The start of the new year is a great time to get smart about credit cards and start off on the right foot. If keeping up with credit card balances has become a challenge, it’s smart to assess your overall financial picture and your spending habits. Remember: taking on credit card debt [...]
Credit Score Myths (And What Actually Matters) Credit advice is everywhere—and a lot of it is oversimplified. That’s why credit myths stick around. They sound reasonable, they spread fast, and they can lead people to make decisions that don’t actually help. Let’s clear up a few common credit score myths and focus [...]
Family Budget Starter Plan (Simple and Realistic) If you’ve ever made a budget that looked perfect on paper—and then completely fell apart by week two—you’re not alone. Most budgets fail because they’re too detailed, too strict, or too disconnected from real life. A better approach is a budget that’s flexible, easy to [...]
Account Takeover Prevention (Passwords, MFA, and Alerts) Account takeover often feels like it comes out of nowhere: you try to log in and your password doesn’t work, you see transactions you don’t recognize, or you get an email about changes you didn’t make. In reality, account takeover usually starts quietly, often with [...]
Smishing Red Flags How to Spot a Fake Bank Text You’re in the middle of your day when a text pops up: “URGENT: Fraud detected. Your account will be locked. Click here to verify.” Your heart rate jumps, because it sounds serious—and that’s exactly the point. “Smishing” is phishing through SMS/text message, [...]
The holiday season is here again—and for many of us, that means joyful gatherings, favorite family recipes, and… the yearly challenge of keeping costs under control with a budget-friendly Thanksgiving. Between higher food prices, unpredictable sales, and shifting assistance programs, it can be tough to create a delicious, memorable meal for your Thanksgiving dinner [...]
Buying a car is one of the biggest financial choices you’ll make. While the overall inventory situation has improved, many are still experiencing sticker shock at the car lot when it’s time to shop. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed or pressured into a deal that may not be right for you but with the right preparation, [...]
If it feels like there’s never quite enough to cover everything, you’re not alone. A quarter of American households are living paycheck to paycheck, according to Bank of America—making it harder than ever to stay on top of monthly bills. With inflation stretching budgets thin, many people are facing impossible choices about which expenses to [...]
When a family member passes away, there are many decisions that need to be made and many emotions to handle. The last thing anyone thinks about is taxes. Unfortunately, even the deceased can’t escape taxation. If the departed family member earned taxable income during the year in which they died, then federal taxes may [...]
The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in December 2024, adjusts two longstanding provisions that previously reduced Social Security benefits for certain recipients: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These rules affected Social Security benefits for retirees who receive pension income from non-covered employment.¹ Who Qualifies for Increased [...]
Phone: (814) 456-6231
Fax: (814) 580-9722
Contact Us
Important Numbers
Locations
Find a rewarding career serving our wonderful members
