With just a few days left in the holiday shopping season, many people turn to online shopping to check off the remaining items on their shopping lists. Learn how to protect yourself from fraud with these helpful tips:

Its effect is subtle, yet significant. In retirement, you face a quiet financial threat. Over time, inflation may erode your purchasing power. If you want to maintain your quality of life in retirement, investing to beat inflation may be essential.

As we rely more and more on our on mobile devices for business and personal use, maintaining strong security protocols should be a top priority. It’s important to understand the two main types of mobile security – physical and data – and how you can protect your devices and your data.

Physical Threats

This summer, SEFCU’s Institute for Financial Well-Being provided free financial education to teens and young adults in more than 15 summer youth programs and summer camps across 10 counties in New York State. The youth employment programs provide teens and young adults an opportunity to gain on-the-job training where they are paid to work approximately 20 hours each week.

It’s human to want each year to be better than the last, but if you’re going to achieve any major improvements – in your health, money, or family life, for instance – there’s no time like right now to lay out a plan for your New Year’s resolution goals. Here are three tips to get a head start.

SEFCU’s Institute for Financial Well-Being provided free financial education to teens and young adults participating in summer youth employment programs across New York State. The youth employment programs provide teens and young adults an opportunity to gain on-the-job training where they work approximately 20 hours per week and are paid for those hours. SEFCU worked with participants in these programs to give them a basic understanding of saving, budgeting, and spending now that they are earning what might be their first paycheck.

In the sports world, a mental error can cost your team the big game. When you are investing, a mental error can put your retirement portfolio at risk. Mistakes often result from letting misconceptions and emotions affect your decisions.

There are a lot of issues that couples need to think about when tying the knot – wedding preparations, family, and, of course, finances. Addressing personal finance and investment issues before the big day may help improve your odds of being together years later.

On June 17, 2019 SEFCU joined area business leaders and the Mayor of Albany Kathy Sheehan to announce the Summer in the City movie lineup at the Palace Theatre in Downtown Albany.

“For the fifth season in a row, the Palace will provide free summer movies, open to the public every Tuesday afternoon during the months of July and August. Thanks to this program, more than 8,000 families and children participated in this program last year,” said Billy Piskutz, Managing Director for the Palace Performing Arts Center.

After years of investing for retirement and other goals, you may have accumulated a substantial portfolio. If you're approaching or already enjoying retirement, there are important steps that you can take to help ensure that your investment plan – and your nest egg – is on track for your golden years. Keep reading to get tips for retirement planning. 

This spring, SEFCU’s Institute for Financial Well-Being facilitated a four-part series of financial education sessions with the youth of Pretty Girls Rock, (PGR) operated by PGR Foundation, Incorporated in Syracuse, with young women ages 11-18. 

Students in kindergarten, first, and second grade at Cairo-Durham Elementary School learned about saving, budgeting, and spending through innovative programs offered by SEFCU’s Institute for Financial Well-Being. In addition to the sessions being fun and informative for the students, one teacher commented how well the content aligns with grade-level curriculum.

To con artists, down-on-their-luck relatives, or opportunistic acquaintances, older individuals are a goldmine, and here’s why. People over the age of 50 control 70% of the country’s wealth, and seniors between the ages of 65 and 74, with an average net worth of $1.06 million, have more assets than any other age group. Dementia, disability, and decline can make it even easier for criminals to con older adults out of their money, which is also known as elder abuse. There are many types of scams, unethical businesses, and unscrupulous individuals preying on seniors all the time.

During its annual Government Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. last week, the Credit Union National Association recognized SEFCU’s ongoing effort to deliver free, dynamic financial education to young people with its Desjardins Award for Youth Financial Education in the more than $1 billion in assets category.

For many, tax season equals refund season and there is a temptation to spend the refund on something that falls into the “want” category. However, with more than $3.86 trillion in student loan, auto loan, and credit card debt combined, it’s pretty easy to see that there are more impactful ways a person can use the annual “windfall.”

Experts advise to pay down debt, begin a savings fund, or invest toward retirement as ways to use a tax refund for long-term benefit potential.

As you start to count down the days until you hit the beach or travel abroad for your summer vacation, make sure you are taking steps to ensure that your dream vacation doesn’t become a nightmare.

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