Four Tips to Keep Your Family Financially Safe and Healthy

The Faithful Steward

Like Adam and Eve struggled with the concept of stewardship, we struggle still today to balance caring for God’s world, including our church, families and daily lives. Are you paying close attention to bills, fees and borrowing habits to keep our families financially safe and healthy?
Here are four tips for successful financial stewardship:

• Paying bills as a sign of good faith – By acquiring only what we can pay for, we are being good stewards and acting in good faith to others. Services such as online banking, bill pay, alerts and the bill calendar at Lutheran Federal Credit Union (www.LutheranFCU.org) can help make managing bills easier.

• Build a buffer – Avoid borrowing or selling valuables for emergency purchases with a bank account buffer. A common rule of thumb is to have liquid savings (those with no penalty if withdrawn) equal to two months of expenses. Keeping that extra cash on hand helps protect against overdraft or interest fee. For larger expenses that need to be budgeted, a Whatever Loan at LutheranFCU offers interest expenses far below credit card rates.

• Minimize expenses – When you minimize expenses you have a better chance of staying within your budget and saving. Be mindful of bank fees. For example, at LutheranFCU there are no monthly minimums or fees on any of our checking account options or features.

• Borrow mindfully – Debt itself is not bad if you borrow responsibly and use it for assets (like a home) that retain and grow in value. Borrowing mindfully means only borrowing what you can repay and paying back your debts on time. Before you borrow, explore your options. Understand the terms and fees associated with each option so that you can make the right decision for your financial situation. There are several ways with LutheranFCU to potentially consolidate debt, reduce interest payments and free up income for savings.

About LutheranFCU
Lutheran Federal Credit Union opened to all eligible members January 2016. With a robust product set now available, solutions are available for all types of entities, church members, school families and volunteers that are part of our LCMS community. Visit Lutheranfcu.org to learn more!