New Year’s resolution: join a credit union

We all know it’s just about impossible to stick to our New Year’s Resolutions. Sometimes that’s because we try to pile it all on at once, sometimes we just overreach. The trick to sticking with resolutions is making them realistic — both in effort and time required to get it done.

One way to do this is by finding a single solution to several resolutions. In some cases that might be impossible, but if your resolutions include things like saving money and being more involved in your community, we have a single solution that might surprise you.

Join a credit union.

Sounds weird, right? It’s actually pretty brilliant. And money and community aren’t the only common resolutions that joining a credit union can solve. Take a look at the list below, then go here to see what credit union you can join.

If your resolution is to save more money:

Credit Unions are non-profits, and if you belong to one, you’re a member. Being a member of a credit union simply means that any profits made on services are returned to members –usually in the form of low interest rates and no fees. Therefore, you, as a member, save money on things you usually have to get (like checking accounts) and get higher dividends on your savings. Sometimes, in a particularly profitable year(s) and if you’re a particular type of member, you are given cold hard cash in what is called a profit distribution.

If you’re at a bank, you will never receive a profit distribution — only stakeholders in the banks get that. Your loan rates are higher. Your savings account dividends are lower.

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