WESTconsin Employees Feeling #CUStrong

Youth Month™ Focus Week—April 18-23

Next week is Youth Month™ Focus Week—April 18-23! Stop by your local WESTconsin office for games and learning activities. During the month of April, any child who makes a deposit into a new or existing WESTconsin account will receive a flying disc to thank them for their membership! Let's celebrate and help youth and teens get Credit Union Strong! 💪👍

Visit our Youth Month webpage!

Jeans Day for Financial Education

WESTconsin employees are wearing jeans today in support of financial education! #FinancialFitnessDay
Posted by WESTconsin Credit Union on Wednesday, April 6, 2016

“Financial Fitness Day” Supports State & National Fin Ed Programs

Employees at WESTconsin Credit Union are wearing jeans today in support of financial education programs. The National Credit Union Foundation (the Foundation) invited credit union organizations to hold a “Financial Fitness Day” fundraiser on April 6, 2016 to kick off National Financial Literacy Month and National Credit Union Youth Month™. This initiative will raise funds for the Foundation and the Wisconsin Credit Union Foundation in support of their financial education initiatives.

Donations made as part of the initiative will be split 50/50 between the Foundation and the Wisconsin Credit Union Foundation.

Get Financially Fit! | Youth Savings Habits

Teaching your child to save can be as difficult, if not more difficult than teaching them good habits like cleaning up their room, eating their veggies and brushing their teeth. Laura Schlachtmeyer of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shares with us how to develop a savings mindset from early childhood to young adulthood.

Read Full Article

Get Financially Fit! | Start Saving

GUEST POST: Financial Literacy Month Is a Great Time to Start Saving

Financial Literacy Month provides an opportunity for everyone to learn more about their personal finances and take steps to improve their financial picture. This year’s celebration kicked off on April 1, 2016. If you’re looking for a place to start your review of your holistic financial picture, America Saves provides 3 easy ways to assess your current situation and take action to save.

Definition of Credit Union Strong

Credit Union Strong 
(noun): When your local, not-for-profit financial cooperative strengthens your money skills—so you're ready for an awesome future.

Visit our Youth Month page

Get Financially Fit! | Budget Basics

Budget Basic is an e-learning course offered for free from GreenPath University. This course will teach you how to start a budget, how to maintain your budget and how to integrate your plans into your financial landscape.

View Course

Get Financially Fit! | Teach Your Kids About Money

Media Planet recently featured an article written by Gigi Hyland, Executive Director of National Credit Union Foundation, on its website entitled Future of Business and Tech. Hyland's article is entitled, "After Monopoly: 5 Ways to Teach Your Kids About Money." Below is an excerpt and a link to the full article.

It’s no surprise that America’s youth (and adults) need financial education. But how bad is it? 

The National Financial Educators Council’s (NFEC) tested teens on national financial literacy standards last year, and while 4.7 percent participants achieved a score at or above 90 percent (an academic A), a staggering 62.4 percent of participants scored at or under 69.9 percent (a D or an F!). We’ve got work to do! 

Here are five ways to get started:

Read Full Article

Get Financially Fit! with WESTconsin Returns Tomorrow!

The New Year is a time to set new goals and how you plan to achieve them. Many choose the goal to weight loss or some other health-related goal. These are great goals, but don't forget your financial health! Get Financially Fit! with WESTconsin will return tomorrow, January 1, 2016. Keep an eye on our social media and follow #WESTconsinFinanciallyFit for financial tips and tricks of all sorts. Here's to a healthy and prosperous 2016!

NEW RICHMOND | Welcome to Mad City Money!

Students at New Richmond High School will soon take part in Mad City Money—a simulation to help students learn healthy financial habits and prepare for their future: http://ow.ly/UxlRE

Financial Fitness: Junior Achievement has helped Chippewa Valley kids gain money smarts for 25 years

Financial Fitness

Junior Achievement has helped Chippewa Valley kids gain money smarts for 25 years

by Barbara Arnold 
Monday Apr. 13th, 2015

TEENS WITH SCREENS. Volunteer Chris Brooke of WESTconsin Credit Union works
with local students during a Junior Achievement event at the Chippewa Valley
Technical College Learning Center.

When I was growing up, my family provided me many “courses” in financial literacy. My mom was a saver and thrifty; my dad was a spendthrift. My three older brothers taught me about paying yourself first, the time value of money, and living beneath your means, respectively.