Hello,

Matt here! Alright this weekend felt great! We did a wonderful rehearsal at Caroline’s house with mics and amps! It was so much fun! Also I feel very comfortable on the songs Blank Piece by Caroline herself! I must be dreaming by The Maine,  Two is better than one by Boys like Girls and Just Another Story by Me! I think that this will be a great concert and Thanks to Caroline and her family for letting us practice at their wonderful home!!

Spring Break doesn’t have to mean Spring Broke

If your kids are in middle school, you have some time to relax before the real pressure about Spring Break kicks in. Enjoy this time while you can.

However if you have high school or college-aged kids, you’re likely challenged with the financial and social aspects of Spring Break. Fortunately there are many more options than just bikini clad beaches for young people and I, like all of you, am trying to steer my kids toward the milder excursions or even contributing to society in some way.

Why? First of all, beyond concerns about bikini contests and beer, Spring Break is expensive! It’s during this time that airfare and hotel rates are at their highest. The average student spends over $1,200 just to come back with zero in their bank account, a bad sunburn and credit card debt.
So I perused the internet searching for affordable alternatives to steer my teens in a direction I can support in heart and wallet. Together we agreed upon some great adventures that have both financial and personal rewards.

I was thrilled to discover that MTV and many others promote what’s called Alternative Spring Break, listing opportunities to help others in need and have the most rewarding time of your life. If MTV promotes something, it has to be cool!

Habitat for Humanity hosts what’s known as Spring Break Collegiate Challenges throughout the country including many great locales in Florida, the Gulf region and the southwest including California. These are regions that score high on any teen or young adult’s list.

Embrace the great outdoors and clean up the environment with the SCA (Student Conservation Association). Their excursions include working and exploring the magnificent Grand Canyon. Students enjoy hiking the Grand Canyon’s beautiful trails while also removing graffiti and accomplishing important vegetation projects.

If you seek a more international experience, Amizade is an organization you may want to consider. Amizade is the Portuguese word for friendship. They offer global service learning and volunteer programs throughout the world taking young people to the regions of Jamaica, Mexico, Ireland and beyond.

Alternative Spring Break excursions are not only affordable, but they contribute to our environment and society. My teens were far more accepting of these programs than I ever anticipated. This is real adventure for far less expense and the money they are saving, I’ve offered to match and deposit in their U22 savings account.

Visit www.U224U.com to learn more about GTE Federal Credit Union’s youth checking account and credit card. Because money is important no matter what your age.

Hello everyone!!

I am starting realize more and more how important building credit is, even though I’m still in college. Did you know that not having any credit record at all can be bad too? Having good credit is one way people review how responsible you are, for example. But before we get ahead of ourselves, it’s very important that we understand how credit works. Credit cards act as a sort of small loan that can be paid back in whole or in smaller payments. Not only do you have to pay the money you loan back, but you have to pay interest on the loan, which is like a payment to the credit card company for letting you use their money. Now you may be saying to yourself, “Sheesh! so what’s so good about using a credit card when I have my debit card?” Well first off, you can have access to money you don’t necessarily have immediately, and secondly, you build up your credit score. If you want to buy anything bigger than an mp3 player, like a house or a car, you have to have good credit. Your credit score is a summation of your bill paying habits. If you pay your bills late and find yourself getting into serious debt, you probably have a bad credit score. Which means when you go to a financial institution and ask for a loan they will look at your credit history and say, “Sorry we can’t help you, your credit is bad”. Because after all why would anyone want to loan you money if they’re not sure you can pay it back. Well anyway, if you want to learn more about how credit works check out this website or ask your local GTE branch member. http://www.youngmoney.com/creditreport/

Have you all checked out the U22 credit card? That’s right, with U22 you can have your very own credit card with a $500 maximum limit.

Also if you want to see if you know your stuff check out this U22 Credit Card Quiz to see if you’re ready for a U22 credit card. http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=u22-credit-card-quiz

Hello!

Suite Caroline here! This will be a very busy month for me. I have a lot of concerts and a lot of work to do to make sure I am “show ready” for all of my performances. It really is a lot of work to follow my dream of being a professional singer/songwriter. I practice and song write every day a couple of hours at a time. It makes for late nights and I am often tired in class and working hard to keep up because I miss a lot of school. BUT I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is what I love. I guess it’s like the people I am watching in the Winter Olympics right now. Even when they weren’t having the best day, they still got out there and gave it their all. That’s what got them to the world Yelstage!! I want to be on the world stage!! (Just not in ski jumping!!) The cool thing is that I do get paid to do this. I just got my year end tax statements. I will be filing income tax as a 12 year old! My parents like to laugh about that! But it makes me feel like I am on my way. What is the message of this blog?? Hard work+time+effort+more hard work+earning money for working hard=the road to success!! Find your road, get on it, put the pedal to the floor and see where the road takes you!!!!!

Another wonderful practice! And it was at an even cooler place!! Sunday February 7th Caroline and I practiced at her house! It was Fantastic! She had everything we needed (amps, mikes, speakers, and lots of candy!) ha ha, It was so great all of the songs sounded wonderful but I didn’t think I sounded so good over the mike – they said it was in my head. BUT Caroline’s voice sounded amazing over the mike!! it was like a live personal performance. She’s great overall!! Fun to hang with! And I’m going to warn all of you that are coming to the Florida Strawberry Festivall YOU WILL LOVE IT!!! Thanks Caroline and Family!!

-Matt Walden

GTE Federal Credit Union Suite Caroline Strawberry Jam Contest Winner

Check out the U22 youth checking account for 12 to 22 year olds at www.U224U.com. Because learning about money is important no matter what your age.

When it comes to talk about personal finances, many of my friends have surprised me by asking, “Why do you bank with a Federal Credit Union?” First, it is clear their underlying question is they simply do not know the differences between a credit union and a bank, and there are many differences. So I’ll rewind past all my prior conversations and start at the beginning because if you understand the key elements of how credit unions and banks are structured, your choice is fairly clear as to which will serve your personal needs best.

Most banks are called “commercial banks” and as the name implies, their purpose is to serve commerce. Therefore their primary customers are businesses leaving private individuals as somewhat of an afterthought, (in fact banks account for 81% of industry revenue nationally). Most banks are led by boards of directors and must answer to shareholders with the expectation to make large profits. A bank’s depositors create those profits with every transaction they make. Even with a profit structure, for everyone who followed the news over the past year, it was the banking industry that was brought into the spotlight about their operations and need for a taxpayer bailout. (Did you see any credit unions under fire? No!)

So if banks have stockholders, what do credit unions have? Members. (So who do you think will serve your individual needs best?)

Credit unions were created specifically to serve individuals offering various accounts from savings to checking, in addition to credit cards, mortgages and, on occasion, home business accounts. Credit unions are federally regulated ‘non-profit’ organizations owned by their depositors, (that would be, should be you!). That’s why deposits are called shares versus deposits. Due to their structure and purpose, credit unions have remained well capitalized and remained the most viable option for home loans throughout the economic downturn. As consumers become more knowledgeable on the differences between banks and credit unions there has been an influx of families making the switch to who will serve their personal needs best, (and I think you know who that is).

So get moving to your locally depositor-owned and operated Federal Credit Union today!

Also learn more about youth accounts offered by Credit Unions. It’s a safe environment for teenagers to learn about money. Check out the GTE Federal Credit Union youth checking account for 12 to 22 year olds at www.U224U.com, because learning about money is important, no matter what your age.

Hey everyone! Happy New Year! (ya, I know it is already February, but I’m still writing 2009 on everything, so it sure still feels NEW!) So I hope you have read the blog by Matt W., the winner of the Suite Caroline Strawbery Jam Contest – http://www.u224u.com/pages/suite-caroline-jam-casting. We are really having fun working together. Did you know he played piano for 10 whole years before he recently took up the guitar? (and I know he will never put it down now!!:) His music background is making it really easy for him to learn guitar. He knows WAY more music theory than I do. He writes his own stuff, which you know I think is totally cool. We hope to play 4 songs together at Matt’s showcase with me at the Strawberry Festival in Plant City on March 6th – more details to come . Stop by and show us some love if you can!! Then I will take the MAIN stage with my band at 1pm. It is going to be outrageously awesome. Please come if you can!! GTE Federal Credit Union is sponsoring the shows. The show is free and kids get in free to the Strawberry Festival on that day. You can watch our shows, and then eat some Strawberry Shortcake and then ride some rides! O, wait, maybe if you are going on fast rides that flip upside down you should eat your shortcake AFTER! LOL!!!!

Get inspired about money by looking into a GTE Federal Credit Union U22 youth checking account for 12 to 22 year olds. It pretty much rocks!

Today we sounded even better!! It is January 31st and we went over everything. All of the songs sounded good, especially “two is better than one!” It just overall sounded awesome. It was too cold to practice at Vinoy Park so my wonderful Aunt Cimmy let us practice at their house in St. Pete. I felt like we did great and we will be awesome when March comes. I just cant wait! The only bad part of everything was me coughing. I was officially diagnosed with asthma Friday and the doctor put me on Steroids ugh… But that’s not going to stop us!! I think we will be great as soon as March comes! Thanks all!!

- Matt W.
GTE Federal Credit Union Suite Caroline Strawberry Jam Contest Winner
Check out the U22 youth checking account for 12 to 22 year olds at www.U224U.com. Because learning about money is important no matter what your age.