How has my credit union given back?

In 2019, NorthRidge pushed to give back more than ever before to our communities! Throughout the course of the year, the NorthRidge team donated to the Children’s Miracle Network, the Aurora Food Shelf, the Northeast division of Toys for Tots and hosted blood drives at the Virginia office and at the Hoyt Lakes Arena with the Hoyt Lakes Chamber of Commerce. NorthRidge has also been very active with the Hoyt Lakes Water Carnival and has orchestrated the kids races and sand pile for three amazing years.

• CU Forward Day – This is a day dedicated to volunteering and giving back to our communities which credit unions are known for. 2019 was the first year NorthRidge participated and our teams volunteered with the Virginia Fire Department (Biwabik Branch), at Mesabi East School and with the can collections for the Hoyt Lakes Chamber of Commerce (Hoyt Lakes Branch), the Mesabi Humane Society (Virginia Branch), the Range Regional Animal Shelter (Hibbing Branch), and delivered flowers and presents to the Boundary Waters Care Center (Ely Branch).
• Miracle Treat Day – During Miracle Treat Day, in conjunction with the Diary Queen’s in Ely, Hibbing and Mt. Iron, NorthRidge handed out free blizzards to the community. On this day Dairy Queen donates to the Gillette Children’s Hospital for every blizzard sold.
• Habitat Build – The NorthRidge team helped Habitat for Humanity build one of our amazing members her new home in Biwabik. We were honored by the experience to help make someone’s dream of homeownership come true.

Other large community donations were given to Caring for the Kids Community Nonprofit, which is building an all-inclusive splash pad this summer in Aurora. Hoyt Lakes Library also had a need for new chairs, and our membership was able to help take care of that need.

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Dear Members:

Just like you, NorthRidge Community Credit Union is watching the events around COVID-19 unfold. It seems
clear that this unbelievable event will impact us for some time to come. Here at NorthRidge, we have been
assessing the impact on our members, team and business and have been working on the ways to safely
resume business operations. We’ve instituted policies and procedures that follow guidance from the CDC,
Minnesota Department of Health and local recommendations.

As we plan to re-open our lobbies, we are focused on maintaining the safety, health and well-being of our team
and all of our members. In order to do this, we have had to adjust some of our practices and create some
simple restrictions:

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Many people worry that their funds at a credit union are not insured as securely as a bank insured by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). However, did you know that no member has ever lost money from an NCUA (National Credit Union Administration) federally insured credit union? That is because FDIC coverage is the same as NCUA insurance coverage. The only difference is that FDIC handles federally insured banks, and the NCUA handles federally insured credit unions. NorthRidge Community Credit Union is insured by the NCUA, but what does that mean exactly? The simple answer is that up to $250,000 per share owner is federally insured. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 placed the $250,000 standard share insurance account in place permanently. Every member’s accounts and insurance values are unique to them in different ways. Here are the basic NCUA coverage limits:

• Single Ownership Accounts (owned by one person with no beneficiaries): $250,000 per member-owner.
• Joint Ownership Accounts (two or more persons with no beneficiaries): $250,000
• Traditional and Roth IRAs: $250,000 per member-owner. 

There are many factors that go into how accounts can be broken up to fully utilize the coverages of share insurance through the NCUA. This link can help you make sure you are as protected as you can be: https://www.mycreditunion.gov/insurance-estimator If you have more questions please reach out to your friends at NorthRidge. We are Credit Union Certified Financial Counselors and are always wanting to help you with your financial successes!

Life is not how many of us pictured 2020 being. We were coming out of winter hibernation, only to be placed under a “Stay-At-Home” order by the Minnesota Governor. This has affected many of us in our communities and has forced many to be laid off because of the Coronavirus Pandemic.  If you have been affected by COVID-19, there are some changes from Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) that may help you through this time. On March 27th, 2020 President Trump signed the act into law. Below are some highlights of the major changes the CARES Act addresses for temporary help:

Tax Relief for Individuals:

• Extension of Federal Tax Filing: The IRS postponed to July 15, 2020 the due date for both filing an income tax return and for making income tax payments originally due April 15, 2020. 
• IRA Contribution Deadline extended: The deadline for making 2019 IRA contributions has also been extended until July 15, 2020.  
• Recovery Rebates: Cash payments called “recovery rebates” are available to U.S. residents with income below certain levels who cannot be claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer and who have a Social Security Number. 
• Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs): All 2020 RMDs from IRAs and retirement plans are waived, including RMDs from inherited IRAs (both traditional and Roth). 
• Tax-favored Early Distributions from Retirement Plans: The CARES Act waives the 10% penalty applicable to early distributions for coronavirus related distributions up to $100,000 from IRAs and qualified defined contribution retirement plans such as 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plans. 
• Retirement Plan Loans: Beginning March 27, 2020 through 180 days thereafter, the maximum loan amount increases to the lesser of 100% of the vested account balance or $100,000 (reduced by other outstanding loans).
• Charitable Contributions: Individuals who claim the standard deduction may also claim a new above-the-line deduction up to $300 for cash contributions made in 2020 to certain charities. 
• Student Loans: Payments (principal and interest) on federal student loans are suspended through September 30, 2020 without penalty. 
• Unemployment Benefits: Unemployment benefits have been expanded to assist those who have lost their job during the current economic crisis. 

Please remember all of us at NorthRidge are here to help you through these difficult times. We are offering different options that might give some light at the end of the tunnel for you regarding current loans, or potential lending opportunities. Our staff are also Certified Credit Union Financial Counselors and would be glad to help you manage your finances at this time. You are not alone, NorthRidge is still open, still serving, and still here for you.  

Please call us at (877)672-2848 or email membersolutions@nrccu.org.

     This month we are taking a different direction for Women’s History Month. The names Dora Maxwell and Louise McCarren Herring may not ring a bell with you, but they are two very important women in Credit Union History. 

     Let’s start off with learning more about Dora Maxwell. Dora started her credit union pioneering in New York state. In 1932 she was appointed head of the CUNEB branch in New York, New York. Two years later in 1934 she was a delegate to the 1934 Estes Park conference which established the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). Over the next several years she represented and promoted CUNA Mutual Insurance and represented CUNA in the eastern part of the country. She was the go-to connection for groups wanting to start a credit union and helped direct them to their corresponding state credit union leagues. In 1946 she was the director of the Organization & Education Department. Because of her accomplishments during her career, she is the namesake for the Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Award that CUNA presents each year to credit unions for social responsibility projects in their communities. 

     Louise McCarren Herring was another influential woman in credit union history, she is even referred to as the “Mother of Credit Unions”. Louise was an attendee at the Estes Park Meeting that started CUNA along with Dora Maxwell. Louise was committed to the credit union movement and helped establish five hundred credit unions. She also helped establish the private National Deposit Guaranty Corporation, now known as American Share Insurance.  Louise also co-founded the Ohio Credit Union league and managed the KEMBA Credit Union in Cincinnati. She was later inducted into the National Cooperative Business Association’s Cooperative Hall of Fame in 1983. CUNA rewards each year the Louise Herring Award for Philosophy in Action. Which is awarded to credit unions that commit to the “not for profit but for service” philosophy. 

     There are many other important women to the credit union history, but these two helped lay the groundwork for the credit union system still standing today. All of this was done in an era that did not receive successful women with the most respect. Many of their early accomplishments were done only a few years after women were granted the simple right to vote in the USA. Credit Unions continue to lead women’s equality. According to a CUNA study in 2018, more than half of credit unions CEOs are female, which is significantly more than traditional banking CEOs. This month NorthRidge wants to thank all our wonderful women who help make the credit union great! 

The New Year is always a great starting point to change our habits for the upcoming year. How can little changes to savings add up though? Let’s look at some simple options that can start your savings off in the right direction.

• Saving Change – That small amount of change on your paycheck is a great way to start building your savings. If you took $0.79 from each paycheck that would be $20.54 a year just from small amounts of change.
• Cut Down on Specialty Coffee – If you get a specialty coffee 3 times a week, that is potentially $780 a year spent on coffee. Cutting down to 2 times a week could save you $260 a year!
• Lessen eating out – According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American spends at least $3,000 a year on eating out alone! If you spend $10 on lunch every day of the week, it doesn’t seem like much, but that adds up to $70 a week and $2,600 a year. If you prepare your own lunch for $5 each day you can save over $1,300 a year.

There are many ways to work towards a savings goal each month! The goal is finding what works for you, and your budget. Every little bit saved does add up more than you think. If money for Christmas was more tight than you wanted, maybe adding a Christmas Club account would be perfect for you. Please speak with any of our financial experts for ways to start building your savings today!

The holiday season is in full swing, how can you shop smarter and safer when debit card fraud can happen anywhere and at any time? Your friends at NorthRidge Community Credit Union want to help give you some tips and tricks that you can use to better protect yourself.

• When shopping always use the chip reader for your payment. When swiping your debit card, the merchant stores that information. That information can be used to steal your debit card information. But, using your debit card’s chip will scramble your debit card information, this way the store doesn’t have all your information on file.
• When given the option always process your debit card as a credit purchase to avoid entering your pin when paying for purchases. This way if someone was able to see your card numbers, they cannot use your at an ATM.
• Check your account regularly. Use your NorthRidge Community Credit Union online banking to better track your account. The sooner you catch fraudulent activity, the less account damage they can do.
• Be careful of scam emails. If a stores system is hacked, those that stole information may try emailing customers to get more information from them. When you receive emails that seem suspicious do not open any links or respond to the email. Find and use the official phone number for the business and confirm if the communication is real or fraudulent.

Do not be fearful though, if something happens, you are protected. Anytime you notice activity on your account that seems out of the ordinary or you just have a question about how to stay secure, contact us and we will help keep you safe and protected this holiday season.

November has been declared National Gratitude Month, but how can that tie into your finances? At NorthRidge Community Credit Union, we want to challenge you this month to find gratefulness in different aspects of your financial life. We could always tease, that you should be grateful that you have a credit union that helps look out for your financial future. We offer you lower interest rates and localized service just for starters.

But we think you should be most grateful that you see the benefit of having an outstanding banking service. US News reported in 2018 that over 14 million Americans do not have a primary bank account. This limits their ability to cash checks, obtain a debit card, and even keep their money in a safe location.

Often, we are looking at the big things in life for feelings of gratitude. You may get discouraged that your savings is not where you want it to be, your loan payment may be a day late, or your checking account gets down to the last penny. All these things can be overwhelming but let us start with the first step, you already have an account! That is a big step in the right direction towards financial success.

Let us use the month of November to grow your gratitude with your finances. Start this month with a new challenge for yourself. Here are a couple of tips:

1. If you are discouraged about your savings account, plan to set aside $5-$20 from each paycheck this month. For a typical biweekly paycheck, you could save $10-$40 this month!
2. If your account gets to low each month, think about those extra entertainment or fun expenses that maybe you can pass on this month.
3. If your loan payment is always tough to come up with, try breaking it into two smaller payments spread out across the month.

Finally, remember we are grateful for you to be a member of our community and we here to help you find more in your finances to be grateful about. Let us grow our gratitude together!

With more and more of us utilizing our mobile phones more often than our computers, the question becomes, which is safer? The answer however is not black and white. Our phones are typically safer, but that also depends on how you use it. Did you know your phone could be attacked with malware and hacked into? One of the biggest differences between mobile and PC security, is that once your computer is hacked into, it is harder to remove the hacker’s software. They can keep stealing your information even after you remove the program that allowed them access. On your mobile device however, once you remove the hacker’s software, they can no longer access your device. Keep in mind though, they still have the information they stole from you. Here are a few tips to be safer on your mobile device:

• Make sure your phone is password protected. It does get old having to unlock your phone every time you want to use it, but keeping your phone password protected can help protect your information. If you ever accidently leave your phone somewhere, it prevents someone from gaining access to the items on your phone.
• Only download apps and content from trusted sources. Google Play Store on Android and App Store on iPhone have security measures in place to help protect malicious apps from being downloadable on your phone. However, if you download from other app stores, they may have hacker software on them.
• Be careful using public WIFI options. If a WIFI hotspot is asking for multiple permissions on your phone before giving you access to the WIFI, this may be a sign the network is not safe to use. Giving access on your mobile device allows hackers to steal your information. Also, try to limit airdrop and file sharing over the WIFI network.
• Always update your phone to the newest operating software. Most new updates include increases to security, which better protects your personal information on your mobile device. Also updating apps on your phone, can protect you from malicious hacks.
• Do not jailbreak your device. Many people like jailbreaking their device so they have more control over personalizing their phones. This makes your phone more open for hackers to get in and find your personal data. Phone makers have security in mind, changing settings puts you at higher risk.

These are just a few tips that can help protect you on your mobile device. No matter how careful you are, hackers will always be trying to gain your personal information. Keep your passwords unique and do not repeat the same password for different accounts. Your personal information is worth protecting.