Dear Home & Family Finance Resource Center Subscriber:

Get it Together: Organize Your Financial Records Member Seminar Kit
Planning member education seminars can be a time-consuming process. That’s why Credit Union Seminars in a Box member seminar kits were designed with your busy schedule in mind. Everything you need to plan and execute a member seminar is in the box--just add the members!

Get it Together: Organize Your Financial Records seminar material covers:

Click here to view.

• How to determine what documents to keep
• Costs of NOT getting organized
• Why some record keeping systems fail
• How long to keep records
• Where to keep records
• Tips for getting and staying organized

And speaking of getting organized, be sure to read “Disaster-Proof Your Important Papers,” featured this month in H&FFRC. See below for details.

What Experts Say About Allowances for Children

To view click here.

Your six-year-old daughter wants an allowance--all of her friends get one. You wonder if she’s old enough to handle the money and--if you give her one--how much should she get and how often? Before you know it, she’ll be asking for a raise.

A new statement stuffer, “What Experts Say About Allowances for Children,” helps answer these questions, including how much to give and how old children should be when they starting getting an allowance. The stuffer also covers giving allowances in exchange for household chores.

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Copy & Art Express^TM (CARTX) subscribers--The number in parentheses after each summary is the item number of a shorter version of the article available in CARTX. To locate the article, enter this number in the key word search.

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New Home & Family Finance Resource Center content featured in May:

Auto Auctions: Prices Influence What You Pay for Cars (featured week of May 1)
The prices paid at auto auctions strongly influence what you’ll pay for a used car or what your trade-in is worth if you buy a new vehicle. This article gives you the scoop. (8103)

Debit Card Debate: Check-Out Line Dilemma Reveals Real Differences (featured week of May 8)
Confused about how to reply when you swipe your debit card in the checkout lane and the clerk asks, “Debit or credit?” This article will help you understand what to choose. (7070)

Defense Credit Unions on Front Line With Members (featured week of May 15)
Credit unions are all about helping their members; military credit unions really show what it’s like to go above and beyond. (6320)

Disaster-Proof Your Important Papers (featured week of May 22)
If you had to evacuate your home tomorrow, would your most important documents and personal information be safe and accessible? If they’re not, we’ll tell you what you need to do. (6318)

Heads or Tails: Is Flipping Houses Too Good to Be True? (featured week of May 29)
Real estate flipping may be for a hardy few, but if you’re considering the endeavor, you’ll want to be sure of a few things. (5088)

IRA Video Clip
Catch the newest H&FFRC video clip as a Center for Personal Finance editor talks about the importance of investing in an IRA. We’ll show an example of starting to invest earlier vs. later and explain the differences between a traditional IRA and a Roth. We’ll also discuss who is eligible to contribute to IRAs and urge your members to visit your credit union to open one. Look for this new video under the New & Cool section on the Resource Center’s home page in May.

Use these "In the next issue..." messages in your traditional newsletter and online to regularly tell members what's coming in the Home & Family Finance Resource Center as you remind them to visit your Web site. Also remind your members to participate in May’s What Your Story about building wealth for your family (featured beginning May 1).

In the June issue (available beginning June 5):

Get the July articles here.

Should You Convert Your Traditional IRA to a Roth?
Experts agree that an IRA (individual retirement account) is an excellent, tax-advantaged vehicle to use for retirement savings. But which is better for you, a traditional or a Roth IRA? If you have a traditional IRA now, should you convert it to a Roth? Read on for details.

Take a Summertime Drive to Safety
No season drives home the importance of auto safety more than summer. This article helps you prepare before you hit the road.

College Costs Update
College costs still are on the rise. But thanks to a host of grant aid and tax credits, most students actually pay less than the published price of tuition.

You Can Rent That Villa
Why rent a room in a hotel or pay hefty prices at a resort when you can rent an entire villa? Read on to find out if this vacation option is right for you.

Looking for fresh ways to attract members to your Web site and to the Home & Family Finance Resource Center? Send these "coming soon" announcements to your sponsor/sponsors and suggest that they be posted on the Intranet or published in the sponsor newsletter every month.

What do you like about your Home & Family Finance Resource Center subscription? What would you change? What would you tell colleagues at another credit union about the Resource Center if they were considering a subscription? Have good ideas to share about how you promote it to your members?

Click here to let us know.