May Newsletter 2011

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MONTHLY INTEREST A T L A N T I C

F I N A N C I A L

F E D E R A L

C R E D I T

U N I O N

Always Where You Are

What’s Inside May 2011

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Congratulations

Service of the Month - Visa: 6%

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um’s the word here at AFFCU and it’s time to say ‘thank you’ to yours! Mother’s Day is coming up, and we can help you give her a day at the spa, or a weekend away with our Visa Credit Card. AFFCU has a spring gift that is good all year long. Starting last December through December 31, 2011 all balances created on your VISA credit card through charges, cash advances and balance transfers are calculated at a low, 6%APR. And the 6% interest rate stays in effect on those balances through December, 31, 2012. So let your low rate AFFCU VISA help you say “I love you” to your Mum. Plus you save money with AFFCU’s VISA in so many other ways -

Personal Note

Tip of the Month Motorcycles

No annual fee - Ever! Others charge $55 or more just for the privilege of carrying their card.

You save money immediately!

No cash advance fees – You pay no extra fees when you use your VISA in an ATM or write a convenience check. Others charge 3% or more of the amount you advanced or a minimum fee of $5 or more plus interest. You save more money!

No foreign currency exchange fees – Save money by not paying extra fees for the exchange rate to use your AFFCU VISA when traveling outside of the U.S. Only one monthly payment - Transfer balances from high rate credit cards to your AFFCU VISA. Pay less interest and make just one monthly payment to save money. Even more convenient, set up automatic payment from your AFFCU account.

If you don’t already have an AFFCU VISA, the best choice for all your credit purchases, cash advances and balance transfers, apply now by calling 410-584-7474 and ask for Central Lending during normal business hours. After hours you may call 888-242-3328. Or go on-line to affcu.org and click on application in the left hand column. Always fax your income verification to 410-584-8061.

Spring Sprucing

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dd value to your home, with some fresh landscaping, or install a pool. Build a deck or lay a patio with a nice fire pit. Update your kitchen or bathroom with new tile or floors. Make your home into that special place where you enjoy relaxing and entertaining family and friends.

And, if you are thinking about selling your home, these are also some great ways to add value, and selling points. What better time to show your home then when the weather is nice.

AFFCU’s Home Equity Line of Credit rates start as low as 2.25%. With AFFCU’s great rates on Home Equity loans and lines of credit, you may qualify for financing up to 80% of the equity in your home to fund home repairs or improvements. To apply call Home Equity Loan Officer, Trish Campbell at 410-584-7474, extension 231.

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On a Personal Note It Takes One to Know One

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS: Martin J. Droney, Chairman Leo J. DeLuca, Vice Chairman Harris Mager, Secretary Bernard Goodman, Treasurer BOARD MEMBERS: R. Lee Bonhoff Ben A Herring Throdore Prioleau Michael H. Spencer Thomas H. Stromer SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Michael H. Spencer, Chairman Debbie J. Bogdan Michelly B. Merrick

Holiday AFFCU branches are closed Monday, May 30th for Memorial Day. You have account access through 4,000 FREE ATMS, PAT, E-Branch, E-Deposit, and E-Bill Pay on the Internet.

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rom one member of Gen Y to another, I am here to give all my friends out there some helpful and easy tips. As I am in the prime of my Gen Y years, I know I could use all the help I can get from AFFCU. So here is a list of ways AFFCU can help you!

1. Text Banking- Convenience at its finest. Just text in codes to find out what’s going on in your account.

2. E-Bill-Pay Pay your bills on line. Save time and money on stamps! Easy as pie.

3. Finance Works- A budgeting tool that helps you track your spending when you log into E-Branch.

4. Shared Branches- Just because the branch or ATM doesn’t have AFFCU on it, doesn’t mean you can’t use it. Find out more at www.affcu.org. Click on the ATM Branch Locator button.

5. Free Checking… seriously- We really don’t charge you any fees for having a checking account 6. Overdraft Protection- This is a line of credit that will save you from getting charged if you overdraw your account.

7. Real People- AFFCU has a staff of humans, not computers that will help you answer your questions and get you where you need to go.

Having access to all of these things has helped me stay on top of my account, and feel secure about my finances.

For some financial institutions, Gen Y is hard to get… but not for AFFCU From your Editor.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to our president and CEO, Rick Webb.

He was one of twenty one people nominated for Corridor Magazines 2010 Person of the Year Award. When the voting and judging was completed he was recognized as one of the top four executives at the Corridor Magazine Gala held at the BWI Marriott on March 31st.

Just a few days later on April 5th he was chosen as Person of the Year by the Hunt Valley Business Forum and recognized with an award at their Annual Meeting breakfast at the Hunt Valley Marriott.

Being recognized and/or nominated and winning these awards is a result of a lot of dedication, and participation in the business, education and charity community. For that reason, it is no surprise that these organizations and colleagues selected Rick.

He has served as President and Board Member of Credit Union Services Corporation, is currently Secretary of the MDDCCUA Baltimore Chapter Board and an active participant in other credit union trade groups. Your legislators know Rick as he communicates with them often advocating for consumer financial rights and services and better financial education. Rick is actively involved with the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce Board serving on their Education Committee. He also serves on the Education and Work Force Development Committee of the Greater Baltimore Committee and the Higher Education Sub-Committee, the Maryland Coalition for Financial Literacy. He has volunteered as an instructor for financial literacy through Junior Achievement and the Baltimore County Public Schools Academy of Finance. He is on the Regional Advisory Board for Business & Education and is the past Chairman of the Hunt Valley Business Forum Board. Other involvements include the Baltimore Area Boy Scouts of America, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and the Baltimore Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church. When his son was enrolled at St Paul’s School he was Treasurer of the PTA. In his spare time he is also a Designated Hitter with the Orioles handling Season Tickets, Groups and Suite sales and very involved in his church community at Wiseburg Methodist.

Steve Spund, HVBF Chairman presents Person of the Year Award to Rick Webb.

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Tip of the Month

New Service

Put Your Tax Refund to Good Use

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The time has past for filing your taxes unless you requested an extension. But you may still be waiting for your refund if you’re one of the thousands of American who overpaid your annual tax obligation. According to the Internal Revenue Service the average federal tax refund is nearly $3000. That’s a significant chunk of change. What will you do with your refund check?

Before you get the urge to splurge, think carefully about how to spend your windfall. If you must, give yourself a little “mad money” as a reward for your hard work, but take the bulk of your refund and apply it to something constructive. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Build your safety net Your tax refund can help you establish financial reserves for a rainy day. The recommendation is to have six months to one year of salary set aside in an easily accessible account, such as a savings or Money Market account, to cover unexpected expenses or to replace interrupted income.

Pay down debt It may take credit to build credit, but it’s vitally important to keep debt to a manageable portion of your overall financial picture. If you carry a balance on revolving credit card debt, consider applying your refund to reduce or eliminate what you owe. High interest rates have a way of snowballing over time, especially if don’t pay more than the minimum due each month.

Save for retirement Someday you’ll want to retire or at least cut back on your work schedule. You’ll need multiple sources of income the day your regular paycheck stops. Why not fund an IRA with your tax surplus? You’ll multiply your tax advantages if you place your money in a traditional IRA, since your contributions will be tax deductible as long as you do not exceed allowable annual maximums.

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-Deposit, just another convenient way for you to access, and in this case, deposit your money 24/7.

Deposit your checks from grandma and miscellaneous birthday cards when you don’t have access or time to an AFFCU branch, or a shared branch. It’s simple, all you need is a scanner, and a secure computer with internet access.

Just log into your E-Branch account, scan in your check, and presto, you’re done! It’s that easy! Check out a demo on the front page of our website and when you log into EBranch.

Springtime means Motorcycles!

Protect your investments If you’re a homeowner, it’s important to maintain the value of your investment. Consider making repairs and improvements that will increase the value of your home and also make living in it more enjoyable.

Make the world a better place If you’re feeling charitable, you may choose to donate some or all of your refund to a worthy cause. Giving to charity is an honorable thing to do and can also provide tax advantages. By making a donation to a qualified charity, you may be able to receive a tax deduction, if you itemize your deductions.

Seek financial planning help If, year after year, your tax refund is large, consider adjusting your deductions or estimated payments to reduce the amount of overpayment. You’re better off keeping the money in your bank account than giving the government a short-term, interest-free loan.

Consult a financial advisor for more ideas on how you can put your money to work and create a more secure future for yourself.

Provided by: Bill Morgan, Ameriprise Financial Sevrices

Steve Spund, HVBF Chairman presents Person of the Year Award to Rick Webb.

Here is your chance to win a college scholarship!

All you have to do is write an essay or make a video. The chosen topic is: "How can your credit union best reach out to members ages 18 to 25?” To enter the contest, you must belong to a Maryland or DC based credit union, and be entering into your freshman through senior year of college. The essay must be 750 (or less) words, or a 60-second (or less) video.

Deadline for entries is March 31, 2011 with the judges’ final decisions made in mid-April. More details and scholarship applications are only available at http://www.cufound.org/scholarship.htm

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4 To Reach AFFCU Anytime...Call Main Number . . . . (410)584-7474 Toll-free . . . . . . . . 1-800-505-7476 PAT (Phone Activated Tranactions.) . . . . . . . . . . . Press 6 InfoLine (rates, hours, etc.)Press 7 Fax Number . . . . . .(410)584-8061 24-Hr. Loan Ser. (toll-free) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-888-24AFFCU CO-OP Network ATM Locator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-888-SITE-COOP E-Mail . . . . . . . . rwebb@affcu.org Internet . . . . . . . . . www.affcu.org ATLANTIC PLU$ VISA CHECK CARD & CREDIT CARD: Call 410-584-7474 or 1-800-505-7476.

Activation or Lost & Stolen . . Press 6 Member Service . . . . . . . . . . Press 5 OTHER AFFCU SERVICES Bill English, Certified Financial Planner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (410)489-7939 Enterprise Car Sales 1-800-CAR-SALE Financial Security Mortgage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (410)823-3300 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-800-730-7599 MVCP Motor Vehicle Certification Prog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-800-345-0990

“Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” Sounds like something you would support...right? And then again, maybe not.

At the 11th hour before passing this Act, Senator Durban introduced the Durban Amendment requiring the Federal Reserve to conduct a study of debit card fees that retailers pay for the benefit of allowing consumers to use a debit card to make purchases at their stores. But, without knowing what the actual cost is for financial institutions to provide this service to retailers, the Amendment put a cap of 12 cents AND stated the cap must be implemented by July 21, 2011. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed the Consumer Protection Act including the Durban Amendment as presented with NO hearings, discussion or debate.

While some VERY large retailers in Senator Durban’s state and all other states will save millions of dollars in reduced fees when the Act is implemented, there is absolutely no benefit to you the individual consumer! Retailers claim they will be able to lower their prices. Let me know when the retailer you patronize drops their prices because of this Act. Detailed studies by banks and credit unions found that 12 cents may cover the actual cost of data transmission, but it won’t cover the cost of providing consumer service, issuing debit cards, administering debit cards, fraud investigation and/or prevention associated with debit cards, etc.

The actual cost of providing this service to retailers is closer to $.45. The retailer’s benefit – they get paid faster and have far fewer losses from bad checks being returned that they then have to spend money to collect.

To offset the lost fee income from retailers, large banks have already announced they may restrict debit card purchases to as low as $50. They are considering charging annual fees for debit cards.

Free checking will either go away or require higher balances.

The Federal Reserve missed the target date for determining the result of their required study stating it’s more complicated than the time frame allowed by the Act. The Chair of the Federal Reserve, Bernanke and Congressman Barney Frank, former Chair of the House Financial Services Committee has expressed concerns about this Amendment and there is significant, growing, nonpartisan support for repealing this portion of the Act. There are currently bills pending in both the Senate and the House to delay its implementation in order to study the impact of this legislation.

Contact your representative now to express your concern about how this amendment does nothing to benefit you.

Rick

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