Checkpoint Magazine - Spring 2022

Change your View in 2022!

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Discover Financial Wellness with GreenPath

How to Set Goals & Achieve Them

T H I S

I S S U E

Debt-Free by 2023?

5 Tips to Get Out of Debt this Year

Online Investments: How to Grow Your Financial Funds with Robo-Advisors

LOCATIONS Anderson 1720 North Main Street Anderson, SC 29621 1434 Pearman Dairy Road Anderson, SC 29625 100 Hanna Crossing Anderson, SC 29621

Columbia 1025 Pulaski Street Columbia, SC 29201

Corporate Office & Support Center 420 E. Park Avenue, Ste. 100 Greenville, SC 29601

Easley 118 Brushy Creek Road Easley, SC 29642

Five Forks 117 Batesville Road, Ste. 200

24/7/365 SERVICE

Simpsonville, SC 29681

Member Solutions Center Greenville: 864.232.5553 Nationwide: 800.922.0446

Mills Avenue 300 Mills Avenue Greenville, SC 29605

Spartanburg

MONEYLINKSM Online at www.spero.financial

MONEYLINKSM Audio Response Greenville: 864.232.3645 Nationwide: 800.633.4364

To locate an ATM near you, visit www.spero.financial

130 North Town Drive Spartanburg, SC 29303

FIND US ONLINE

Taylors 3237 Wade Hampton Boulevard Taylors, SC 29687

Verdae

/MySperoFi @MySperoFi @MySperoFi

601 Verdae Boulevard Greenville, SC 29607

www.spero.financial

IN THIS

ISSUE: 3 4

Letter from the President

Community & Events

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In the Spotlight: DISCOVER FINANCIAL WELLNESS WITH GREENPATH

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Feature: ESTABLISHING GOALS & STICKING TO IT — ANSWERING THE SIX QUESTIONS

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Blog: DEBT-FREE BY 2023? 5 TIPS TO GET OUT OF DEBT THIS YEAR

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Money Management: H OW TO ASK FOR A RAISE

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Family Finance: ONLINE INVESTMENTS: HOW TO GROW YOUR FINANCIAL FUNDS WITH ROBO-ADVISORS

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Published for Spero Financial by The Brand Leader.

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P E R S O N A L

L O A N S

You were made to soar!

Don’t let debt drag you down.

Decreasing debt is one of the top three financial goals every year. If it’s yours, you’re not alone! With a Spero Personal Loan, you can consolidate high-interest payments into one and save! Start soaring today by enjoying the peace of mind that comes with a more secure financial future.

Apply today for same-day funding!*

Insured by NCUA. Membership required. Subject to credit approval. *Same-day funding available on loans if: (1) the application is received by 2:00 PM on any day the credit union is open; (2) your application is approved using our standard underwriting guidelines; (3) you’ve provided all relevant information requested and we’ve had an opportunity to verify the information provided; and (4) you’ve reviewed and signed your loan agreements and disclosures.

Dear Members, Happy New Year! I’m thrilled to be back after spending much-needed quality time with family and friends over the holidays and am ready to race into 2022!

If you feel the urgency like I do—to make 2022 stand for something big—join Team Spero this year, as we define our goals and why we want to accomplish them! That’s why you’ll see, in this issue, we’re preparing for the goals ahead, setting our “what” and “why” for the future. In fact, this issue of Checkpoint is dedicated to helping you figure out how to

Letter from the President

set your goals (whether financially or not) and accomplish them.

So, here’s how you can get started. First, read through this issue of Checkpoint, especially the feature article on Setting Goals (page 9).

Then, simply brainstorm your life aspirations – specifically what you want to achieve this year! I encourage you to focus mainly on the “why” of your goal because that is the true motivator to accomplishing it.

For example, you want the peace of mind of financial security – saying goodbye to living paycheck to paycheck. Your goal may then be to save or invest a certain dollar amount monthly, so you can have an emergency savings built for unexpected expenses.

Feeling overwhelmed yet? Don’t! Our team has been putting their heads together to help keep your goal top-of-mind all year long. Stop by one of our branches and complete a “goal card,” which will help you set some personal accountability for meeting your goal and will help us find the

Brian McKay PRESIDENT

best ways to help you along the way!

Throughout the year, we’ll also provide you the tools to accomplish your goals, including financial resources, workshops and more. I know I am looking forward to the end of the year already, where we can celebrate with you as you finish strong!

Remember, setting goals isn’t really about the goal itself—it’s about the life-change that results once you achieve them! And because our goal is to “inspire and nurture financial hope” for all our members, we want to help you in any way we can. So, get ready… set…as we enter 2022!

Thank you for being a part of the Spero family—I can’t wait to see what you do with the year ahead!

I appreciate you,

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COMM UNITY

When we work together,

! e l b i s s o p s i g n i h t y n a — IN THE COMMUNITY Our local community is everything to us —not only is it where we live and work, but it’s where we get to interact with our members, as well! This fall we had a number of events that provided connection, financial resources and support, and just plain fun!

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Ladies of Team Spero had a blast

Thank you to everyone who came out to our

attending AIM’s Hats Off to Women event,

Holiday Budget and Brews workshop! We

spotlighting AIM’s Women and Children

enjoyed our group discussion and creative

Succeeding Program.

ideas on how to save during the season!

E V E NTS

Spero Financial is the proud land sponsor of the Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County Women’s Build — a build that empowers women to build a home for a deserving family. Team Spero was on-site learning new skills and making a difference.

Women build… Women build homes… communities… and futures!

– Simpsonville Councilwoman Jenn Hulehan

At Spero Financial, we are proud supporters of United Way of Greenville County. In 2020, they launched Project Joy and continued it this year — designed to help local families alleviate some of the burdens of the holiday season and fulfill a wish list of essential items. Our Lending Operations Department and Member Solutions Center took this opportunity to spread some holiday hope by sponsoring two families in need!

Closed for the Holidays: O R G A N I Z AT I O N H I G H L I G H T S From Halloween Activities in October to Thanksgiving thanks in November, our team was able to share many great experiences with our members—and our community—this fall!

We are grateful for every single opportunity!

Jan 17

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY

Feb 21

PRESIDENT 'S DAY

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In the Spotlight Discover Financial Wellness with GreenPath Every year, we look at the New Year as an opportunity for change; a chance to better our lives over the next 365 days. For many of us, that includes financial wellness, and becoming financially secure is one of the first steps to finding true financial freedom.

Still, it can be tricky to know where to even start,

help them get closer to their financial goals —

and how to achieve our financial goals. Enter

including paying off more than $70,000 in debt.

GreenPath: a national program that can help Spero members begin charting their personal

“I have personally seen a change in members

paths toward a more secure financial future.

that reach out to GreenPath for help, because

GreenPath is a trusted, national non-profit

they better understand where they are

organization who has been helping people build

financially and have a plan set to better their

their financial health for more than 60 years.

situation going forward,” said Megan Granger,

Through this connection with Spero Financial,

who serves as a Spero Financial Branch

Spero members can access all GreenPath

Manager in Anderson. Granger recalls the story

services — including comprehensive financial

of a member who had multiple credit cards

counseling and money management guidance,

and was overwhelmed with just making the

credit report review, student loan counseling,

minimum monthly payments; GreenPath helped

debt counseling, budget counseling, and housing

set up a personalized debt management plan

services — for free. They even offer a Debt

to make it easier and more effective for the

Management Program for a small fee to help

member to manage.

clients take paying off debt to the next level.

“Programs like GreenPath are important To add to the benefit, because many GreenPath

because they give our members the knowledge

counselors have experienced financial hardships

they need to gain financial freedom, which looks

themselves, their recommendations are genuine,

different for everyone,” she added.

and effective in the real world, not just in theory.

To find out more about GreenPath, or to get

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There’s no question that GreenPath does what

access to their services, visit our site at

they set out to do. In fact, in 2021 alone, more

spero.financial/financial-coaching and get

than 198 Spero members used GreenPath to

started today.

I N T HE S P OT L IGH T

WHAT GREENPATH CLIENTS SAY “Instantly, I was put to ease regarding my situation. GreenPath counselors assured me that I wasn’t alone. I enrolled in a Debt Management Plan to get in control. In two years, all my debt was eliminated!”

“GreenPath provided me with accountability and set me up for financial success beyond the program. I was equipped with the tools and knowledge not to end up in the situation again. I was able to manage my household budget, provide transparency to my son, and be able to prioritize and deny unnecessary purchases.”

“Being able to see the bigger picture allowed me to create a lifestyle full of peace and opportunity.”

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T E L L E R L I N K

A Fast Pass For Your Financial Needs As you focus on your goals, we have a goal of our own: to make your banking experience as convenient as possible! With TellerLink’s advanced features, you can deposit cash and checks anytime or connect with a video teller during business hours and skip the line.

Try TellerLink today!

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Establishing Goals

& sticking to it

Answering the Six Questions

For anyone looking to make legitimate changes in their lives, including large goals and creating new habits, goal setting is a way to help them think through what they want, why they want it and how they will make the change actually happen.

Fortunately, there is long-standing science to back the importance of goal setting. In 1979, Harvard MBA Business School produced a study that found that of graduating students, 84 percent had no specific, stated goals; 13 percent had goals but never wrote them down; and the final 3 percent had concrete goals that had been not only thought through, but also written down. Ten years later, the study revisited those same people and found something remarkable: those in the 13 percent made twice as much as those in the majority class, while those elite 3 percenters were making ten times as much as the other two groups put together.

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So why is setting goals important? In short: people who set realistic, concrete goals are far more likely to achieve them, and once they do, they become part of an elite group of people who can hit big targets.

But while completing big goals can be tricky, planning for them doesn’t have to be. So, in order to streamline the process for you, here are a few ways you can start goal planning for a new year.

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Use the 5W1H method Also called the “questioning method,” the 5W1H is a format used by everyone from journalists to critical thinkers, project managers and many others, and not just for goal setting. This method is a great way to dive deep and break a complex idea down into smaller, more manageable parts, which is what makes it so easy to use.

Utilizing the 5W1H method is easy; simply ask yourself the following questions:

W H AT. What do I want to accomplish?

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Make your goal SMART As you set goals, how you write them down can have a big impact on how effective you are at achieving them.

W H E R E . Where will this happen? Is it location sensitive?

To give yourself the best chance possible, make sure

W H E N . When do I want to do this by?

W H Y. Why do I want to do this? Why will it matter to my life?

W H O. Who all should be involved in this goal? Who do I have at my disposal? Who can help me?

H OW. How will I get this done? How do I move forward?

As you go through the questions, write down your answers and really think about them. By the time you get to “H”, you

that each goal you write down (and we’d recommend no more than eight large goals each year), is SMART:

S P E C I F I C. MEASURABLE. AT TA I N A B L E .

R E L E VA N T.

should be ready to start putting an action plan together and determining what your next steps will be.

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T I M E - BA S E D.

F E AT U RE

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Break it down Once you have your big-picture goals in place, make sure you break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks, or milestones. For example, if you set a goal to “Pay off three credit cards”, you may want to set milestones at total amount paid off, or even each card. If your goal is to “Lose 10 pounds by the end of summer”, then you’ll want to set out the increments over the first few months of the year. One idea: break down each goal into months — that way you know each month the things that it will take in order to accomplish your goal, and you’ll be able to keep progressing, step by step, to a successful end.

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D I G I T A L

B A N K I N G

Whenever you want.

Wherever you are.

How’s that for convenience?

As you focus on your goals, we have a goal of our own: to make your digital experience as convenient as possible! Spero’s Online Banking and Mobile App gives you 24/7 access to manage your accounts whenever you want from wherever you are!

Sign up for Online Banking or download the Spero Mobile Banking app to get started!

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M A K E A S N OW BA L L One of the most popular ways to pay off balances is with the snowball method, where you take the list of your accounts and with your excess funds, pay off the smallest balance

D E B T- F R E E BY 202 3?

as fast as you can. Once you have completely paid off

5 Tips to Get Out of Debt this Year

that account, take those funds, add them to the minimum

Debt is nothing new to most people; it’s something that most of us live with in our own lives. In fact, the New York Federal Reserve calculated American consumer debt at $14.56 trillion at the end of 2020, which includes mortgages, car payments, student loans and credit card balances.

off debt.

For that reason, more and more people are initiating efforts to pay off their outstanding balances, in an attempt to become fully debt-free. Fortunately, because of that, there are a number of unconventional ways that you can pay off those financial obligations.

One of the most important, and overlooked aspects of

Here are a few ways to consider. →

payment you were making toward that account, and start working on the next account. As you do this, your excess funds each month will grow larger, allowing you more impact as you tackle the larger and larger balances.

APP UP There are a number of phone or online apps designed to help you track and pay off debt. As a few examples, check out Truebill to find all those subscriptions on your account, YNAB to set a budget, and Qoins to use your change to pay

PAY B I L L S... M O R E ?

It may seem counterintuitive, but sometimes making extra payments can actually save you money—and get you closer to financial freedom, as well. For example, by paying your mortgage bi-weekly instead of monthly, you can get in an entire extra payment each year, helping you pay down that big balance quickly.

V I S UA L I Z E YO U R W H Y accomplishing any goal is to be able to understand why you want to do it in the first place. By tapping into your “why”, you have a deeper motivation to actually work toward it and get it done.

D O N ’ T B E TO O R E S T R I C T I V E At first, you may be super motivated to pay down debt, and may set big restrictions for yourself—no coffee, no eating out, no extra treats at the store. But as time goes on, those restrictions may seem harder and harder to keep up.

Instead, set yourself rewards and realistic goals to keep yourself motivated.

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Perfect Pitch: How to Ask for a Raise

(and get one!)

Whether it’s due in part to getting through the pandemic or Great Resignation, or simply a matter of timing, many Americans this year will breach their supervisor’s offices in order to request a raise.

The great news is that even though only 37 percent of all workers request a raise, 70 percent of those who do ask will receive one, according to a survey by Payscale.

The odds are good.

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M O N E Y MA NAGE ME NT

So, if you’re one of the 37 percent, set yourself up for success.

Here are a few tips on how to perfect your pitch.

Get Feedback Best done throughout the year, getting solid feedback from your peers and direct leadership can often give you the positive step up you need for an ask later on — whether that’s to prove that you’re doing well, or to take constructive criticism and get better.

Note Your Wins After you have feedback, make a short list of your wins. Were there big projects you helped bring to life? Did you help solve a significant problem, or can you point to your impact on the company’s bottom line? The more you can do that — and offer proof of your wins and their significance to the company — the better chance you have to get the numbers where you want them to be.

Do Your Research Before you go in, know what a reasonable wage to ask for is for your position. With websites like Payscale and Glassdoor, you can research similar job descriptions and determine what a reasonable range may be. Remember, however, to keep your searches local — big cities tend to pay more simply to cover a cost of living, and those wages aren’t typically accounted for in smaller markets.

Practice your Pitch Let’s get real: asking for a raise might make you anxious! While you don’t want to sound like a recording, practicing beforehand helps remove the anxiety and emotion from the situation, and make you comfortable in actually asking the questions necessary.

After the ask, a decision will no doubt be made. And whatever it is — ”no,” “not now” or “yes” — you’ll want to have considered your next steps prior to even asking. If you get a “no”, take a minute to ask the hard question: what would make it a yes down the road?

Once you have some firm objectives in front of you, you can make a decision as to whether or not the job is still a good fit, and how you can tackle your new challenge.

On the other hand, if you get the big “yes,” congratulations, but you’re not done yet!

Before you wrap the conversation up and plan your new budget, make sure you are clear as to whether or not the increase comes with any strings attached — be that new responsibilities or job requirements. This will help manage everyone’s expectations and make asking for your next raise in the future an even easier task.

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O N L I N E I N V E S T M E N T S:

How to Grow Your Financial Funds with Robo-Advisors The investment industry has come a long way since the 20th century.

Today, with a renewed focus on retirement, entrepreneurship, cryptocurrencies and wealth-building, robo-advisors—a type of software-based investment manager that manages investment portfolios through computer algorithms—have become the go-to for those just getting started in the investment process, or for those who are diversifying their options.

While many will worry about the safety of these automated investments, the roboadvisement market is a rather safe way to build an investment portfolio. Not only do most require a two-step verification process, but robo-advisors are typically backed by what is called a “custodian bank,” or the entity which actually retains your investment.

However, with all the security protecting their users, it is important to understand that investing, in and of itself, is still a risk-based environment, and it is still possible to lose money with a bad investment. So, users need to be conscious of this as they make investment decisions. Generally speaking, however, robo-advisor portfolios utilize a more passive investment approach, rather than a high-risk one.

While there are many options for robo-investing out there (payment portal CashApp even allows stock buys!), not all robo-investors are built the same, so you’ll want to do your research to ensure the safety of the company, and the options it provides.

Here are a few high-rated options.

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FA MILY F INA NC E

1. S O - F I AU TO M AT E D I N V E S T I N G With a platform that promises “all-in-one investing”, SoFi allows for stocks, ETFs (exchange-traded funds), cryptocurrency purchases and IPO investments.

2. B E T T E R M E N T Focused primarily in the ETF space, Betterment’s main draw is ease of use, with a simple survey and account set-up within minutes.

3. VA N G UA R D With a high regard for their investors, Vanguard is one of the top picks across ratings from NerdWallet and others. Their focus on portfolio performance, as well as a personalized approach to investors, makes them stand out from the crowd.

4. W E A LT H F R O N T While Wealthfront offers services similar to all the others on this list, they also offer curated portfolios for special consideration. As an example, one such portfolio, their Socially Responsible Investing, focuses on investment in diversity, equity and sustainability efforts across the world.

5. E L L E V E S T Laser-focused on getting more women into the investment game, Ellevest prides themselves on building wealth for their female members. They also offer live coaching and retirement and investment education as part of their membership.

6. AC O R N S Offering a point of entry that would work for anyone, Acorns uses change to make big investments. As each purchase is rounded up, the remaining “change” goes into a pot ready for investment. Acorns also offers banking, retirement plans and advice as part of their membership.

Regardless of what your own investment strategy looks like, we at Spero can help you make plans for the future.

Call us or come in to one of our convenient branches, and we’ll help you identify your goals and best options now, and in the future.

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PO Box 10708 Greenville, SC 29603 www.spero.financial