One of my goals at the beginning of 2021 was to trade in my Jeep. As much as I enjoyed my Jeep, I was ready for a change and wanted something a bit more practical, fuel-efficient, and technologically advanced. I'd never traded in a vehicle before, so I had a lot of questions and uncertainty. With the help of a few of my Carolina Trust co-workers, I navigated my way through the trade-in process and got a new car that met all my criteria.

Improving the financial literacy in our area is one of the key ways that Carolina Trust tries to live out the credit union philosophy, "people helping people." To truly help our community, we have to go beyond providing them with financial services; we have to teach them healthy financial practices and help them implement them into their lives. Like learning anything, the earlier you start, the better off you'll be, which is why we put such a significant emphasis on financial literacy resources for our youth.

April is CUNA Youth Month, and Carolina Trust is celebrating in a lot of different ways. We're sharing financial content geared towards youth all month long, including activities, story time, and even a giveaway contest. You can visit our website for more information, and be sure to check back each week for new content.

If you're looking for a great way to start the conversation about finances with your child, bringing them into the credit union and opening a Goal Club account is a great place to start. Check out the BALANCE blog post below, "Is it time to open a checking or savings account for your children," for more information about the benefits of introducing your child to the world of personal finance at an early age.

Knowing how to make a monthly budget is the important first step to financial freedom. That means retiring comfortably, spending time with your family, and traveling like you always wanted. Monthly budgets, however, aren’t something you can set and forget about. In order to make one work for you and your family, you must always review and tweak it. To help, here are seven tips for improving your monthly budget for your family:

Budgets are a valuable money management tool.  Even if you’re happy with your financial health, budgets can keep you from slipping into bad habits.  They can even help you save a lot of money.  If you’re struggling to make ends meet, budgeting is an excellent way to get control of your spending.

If the word budget makes you think of never-ending columns and rows, don’t worry.  There are budgeting methods that make it easier to manage your finances once a budget template is in place.  There are even budgeting apps for your smartphone that can keep you on track. 

According to the American Psychological Association's survey, which measures causes of stress, money consistently lands near the top with 61% of Americans reporting money-related anxiety. The biggest factor in this stress is overspending according to CNBC Personal Finance. We worry when total expenses (amount spent monthly) exceed total income (amount made monthly), causing mounting debt. 

Create a monthly budget to ensure you do not spend more than you make in a month, forcing you to take on additional debt. 

The basic idea behind putting in long work-hours is that our quality of life will improve. Maybe you pull some overtime or go above and beyond to earn a raise or promotion. Regardless of how you go about increasing your salary, there’s an expectation that bank accounts will swell, and life will get a tad easier. One of the things that hold many of us back from saving a lot of money though is controlling our spending.

If you are thinking about buying a new home, then this is an exciting time; however, buying a home is also a big decision. For this reason, you need to make sure that you take the time to get this decision right. That also means working with the right mortgage lender. Unfortunately, there are a lot of common mistakes that homebuyers may make when looking for a lender. Understand these common pitfalls so you can make sure to avoid them.

If you are thinking about refinancing your mortgage to a lower rate, then you are probably looking forward to saving money on your monthly payments. You can also go through the refinancing process to tap into the equity in your home to finance home improvements while also consolidating your other debts. At the same time, this is a big decision and you need to work with the best mortgage lenders to get a new home loan that is favorable to your financial situation. When it comes to refinancing your first mortgage, there are a few tips to follow.

The economic impact of COVID-19 on our country has left many individuals facing job loss or furlough. Even those who have remained employed are facing concerns about paying bills and affording daily necessities due to cutbacks or reduced hours. If you've lost your job, been furloughed, or had your hours cut as a result of COVID-19, you may qualify for unemployment.

If you want to save money and make some progress paying off the bills and other debt you owe, you should consider accessing the equity in your home for a debt consolidation loan to achieve your goal of being debt free.

The two main ways to access the equity in your home for a debt consolidation loan from your credit union include a home equity loan and a home equity line of credit, better known as a HELOC. Below are some of the details of a home equity loan vs HELOC so you can see the pros and cons of each.