Financial Literacy Blog
UCU Has Earned the AARP BankSafe Seal for 2026
February 2026 UCU is proud to announce that we’ve once again earned the AARP BankSafe Trained Seal, recognizing our strong commitment to protecting elder members from financial exploitation. The BankSafe designation is earned after over 80% of an organization’s frontline staff completes AARP’s comprehensive BankSafe training. Financial institutions are at the forefront of preventing elder…
Make Your Money Work for You
January 24, 2024 In tight financial times, every dollar counts more than ever. You work hard for your dollars, so it’s important to make your dollars work hard for you too! Follow these tips to help maximize the impact you can make with your money. Go for High Yields One fundamental way to make your…
Thrive On a Dime; Mastering Your Budget and Creating a Value Based Spending Plan That Works For You!
January 2026 The start of the new year is a great time to reflect on what worked (or didn’t work) over the past year with the goals you may have set in 2025. Did you achieve what you set out to do? What do you wish was different? What are the hopes and dreams you…
How To: Changing Signers on a UCU Student Organization Account
January 2026 Student organizations undergo frequent personnel changes, and to keep the organization’s account secure there are important steps and documents that are required. We’ve put together this short blog to help make it easier for you to manage your organization’s account when signers need to be added, removed, or updated. What’s Required to Change…
How to Access Your Year-End Documents
December 2025 As the holiday season wraps up, we look ahead to the next year and put a bow on 2025. In financial sense, that means gathering your documents from the previous year as you prepare for tax filing season. Instead of waiting for documents and forms to arrive in the mail, we make it…
Beware the Threat of A.I. Scams in Cybersecurity
October 2025 Martha Ward, ISSMP, CISSPVP of Technology & Digital Experience Cybersecurity Awareness Month is here again and serves as an important reminder that cyber-attacks don’t just target computer systems, they target people. This month we’re highlighting how artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve and how fraud could impact you. AI has significantly changed the…
Building Your Dream: A Step-by-Step Guide to Securing a Construction Loan
June 2025 Building your dream home is an exciting endeavor, but securing financing can seem overwhelming. Construction loans offer a path to realizing your vision, and with careful planning, the process can be smooth and successful. How Construction Loans Work Construction loans are short-term loans designed to finance the building of a new home. Unlike…
You’re More Than a Number: Why Your Credit Score Isn’t the Whole Story
By Abbey Ramsay, VP of Lending June 2025 We’ve all encountered websites with catchy slogans like: “Your Credit Score: From Blah to Fab!” or “Breathe Life into Your Credit Score.” What does this mean, and why does this number, which varies across different sources, hold so much importance? We’re here to explain and provide some…
How Credit Unions Offer Auto Loans for a Range of Credit Scores
Understanding the Credit Union Difference at UCU May 2025 Shopping for a car should be exciting—not stressful. But for many people, especially those with less-than-perfect credit, the idea of applying for an auto loan can bring a lot of anxiety. At UCU, we want to change that narrative. U Are More Than a Credit Score…
Combating Title Fraud: Lender’s Blog
April 22, 2025 Title fraud is on the rise across the country, staying informed is one of the ways you can work to protect your property. Likely, you have seen this trend in the news, where land or property is sold in a fraudulent transaction. This is most typically done as a cash sale, where…
