Bank Fees Gone WILD

Banks all over the world are starting to charge ridiculous fees for every little thing. Your account has less than $500? FEE. You want a debit card? FEE. You just want to own a simple checking account? FEE. FEE. FEE. When will the madness stop?

International Credit Union Day

Happy International Credit Union Day! The third Thursday of October is celebrated by credit unions all over the world. Ninety three million people belong to a credit union in the United States. If you are one of them, consider yourself to be very lucky!

Shell FCU Gives Back - Own More, Owe Less

October 2010, Deer Park, TX – Shell FCU’s Operation Erase My Debt has been helping individuals in Harris County own more and owe less. Shell FCU is helping individuals determine a payment schedule that works for them by refinancing or consolidating outstanding debt to reduce monthly payments and eliminate high interest loans and credit cards.

Since February the micro-site, www.OperationEraseMyDebt.com, has been visited more than 7,100 times and more than 455 stories have been shared. Stories vary from debt caused by bad decisions to divorce, from birth expenses to funeral expenses, from disease to surgery and much more.

Candalario Rodriguez is the third quarter Operation Erase My Debt winner. He financed a home equity loan with Shell FCU, qualifying him for the $5,000 prize to help reduce existing debt. A total of 1,725 loans qualified for the third quarter drawing. Mr. Rodriguez was happy when he learned that his name had been drawn and said his coworkers didn’t believe it was really true so he wanted a photo of himself holding the big check. Helping erase his current debt, Candalario applied the prize to an existing auto loan with Shell FCU. Mr. Rodriguez is the 3rd winner in the Operation Erase My Debt campaign. Another winner will be drawn in January after the 4th quarter qualifiers are determined.

In 2010 at Shell FCU every auto, home equity, mortgage or signature loan funded with a balance of $5,000 or more is one entry into a $5,000 quarterly drawing to reduce existing debt. Perfect credit is not required. Unlike most lenders, Shell FCU is looking out for each individual. Anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Harris County, Texas can bank with Shell FCU.

In today’s turbulent world, extending a helping hand in the community is a top priority at Shell FCU. The sole purpose of the credit union is to meet financial needs, provide free financial literacy and volunteer for a stronger community. For more information about Shell FCU visit www.shellfcu.org.

 

Happy International Credit Union Day!

So today is International Credit Union Day…but what does that mean? Today is a celebration for all credit union workers and members and it is a day to raise awareness about all the great things credit unions do! This day gives members the chance to get more involved in their credit union and the whole credit union movement itself. So how did this get started? Who came up with such a great idea? We’re here to tell you all about it…

It all started in Germany in the 19th Century when Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch and Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen created the first real credit unions. Schulze-Delitzsch founded the first "people's bank" in 1852 to provide credit to entrepreneurs in the city and Raiffeisen had established a credit society in Flammersfeld, Germany in 1849 that depended on the charity of wealthy men for its support. Raiffeisen then organized a new credit union in 1864 for farmers, that was based on a community-first mentality and strong volunteer management structure that is still fundamental today.

Over the years, credit unions spread to other countries around the world. In the early 1900s Alphonse and Dorimene Desjardins started a credit union in Lévis, Quebec. Shortly after that, Alphonse and Americans Edward A. Filene and Roy F. Bergengren started the first credit union in the United States.

As time passed, a need to establish a specific annual occasion to call attention to credit unions gradually emerged.  Credit unions had helped the lives of millions of individuals for over 150 years and they wanted to have a special day set aside to honor credit unions and their founders. So on January 17, 1927 the Credit Union League of Massachusetts celebrated the first official credit union day. At that time, however, there was so much activity in the development of credit unions in North America that either people were too busy to celebrate or too new to the movement to recognize the significance of the celebration. After a short while, Credit Union Day disappeared.

In 1948 the U.S. Credit Union National Association (CUNA) decided to make a new national Credit Union Day. The third Thursday of October was set aside to be the new day of observance. By then there was many more credit union leaders who believed that there was a need for the special occasion.

Today members around the world celebrate International Credit Union Day. Credit unions tend to go all out. Today Shell Federal Credit Union gave out cookies and jar openers in the lobbies of all of the branches. Credit Unions have come a long way since the 19th Century and are only growing more. Today there are 177 million members in 96 different countries.