The last twelve months of my life have been consumed with my daughter’s college decision; campus visits, spreadsheets of pros and cons, emotional “feel” about each place, majors, small vs. large, etc. When we finally got it narrowed down to the one that fit her best, I thought there would be

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Ok, so you’re 50 years old and wondering why you never went back to college to get that degree, right? And now you’re too old, right? WRONG! According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of students ages 50 to 64 increased 17% between fall 2007 and

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I always have really heartfelt intentions of doing good for others but then life steps in with its overloaded calendar and I never act on those intentions. So when Abri decided to make dinner last week at Joliet’s Daybreak shelter as part of their corporate charity initiative, I jumped on the

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In this market we see so many foreclosed and short sale homes but should you jump in with both feet? Probably not without arming yourself with a little information and that’s exactly what I have. I read a great article from bankrate.com about common buyer mistakes in foreclosures and short sales

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As we prepare to send my first child off to college, I curse myself for not putting more aside in the 529 plan and I’ll admit I’m a little foggy on how it works. So when I saw this great article from our friends at IMN News Inc. about 529 plans I immediately gravitated to it and thought it was

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DDoS attacks against banking websites have been making the news in 2012 and are expected to continue in 2013.

A DDoS attack is a “Distributed Denial of Service” attack. This is an attempt to make a website or network unavailable to legitimate users. It is done by sending an overwhelming amount

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Christmas evokes so many memories; some that you cherish and others that you repress. Most of us have that one awesome gift that you had put at the top of your list and told every mall Santa you wanted. I’ll never forget the year my brother wanted a BB gun. Every time he walked passed my mom he

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Is it too cynical to send a Christmas card that reads, “Wishing you a fraud-free Christmas”? I absolutely love the holidays and all the warm, fuzzy feelings they bring, but in the pit of my stomach I always get that sick feeling that I’m going to get ripped off-and I don’t mean by Santa.

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Each day during the month of November I write down something that I am thankful for. This week I was thankful for our veterans and their families. Without their sacrifice we would not be able to enjoy the freedom we have today. I salute each and every one of you, past and present! You truly deserve

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November 1^st is the annual ACU Christmas Club transfer day. If you have a Christmas Club at the credit union there may be a nice surprise in your share or checking account on November 1st. All the Christmas Club money you saved over the year is now available to begin your holiday

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Hearing that my daughter tore her ACL and needed surgery was gut wrenching on many levels. Of course I was devastated that she would have to undergo surgery and her soccer dreams are stifled but I also got a sick feeling because we would have to meet our high deductible before our health insurance

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As you look around your house, do you feel claustrophobic as the walls are closing in from all the things that you don’t need but don’t know where to put? My dining room table is a sea of paper and I have drawers of old chargers for phones, remote control cars, and who knows what else. What

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I will never forget the time when a member opened an account years earlier and the widow assumed that she was the beneficiary on the account when he passed. But the member never updated his original account card which still listed his first wife of two years (deceased) rather than his second wife

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This year we have had many people ask us why they can’t refinance their mortgage with us. These members that are trying to refinance their mortgage, while they are credit-worthy, fall under the unfortunate situation that their home is worth less than what they owe. Some people refer to this as

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I really feel old when I start to reminisce about how much milk cost when I was a kid but it does make me feel like “making it” today is way harder than 30 years ago. Maybe my parents just did a great job of hiding it from me (I do remember a lot of yelling about checkbook balances!) but I

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I came across this great information recently from TansUnion about the difference between a fraud alert and a credit freeze. I wanted to share it with you:

Alert

• A fraud alert can help prevent an identity thief from opening any accounts in your name. It means that lenders must take extra

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According to a recent survey, about a third of Americans don’t take all the vacation they receive each year. Vacation is important because it can reduce stress, improve health and productivity. Do you plan on using your vacation days this summer? If so, will you take a vacation out of the state

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Everyone's talking about how mortgage rates are at an all-time low. Time to jump on the refinance band wagon? Unless you're a mortgage guru, you probably have a few questions about the process and some common lingo that gets tossed around at cocktail parties. Yes, those would be pretty boring

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Do you spend too much, save too little, carry too much debt or care too little about your financial future? These are all contributing factors towards financial problems. Financial Counseling could assist you in developing fundamental money management skills to help you solve or avoid financial

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Having owned two IG’s (Italian Greyhounds) for the past 10 years, my husband has been asking on a quite frequent basis when we were going to get a “REAL” dog. IGs (or most small dogs for that matter!) are not considered “REAL” dogs to many people. A “REAL” dog is one that is larger,

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