Articles & Resource Library

Similar to putting your winter sweaters away during the spring cleaning of your home, refreshing, reorganizing and decluttering your finances can offer a fresh start to your future.

Paper has been at the center of our world — but the need is lessening by the day. Organizations and individuals alike are recognizing the efficiencies and benefits of switching to digital from paper products for both us and the environment. This is particularly true for the financial industry, specifically with paper statements and bills.

Credit is an influential factor not only in financial planning — but life. A good credit report can enable you to take out a loan for a new house or car and get your dream job, while a poor credit score has the ability to limit those chances and impact you for the foreseeable future.

In today’s modern, technology-driven environment, efficiency is everything. Save time and effort paying for everyday items with an APGFCU® Visa® Debit Card. Avoid fumbling around with cash and checks and opt for a single payment option that empowers you to shop conveniently and with confidence.

Meeting with a financial institution to determine if you are qualified for a loan can be intimidating and confusing. You might be feeling unprepared or worried that you may have overlooked key criteria of the loan-granting process. Fortunately, many traditional lenders use a framework of five main characteristics, or C’s, to evaluate potential borrowers for both personal and business lending needs.

In today’s ever-changing and technology-driven world, online learning is becoming the educational method of choice. From one-on-one webinars to cross-company conferences, many are utilizing and leveraging online learning events for professional and personal gain. Virtual events are not only cost-effective by avoiding the need for plane tickets, hotel stays and meal expenses, but also convenient as a participant can log on from anywhere with an internet connection.

Adjusting to the cadence of online learning can be challenging. To help, here are a list of tips to get the most out of your next virtual experience.

Juggling housing and vehicle costs, insurance, groceries, entertainment, everyday expenses and more can be overwhelming and wear a hole in your wallet. The good news: there is an easier option. Simplify your in-store, online and in-app purchases – big or small – with an affordable APGFCU® Visa® Credit Card to speed through checkout and get back to your day. With low, competitive interest rates on a variety of card types, we have tailored options to fit your unique needs of today and tomorrow.

Here are five types of life events we’ve helped finance for our members with an APGFCU^® Personal Loan. Let us help you, too.

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the past year and appreciate your blessings and opportunities. However, your festive feast could be gobbling up your budget. In 2019, the average American spent an estimated $186 on Thanksgiving – an over 5% increase from the previous year¹. Of this, 82% is spent on food, drinks and other meal expenses¹. Additionally, Americans purchase over 700 million pounds of turkey for their Thanksgiving meals each year – 35% of which goes to waste². 

Let’s take a look at a few ways you can trim your Thanksgiving spending and celebrate without starving your wallet.

Summer months are a time for fun, sun, and adventure. Unfortunately, that can come with a price. Utility costs, especially electricity, often spike in the summer when many are cranking the air conditioning to keep their homes comfortable. To help keep you and your wallet cool this summer, we have compiled a list of tips to cut down on expensive habits, increase efficiency, and save.

So you’ve started the process of buying a home and the seller has finally accepted your offer. Hooray, the end is in sight! However, there is still one thing left: closing.

Refinancing your existing mortgage can have a significant impact on your financial health, for better or for worse. Be sure to consider all options before deciding if a pre-retirement refinance is right for you.

In today’s world where online dating is increasingly common, not everything — or everyone — is what it seems. Cybercriminals have seized this opportunity to target the vulnerable and unsuspecting for financial gain in sweetheart or romance scams.

Online and mobile banking is becoming the new normal for consumers on-the-go. Managing accounts virtually empowers individuals to gain better visibility into their finances anywhere, anytime, with just a few clicks. However, linking your financial account to the correct and legitimate website can sometimes be tricky.

Cybercriminals frequently replicate valid websites to con unsuspecting consumers into either opening malicious links on their page that flood their device with malware, or divulging personal information, which they can use to wipe out your account or steal your identity. While these sites may appear similar to legitimate sites, there are a few red flags you can identify to determine the validity of your financial institution’s website.

As our modern world leans more and more into streamlining efficiency and speed via technological advances, we need to be vigilant in protecting our personal information – especially when it comes to finances. With every passing day, scammers and hackers are coming up with new methods to gain access to our sensitive information without us even knowing.

However, there are a few common ways personal information can be stolen that are preventable if you are aware of and understand the consequences. To help, we’ve compiled a list of common scams, which could put your financial health at risk.

Advancing technology continues to provide efficiencies and convenience to our daily lives, especially in the forms of online shopping and banking. Where you once needed to physically travel into a store or financial institution to make a purchase or transfer funds, you now have the power and capability to perform many transactions anywhere, anytime from a computer, smartphone, or tablet. And while e-commerce has significantly improved the ease at which we manage our purchases and accounts, it can also put your money and identity in jeopardy.

Cybercriminals are constantly evolving their methods to gain access to your personal information and hack into your accounts with ease – and they’re having enormous success. It is essential to remain vigilant when shopping or banking online to avoid falling victim to a cyber attack. To help, we’ve compiled a list of tips to keep your finances, personal information, and identity secure during online transactions.

Passwords are the lock and key to your most sensitive information: finances, account data, Social Security numbers (SSN), and more. But many are easy to figure out, including a birthday, pet’s name, “123456,” or simply “password.” An estimated 95% of cybersecurity breaches are due to human error, and cybercriminals are waiting to take advantage of your mistake and wipe out your accounts.¹ Plus, 73% of Microsoft users recycle passwords for both their personal and work accounts, making them all too easy for cybercriminals to figure out.²

Black Friday is the unofficial start of the holiday gift-hunting season, followed quickly by the online-exclusive Cyber Monday. Every year, savvy shoppers and bargain hunters across the country hear the siren song of can’t-miss deals – some of which are too good to be true. As consumers flood the web on Black Friday and Cyber Monday searching for the best discounts, so do scammers, hackers and identity thieves for unsuspecting victims to steal information, funds or worse.

Staying secure is imperative to shopping online during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. To help, we’ve compiled a list of dos and don’ts to avoid getting caught in a scam.

The expansion of technology into almost every aspect of our daily lives has enabled us to connect and communicate with the world around us faster and easier than ever before. But with the good, also comes danger. Cybercriminals continue to develop ever-evolving methods to take advantage of the various devices that streamline our careers, relationships, and finances – and use them against us through intuitive social engineering attacks such as vishing and smishing.

Online shopping offers the timeliness and convenience consumers need to keep up with their busy lives – especially during the holidays. E-commerce is expected to grow by 25-35% during the 2020 holiday season and surpass $180 billion in sales for November, December and January¹. As you’re waiting on your holiday packages to arrive this season, be careful to avoid getting caught in an emerging phishing scam, which could corrupt your device or jeopardize your financial standing.