Money Matterz
Published Quarterly For SECU’s Zard Membership
Fun Facts About
Money!
• A single dollar bill weighs
about one gram. It takes
454 dollar bills to make
one pound.
• $1,000,000 in $1 bills
would weigh about 2,202
pounds! Over one ton!
• A stack of currency one
mile high would contain
more than 14.5 million
bills.
• The Bureau of Engraving
and Printing has
two facilities: one in
Washington, DC and
the other in Fort Worth,
TX. Together, they use
approximately 9.7 tons of
ink per day.
• The US Mint puts a mark
on each coin to show
which minting facility
the coin came from: “P”
for Philadelphia, “D”
for Denver, “S” for San
Francisco. The marks can
be found on the front of
the coin, to the right of
the face. The only coins
in circulation without
a mark are the Lincoln
pennies produced in
Philadelphia. Find more information and
fun facts at usmint.gov and
federalreserveeducation.org.
teenzard.org
December 2014 • Volume 13 • Issue 4
Credit Scores—Why So Important?
You may have heard about credit scores in television, radio or internet
advertisements. But what exactly is a credit score and just how important
is it?
A credit score is a number—generally ranging from 300 (poor credit
quality) to 850 (great credit quality)—based on
your credit history, which allows lenders and
other organizations to gauge how likely
you are to pay back your loans in a timely
manner.
The FICO® Score was first created in the
1980s by the Fair Isaac Corporation
(FICO) and has gained widespread
acceptance by lenders.
A high FICO® Score can mean
approval for loans at better
lending rates from certain lenders
(SECU’s rates are the same for
all members).
However, a low FICO® Score
could mean being denied
a loan or paying higher loan
rates from other lenders.
As a measure of your credit
worthiness, some factors impacting your score are your payment history
and how much of your available credit you are currently using. A history
of late payments and maxed-out credit lines could have a negative impact
on your financial standing.
Figuring out your FICO® Score used to be difficult because only lenders
had access. But through a partnership with FICO, the Credit Union now
provides members with an active SECU lending relationship free access to
their FICO® Score through secure Member Access via www.ncsecu.org.
Needless to say, it’s important to manage your finances wisely and review
your credit score closely.
FICO is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation in the United States and in other
countries.
FAFSA Day Is Coming—Be Prepared!
As you conclude your final year of high school and start preparing for college, an important step you’ll
need to take is filling out a “FAFSA”—a Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
The FAFSA is required to determine your eligibility for federal and state financial
aid, such as grants, student loans and work-study opportunities.
FAFSAs can seem difficult to understand and challenging for students and
parents to complete. To help parents and students through the process,
State Employees’ Credit Union, in partnership with College Foundation of
North Carolina (CFNC) and the North Carolina Association of Student Financial
Aid Administrators (NCASFAA), is once again opening its branches statewide
for FAFSA Day, Saturday, February 28th from 9:00 am to noon.
In counties where college campuses are hosting FAFSA Day programs,
SECU branches will be open for SECU members only. In other counties,
SECU branches will be a public site for anyone needing help with their
application.
Here are some things to remember if you plan to participate in
FAFSA Day:
• Be sure to register online at CFNC.org/FAFSAday prior
to February 28th for participation at your local branch or
another convenient site in your county.
• Bring parent and student 2014 federal tax returns or
estimates. If filed by early February, the tax information can be
electronically transferred into the FAFSA. Otherwise, a corrected
FAFSA will be needed once your 2014 tax filing is available for
transfer.
• Each student AND one parent must have a Personal Identification
Number (PIN) to file the FAFSA. Obtain your PIN at www.pin.ed.gov
before FAFSA Day.
• It will be helpful (though not required) for you to complete as much of the
FAFSA on the Web Worksheet as possible at www.fafsa.ed.gov and bring it
with you on FAFSA Day. The FAFSA on the Web Worksheet will be available online after January 1, 2015.
• Some colleges/universities require a completed FAFSA prior to February 28th. If your desired school
requires this early, don’t wait—fill out your FAFSA as soon as possible. (FAFSAs can be submitted on or
after January 1st.)
Don’t miss this opportunity if you need help completing your FAFSA!
u
Tax Prep Services Available!
If you earned money last year from a summer or part-time job, you may need to file a tax return by
April 15th. If filing taxes seems a bit intimidating, SECU may be able to help. All branches offer tax
preparation through the free IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program.
Call your local branch or visit www.ncsecu.org for more details on SECU’s tax preparation services.