Your title can be worth cash! Did you know that if you have equity in your vehicle you can use it as collateral to borrow money?
By using your auto's equity rather than getting a personal loan, you can save money with lower interest rates. Personal loan rates range from 9.9% to 17.9% APR, but using the equity in your vehicle you can pay as low as 1.99%. You can use this money for paying off high-interest credit cards, a vacation, car repairs, new furniture, a new winter wardrobe, to get ahead on your Christmas shopping or whatever you are in need of cash for.
Call, or stop in our office at 395 N Kinzie, and speak to one of our Loan Representatives about our vehicle equity loans.
Equifax and Fiction: 4 Data Breach Myths to Dismiss
The details of the massive Equifax data breach are jaw-dropping.
The personal data of 143 million Americans - names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, and in some cases driver's license and credit card information - were exposed to criminals. Equifax waited weeks before saying anything. The company tried to charge consumers to lock down their data, before reversing course under withering criticism. Its website crashed; its phone representatives offered little more than sympathy.
Those are the sad and frustrating facts - and they make a lot of misinformation easier to believe. Some rumors we might want to be true, because they'd save us hassle.
But beware, these are just plain wrong:
1. Equifax is calling you
How great would it be for Equifax to call and offer to freeze your credit or sign you up for monitoring, saving you the trouble of trying to get through its phone menu or crashing website?
You may already know you have to give some identifying information to verify that it's really you. Scammers know you know this, too.
The Federal Trade Commission is warning consumers not to fall for callers pretending to be Equifax. Don't believe it even if caller ID says it's Equifax, because scammers can "spoof" their numbers.
Rule of thumb: Don't give information to someone who calls you. Initiate the call so you can be sure where your call is going. If you've already given your information to a suspected scammer,
report it to the FTC.
2. If you freeze your credit, you can't use your credit cards
Not being able to use credit cards would create major inconvenience and disruption in many lives. But
freezing your credit is not like the old advice to literally freeze your credit card in a block of ice to avoid overspending. It affects your credit files, not your existing credit cards.
Freezing closes access to your credit files to those who don't already have access. You and your current creditors can still access them. But scammers won't be able to open new accounts in your name. Lenders won't open new accounts if they cannot see your credit history.
Important note: A freeze stops new accounts - but it won't keep anyone with your current credit card information from using it. Keep an eye on current accounts so you can spot fraudulent charges right away.
3. You need to freeze your credit only with Equifax
Yes, Equifax had the breach. But thieves may now have the key to your finances, and Equifax is just one of the doors that information can open. Freezing your credit at all three major bureaus - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - is the best way to keep anyone from accessing your credit.
Tip: If you can't freeze your credit right now - for instance, you're mortgage or car loan shopping - consider
a fraud alert. For 90 days (longer if you are active-duty military or have been an identity theft victim), applications in your name receive extra scrutiny.
4. You are an identity theft victim
You're not, at least not yet. Unless scammers are already using your information to open new accounts, the damage isn't done. While taking the necessary steps to lock down your data is a time-consuming hassle, it is nothing compared with the frustration of unwinding new accounts set up in your name.
Be an informed consumer: The bureaus are pushing "credit locks" hard as an alternative to freezes. These may carry a fee, and still let the bureaus sell you onto lists for promotional offers from businesses. Read the terms and conditions before you choose any freeze, lock or credit monitoring service.
And now, 4 things you can believe
With your personal data potentially released into the wild, the world is a different place. The threat requires vigilance to safeguard your finances.
Freezing your credit is the single best thing you can do to prevent abuse of your data over the long term
Checking your credit reports needs to become a habit. It can give you a heads-up when there's a mistake, or worse, possible identity theft.
This is forever.
The article Equifax and Fiction: 4 Data Breach Myths to Dismiss originally appeared on NerdWallet.
A: Savings-secured loans are great ways to establish or re-establish credit. You put up as collateral funds that you have on deposit with us. Those funds are "frozen". However, as you make payments and the loan balance decreases, the amount frozen decreases, too. The savings account, even the frozen portion, continues to earn dividends.
Q: How long can the loan be for?
A: Four years.
Q: What is the rate?
A: The rate would be 3% above the savings account rate at the time you get the loan. It is a fixed-rate, though. If the savings rate goes up or down, the loan rate (and payment) stays the same.
Q: Do I need proof of income to get a savings-secured loan?
A. No. Since one of the reasons for this loan is to help build credit, we do not require any proof of income. The loan is almost guaranteed to be approved.
Sign Up For Free Property Fraud Alert Monitoring
When Kankakee County property tax assessments were mailed a few weeks ago, there was an insert with the assessment about a free service that could be very helpful.
If you sign up for this free service, you will receive an e-mail or phone call (your choice) if any document is recorded by the Kankakee County Recorder (or any other county you select). This is helpful to ensure that nobody fraudulently records something in your name. There are countless cases around the country where people have sold property they didn't even own by pretending they were the owner of the real estate.
Next to "Please select a county to begin", pick the county you want to register for. If you have property in multiple counties, you can register multiple times, one county at a time.
A new page will come up. Read the information before clicking Continue.
Read the disclosure, click the box next to "I agree to the terms stated above", and click Continue.
Select whether this is for a person or a business.
Type in the names as indicated.
Select whether you want to be notified with an e-mail or phone call.
Type in the e-mail address or the phone number. If you choose the phone number option, be sure to include your area code.
Click Save.
If you selected e-mail, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. That's what I did, so I'm not sure if you will get a confirmation phone call if you go with the phone option.
If something is recorded in the county that you registered for, you will receive an e-mail from subscriptions@propertyfraudalert.com telling you something was recorded, and it will give you a document number. You can then contact the County Recorder to get details.
Fieldstone Credit Union - Out And About in the Community
Fieldstone Credit Union employees have created Benjamin Buck for the
Bourbonnais Township Park District Scarecrow Contest, which has become a much-anticipated fall event. Stop by Perry Farm before October 31 to see all the scarecrows. Thank you to the creators of Benjamin: Christine Joiner, Kaitlin Zelek, Rachel Williams, Debbie Eilts, Debbie Corum, Emilie Hendrickson.
Get your Christmas wish list ready! Santa is coming to Fieldstone Credit Union. Be on your best behavior Saturday, December 2, from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Gifts and snacks will be available for the kids, and hot chocolate for the parents. Best of all, it is
free. Be sure to tell others; this is NOT just for Fieldstone members.
Departmental Phone Extensions & Tips
If you do not need to speak to a specific person, you will often have better luck dialing a departmental extension (since multiple phones will ring) rather than trying to reach multiple people one extension at a time. At the voice mail greeting, dial...
2 - loans and credit cards
5 - member service staff
If you need to talk to a specific person but do not know their extension, dial 6 for a list of individual extensions, or dial "#" and follow the prompts to enter the person's last name.
Fieldstone Credit Union deposits are federally insured up to at least $250,000 by the NCUA,
a U.S. government agency.
$100 off closing costs
For a limited time, you can get $100 off the closing costs for a home equity loan. You must turn in this coupon at the time you turn in your home equity loan application. It does not apply to loans already in process. Only one coupon per loan. Offer expires 11/30/2017.
