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If you haven’t started a college savings yet, don’t worry. It’s never too late to save — every bit makes a difference. My sister-in-law didn’t begin saving for college until she started dual enrollment during high school. After she noticed how expensive college textbooks were she decided to start placing her part-time employment earnings into a savings account.
You can encourage your college-bound youth to find a part-time job and invest the earnings into a high-yield savings account with built-in perks, such as free online banking and transfers, and an interest rate above the national average. Christy didn’t start saving until she was a Sophomore in high school. The college she chose to attend doesn’t offer her any financial aid and her scholarships have been minimal. She has paid for her a large majority of her undergraduate degree on her own from her savings! The moral of that story: don’t be discouraged if you can’t foot the entire college bill. Even if you choose to set aside funds to cover tuition for one or two semesters, or textbooks for an entire year … every dollar you save will help your aspiring college graduate!
Another great savings idea is a money market savings account. Money market savings accounts are a smart choice for college savings – they offer better rates for higher balances. High yield promotional certificates with guaranteed rates are good for saving money that you do not need to access for several years down the road.
Now that you are ready to begin saving, you need to decide where you will begin banking. Most people already know the benefits of credit unions, such as customer ownership, fewer fees and higher savings rates. However, there is a segment of credit unions that continue to fly under the financial radar: Affinity-based banking — the intersection of faith and financial planning.
For most of its 50-year history, ECCU has been known for offering churches, Christian schools and other Evangelical nonprofits and ministries with specialized financial services. Now, ECCU also offers personal financial services:
- Personal savings account — a basic savings account for an emergency fund or savings for your kids that’s only $25 to open and has a 0.35% APY2 with no minimum balance.
- Money Market Savings account – a great opportunity to earn a higher rate (up to 0.95% APY2 on higher balances. This direct savings account — also called an online savings account — appeals to on-the-go consumers who prefer to be able to manage their lives online.
With ECCU, your money does more than earn a good interest rate for you. It helps fuel Christ-centered ministry worldwide by providing loans to churches and low-cost banking services to missionaries and Christian organizations. Together, you + ECCU = supporting and resourcing more ministry.
GIVEAWAY!
Need to kickstart your college savings?
Enter ECCU’s #ECCU4school giveaway below and you could win $1,000!
The contest runs from May 19 – June 19, 2015. The qualified winner must open an ECCU Money Market Savings account where the $1,000 will be deposited. Click HERE for official rules.