Tune Up Your Car Loan

Refinancing can be one of the most profitable ways to stretch your dollars. In a time when gas is up to $4 per gallon and overall the cost of living continues to be on the rise, wouldn’t you like to find a way to save money?

Think about it: At a time when it’s hard to earn as little as an extra half a percentage point or more on your savings, you might be able to “earn” two or three percentage points by improving your auto loan rate.

Buying a new car or truck is a thrill. Many buyers will do just about anything to acquire the vehicle they want, as soon as possible. Sometimes, that includes going for a “right now” loan at a car dealership instead of shopping for the best loan rate. If that happened to you, don’t passively suffer buyer’s remorse. Call First New York, and let us help! If the vehicle’s still fairly new, and you qualify, we’ll help you trade in that costly loan on one that won’t dent your fenders.

How much can you save? Say you’ve had a 60-month car loan at 6.3% annual percentage rate (APR) for one year, and you financed $15,000. At monthly payments of about $292, your current balance is about $12,365. If you can refinance at 4.74% APR (with automatic loan payment) for the remaining four years of your loan, monthly payments will go down slightly, to about $283. But you’ll pay about $430 less in total finance charges for the remainder of the loan. That’s a deal with real road appeal!

Take a look at the rate that you are paying on your Auto Loan, and let’s see if your credit union can save you some money by refinancing!

Online Safety Podcast

In today’s electronic age, thieves are using that technology in an attempt at scamming money from unsuspecting consumers.

Our podcast talks about some common scams, how they work and what you can do to prevent them.

To listen to the podcast, click the play button in the blog podcast player, or right click the link and save the MP3 version to play later.

Online Safety Podcast

For other podcasts from First New York FCU, check out the podcasts section of this blog.

The Benefits of Consolidating Student Loans

The high cost of college tuition causes some students to graduate deeply in debt.

Sallie Mae, a government agency that deals in student loans, reports that students and their parents borrow between $30 billion and $40 billion a year to help pay for advanced schooling. This reliance on student loans is largely due to college costs that outpace inflation.

College borrowers frequently have several loans held by more than one lender, with varying rates on each loan. This makes figuring out whom to pay–and when and what to pay them–a financial nightmare.

Consolidating many loans into one with a fixed-rate monthly payment often is a wise choice for college graduates because it can decrease overall interest rates and extend the payback period to reduce monthly payments.

Still, potential consolidators should note that the extended payback period could increase your total costs. For this reason, it’s important to try to pay off the loan early. As your yearly earnings increase, step up payments to avoid the longer interest payments.

 

For more information on consolidating student loans, contact First New York FCU.

Bill Payment & E-bills

Time and money.  These are two things we don’t have enough of!  Online bill payment and E-bills can help with both.

First New York FCU has begun offering a new online bill payment and E-bill service, which can help save time by allowing members the ability to pay bills without writing a check, and also by receiving bills online, through our First OnLine service.

You can save money… because it’s FREE!  So, you don’t need to worry about not having stamps or checks to pay your bills.

Online bill payment and E-bill is secure, and by receiving your bills online, you are helping to save the environment by reducing paper statements.

To sign up, visit www.firstnewyork.org, logon to First OnLine and click on the bill payment button. 

New Website For First New York!

First New York Federal Credit Union has a new website!  The redesigned site went live on May 14th, with the following changes:

• Site is easier to navigate
• Rotating advertising banners
• What’s New section
• Search function
• Member Education page
• Help Center
• Better branding of site
• Easier viewing (no need to scroll to read home page)
• And many more

Check out our new site, and let me know what you think!

First New York FCU

 

Spring Used Auto Sales Event

First New York FCU and Enterprise Car Sales are teaming up for a 2 Day Sales Event on May 16 & 17.

The Sales Event will be held at the First New York branch office located at 2 Wall Street in Colonie.  Sale hours will be Friday, May 16th from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, May 17th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Enterprise Car Sales will have between 50 and 60 cars in the credit union parking lot ready to sell.  Stop by, browse the large selection of cars, pick out your car or truck and even drive it home!

Plus, for 2 days only, First New York FCU has reduced it’s Auto Loan rates by 1% Annual Percentage Rate for autos purchased at the sale.

If you have any questions, or want to be pre-approved, call 518-393-1326 and press ‘2′ or stop by any First New York branch.

We hope to see you at the First New York FCU Spring Used Auto Sales Event!

The Benefits of Starting a Roth IRA Early

According to a Callahan and Associates Web-based survey, individuals between the ages of 18 and 39 are most likely to open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). These individuals recognize the importance of starting early to save for retirement.

IRA rules don’t have a minimum age requirement, so any young person who has earned income is eligible to open an IRA. Because earned income is the key to qualifying for a Roth, generally, a young adult or even a child would have to be working part time for an employer who collected taxes and reported the earnings to the IRS.

How big are the benefits of starting early? If a 19-year-old began contributing $1,500 each year to a Roth IRA, by age 68 he or she would have about $608,000, assuming an average annual return of 7%.

Money is taxed going into a Roth IRA and accrues interest until it can be withdrawn, completely tax-free, beginning at age 59 ½.  While that may be a long way off for young investors, certain withdrawals can be made earlier, including a $10,000 for a down payment on a first home.

For more information on a Roth IRA, contact First New York Federal Credit Union!