit union and credit union ATM in the country is your credit union like the branches of a bank.
• Credit Unions are insured by the federal government (although they rarely fail).

Personally, I highly encourage credit unions. They are nice, friendly places. I encourage people to get car/home loans through credit unions and take advantage of their lower interest rates. We the taxpayer, have spent billions bailing out banks that provide terrible services, have high fees, and have draconian policies and just don’t work; it is time to take our collective business elsewhere. Why have your money making money for someone else when it can be making money for you and your community? It’s the magic of the Credit Union and the Credit Union is here to stay.