Make Banking More Convenient with Mobile Banking!

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE MOBILE SOLUTIONS:

Free Credit Score Monitoring – Check your credit score daily with no impact on your credit and see how financial decisions will affect your credit score.
Mobile Wallet – Add your R.I.A. issued debit or credit card to your mobile wallet and make purchases directly from your mobile device.
Mobile Check Deposit – Save time by depositing checks from the convenience of your own home with our mobile banking app.
Mobile Card Controls – Turn cards on and off, control transaction limits, manage notifications and more with our mobile card controls.
Secure Access – Securely log in to our mobile banking app with Touch ID or Eyeprint ID on supported iOS and Android devices.
Payment Integrations – Use your mobile wallet to make purchases with ApplePay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay.
Budgeting Tool – Learn where and how you spend, with all accounts and transactions in one location within online banking.

Workplace Fun

It’s always a good time working at R.I.A.! Here’s a behind the scenes look at some of the employee cookouts we host at all our locations. We hook up a grill to our truck and cook out at each branch. Thanks to Jerry’s Market for the delicious eats!

TEACH KIDS ABOUT MONEY

At R.I.A., we want kids to learn about money early to establish success later. Our KARS account (Kids Are Rewarded for Saving) is designed to teach kids the importance of saving in a fun and exciting way. As kids save their money, they receive prizes and rewards along the way.

FINANCIAL TIPS AND TRICKS

Join us on our YouTube channel, R.I.A. FCU, every Tuesday for Tips and Tricks Tuesday. Each week we cover a range of topics to help improve your financial success. Let’s take a look at a couple of topics we have covered: Budgeting 101 and Improving Your Credit Score.

BUDGETING 101

Learn how to create a budget. Set yourself up for a lifetime of financial success by following these tips and tricks.

Gather Expenses

To begin creating a budget, you will need to gather all your important paperwork. This will include financial statements, mortgage/rent, credit card statements, auto loans, student loans and receipts from the past few months. Include as much information as possible about your income and expenses.

Calculate your Income

Gather all sources of income. This could be pay stubs from one form of employment, or it could be many. Be sure to include your net income, where taxes and deductions are already taken out.

Create a List of Your Monthly Expenses

Once you have gathered all the necessary documents, create a list of your monthly expenses. This could include your mortgage/rent, car payment, student loans, insurance, groceries, utilities, entertainment, dining, gym memberships, childcare, transportation, savings, etc. Be sure to include everything you spend money on.

Determine Fixed and Variabe Expenses

After you have a list, determine which expenses are fixed and which are variable. Fixed expenses won’t change from month to month. They will always be the same. For example, your mortgage/rent and car payment. Variable expenses will fluctuate from month to month. This could include your utilities, gas, groceries, and dining. When determining the budget for your variable expenses, be sure to include expenses from the last three to four months and take the average of that number. This will be the number you use for your budget.

Total Your Monthly Income and Expenses

Now you will need to total your monthly income and expenses. Make sure that your income is higher than your expenses and you will be golden. This means you will have money to allocate elsewhere, like a savings account, emergency fund or a retirement fund. At the end of the day, your budget should resemble a 50-30-20 model. This is a widely used budgeting method. 50% goes toward your needs, 30% goes toward your wants, and 20% goes toward savings and debt repayment.

Make Adjustments to Expenses

If your budget shows that your expenses are higher than your income, you will need to make adjustments to balance it out. If your budget is off track, look into which areas you might need to cut back. This could include dining out less, going to free events rather than paid events, or doing things at home. You might consider cancelling a subscription service that you don’t really use that often.

When creating a budget, it’s critical to make sure that everything balances out and your income is higher than your expenses. This will act as a guide to keep your spending on track for a financially successful future.

IMPROVING  YOUR CREDIT SCORE

Having a good credit score is a huge factor in being able to open any line of credit. To make it easy to monitor your score, view your credit score and report within online banking. Let’s look at how you can improve your credit score. Your credit score is broken down into five categories. These categories include payment history, credit usage, account mixture, credit age, and inquiries. In each category there are ways that you can improve your credit score.

Payment History

Paying your bills on time has the biggest impact on your credit score. If you do have any late payments, it’s important to catch up on those payments. It’s easier to recover from 30-60 day late payments than it is 90 day late payments. Talk to your lender if you can’t afford your payments. They may be able to help. Use no more than three to four credit cards. It’s easier to keep track of payments and payment dates. You can set calendar reminders each month on your phone to remind you when your payments are due.

Credit Usage

Add up the limits of all your credit cards will give you your total credit. Try to limit your usage to 30% of your available credit. Reduce your spending and try to pay off as much as you can on your retail and credit cards. Keep unused cards open rather. Closing a line of credit impacts your credit.

Account Mix

Try to maintain a mixture of debt accounts. This could include auto, mortgage, student loans and credit cards. A mixture of installments and revolving accounts is better than only having one type of debt. Avoid having any accounts in collections.

Credit Age

The longer you have credit history, the better. Have patience and keep your accounts in good standing. Your credit will get better over time. Keep cards open, especially the cards you’ve had the longest. Long term stability helps build your credit score.

Inquiries

When shopping for a mortgage or an auto loan, understand that each application will count as an inquiry. Do not open too many accounts in a short time period. This will allow your score to recover from a drop due to any hard inquiries.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

R.I.A. AND TWIN SPAN BREWING CO. RELEASE THE THIRD RUN OF THE R.I.A. I.P.A. BEER TO HELP VETERANS

Working with local beer brewer Twin Span Brewing, R.I.A. released the R.I.A. I.P.A. beer for its third run. $2 from each beer sold benefits the Honor Flight of the Quad Cities. The first two runs raised over $1,000!

EAT, SHOP, DRINK LOCAL

We continued our Eat, Shop, Drink Local series at Tommy’s Car Wash, where our company vehicle got a nice, snazzy cleaning. We enjoyed the afternoon with a friendly team and left with a shiny car. If you need a wash be sure to stop into Tommy’s Car Wash! Check out the video on our YouTube page.

COLORING CONTEST

Sometimes kids have the biggest hearts! We hosted a coloring contest on social media where the kids who won chose the charity who would receive a donation on their behalf. Our winners selected the Handicapped Development Center and RoEll. These organizations put in a great deal of work to make our community better and to support those who need it. Kudos to the kiddos for being so devoted to their cause!

TAILGATE CONTEST

We held a tailgating giveaway contest on social media to celebrate the kickoff of football season! We host contests and giveaways regularly, so following our channels is a great way to not only stay up to date on changes and service disruptions, but also to win some cool prizes.

AM I BEING SCAMMED?

In this ever-evolving world of technology, there are more and more scams popping up every day. It’s important to keep up with what to look out for so you don’t fall victim to fraud. Phishing is a common type of scam that can appear real and can be devastating. Scammers use email or text messages to trick you into giving them your personal information. They may try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they gain this information, they could gain access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Here’s what you can do to protect yourself.
Phishing emails and text messages often look like they’re from a company you know or trust and will often tell a story to get you to click on a link or open an attachment. Protect yourself by using security software on your computer and mobile phone. Protect your accounts by using multi-factor authentication. This is when you require a second piece of information in addition to the standard username and password to log in to your account. For example, a security question or by using a code generator. This makes it harder for scammers to log in to your accounts if they do get your username and password. Protect your data by backing it up, and make sure those backups aren’t connected to your home network. If you suspect a phishing attack, contact the company via a phone number or website you know is real, not the information provided in the email. Attachments and links can install harmful malware.
Scammers send out thousands of phishing attempts every day, and they can be very convincing, especially when you are busy. Always verify your sources before clicking links, making a payment, or giving out your personal information. Read more on phishing scams on our upcoming article coming to our website this fall.

NEED ANOTHER DOSE OF R.I.A. FCU?

SEE US SOON AT THESE EVENTS!

September
20 – Milan Chamber Golf Outing
27 – Ascentra’s Paul & Dale’s Hack N’ Give Back Golf Outing
October
5 – Savanna Chamber After Hours at R.I.A.
30 – Ft. McCoy Trunk or Treat
30-31 – Boo at the Zoo
November
20 – Festival of Trees Parade & Veterans Night
26 – Tomah Holiday Parade
December
3 – Ft. McCoy Tree Lighting
12 – Ft. McCoy Breakfast with Santa

Special Closings

Columbus Day – Monday, October 11
Veterans Day – Thursday, November 11
Thanksgiving – Thursday, November 25
Christmas Eve – Friday, December 24 Close at 1:00pm
Christmas Day – Saturday, December 25
New Year’s Eve – Friday, December 31 Close at 1:00pm
New Year’s Day – Saturday, January 1

Remember, you can still access your credit union account on holidays and after hours with your R.I.A. FCU ATM/Debit Card, Mobile Banking, DANA or Internet Account Access. Sign up today!

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