Belco is celebrating 50,000 members by giving you the chance to win some great prizes throughout 2011. You could even win a dream vacation for two!

Every 500th new member will receive their choice of $500 cash or an Apple iPad 2 and will be registered for the grand prize of a dream vacation.

If that member was referred to Belco by an existing member, the referring member will win the same – their choice of $500 cash or an Apple iPad 2, and will also be registered for the dream vacation.

We’ve already had our first 500th member winner, and you could be next!

If you’re a Belco member, pick up a supply of referral cards at any Belco branch and have your friends bring one with them when they open their account.

No purchase necessary. See any branch or belco.org for complete contest rules.

If you don’t have a Belco Visa, you can easily get one by calling 800.642.4482, stopping by one of our convenient branch offices, or applying online.
A Belco Visa has rates starting at a very low 9.99% Annual Percentage Yield — one of the best APYs out there. We don’t charge an annual fee, and you can enroll your card in Visa Extras, which means you’ll earn points toward goods and services with every purchase.

You can also transfer your balances from other, higher rate credit cards to your Belco Visa and earn 1% cash back on transferred balances, up to a total cash back reward of $50.

A great card at a low rate, Visa Extras, and cash back for transferring balances. Plus, the possibility of going to the Super Bowl for life. What’s not to like?

In this day and age, budgeting and money management are crucial. Many of us manage our money day-to-day or paycheck to paycheck. The vast majority of us do not actively budget our money effectively, which makes it difficult to cover unexpected bills. The lack of a budget can lead us into financial difficulty.

There is a solution, and Belco can provide it for you.

In the decade of the 70s, members asked us to create an account that would encourage saving and accommodate budgeting. It was another era, but not wholly different than today. Members didn’t have a lot of money to work with, but saving money was something members regularly did. They may not have had the ability to save much, but at least they did save; something that up to now had not been happening.

Before the most recent recession, Americans were spending more than they made and borrowing the difference. The national savings rate was negative .6%. This means we were spending $106 for every $100 earned — a trend that was simply not sustainable.

That trend has now reversed and consumers are saving 5% to 7% of disposable wages. Will the trend continue as the economy gets better? No one can say yet.

How can Belco help you save?
We can set up sub-accounts or “savings buckets” that allow you to divide your paycheck into smaller pieces. Using this concept, you can designate a set amount from each paycheck for the eventual payment of a budgeted bill.

For example, real estate taxes could be set aside in the Whatever Savings Account so you’ll have the full amount available when the tax bill comes due, without having to scramble to come up with the funds. Or you could save for a summer vacation, a child’s education, home improvements, a car replacement or repairs, and more. The popular Holiday Club account allows you to save for Christmastime shopping. You save a set amount weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly — the deposit frequency is strictly your choice.

No cost, painless savings
You get to save for what you want in an automatic, painless, and no-cost manner. These sub-accounts can help take the sting out of actual budgeting.

Please call or stop by any branch to have a Belco employee help you set up your account or accounts (you can have more than one). We’ll be glad to help you make money management decisions and set up a plan customized to your needs.

Sincerely,

Lonny J. Maurer
President/CEO

Some of the products and services available include:

• 401(k) and Pension Rollovers
• Retirement Planning
• Education Funding
• Mutual Funds
• Life Insurance
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Wealth Management
• Tax-managed Investing

And, in the spirit of the credit union philosophy, this Program is designed to assist a wide variety of members – from those just starting a savings plan, to those with sizable assets looking for more sophisticated financial management tools.

Whether you’re looking for guidance on just one financial issue you want to tackle today, or if you’re interested in putting together a comprehensive plan, please call Belco’s Retirement and Investment Services at (717) 720-6220 for a no-cost, no-obligation analysis with a financial advisor. Thank you for being a member of Belco and for trusting us to make available only those financial services most suited to your needs.

Emmor E Boslet, CFP®
Vice President – Wealth Management
(717) 720-6220
3500 Trindle Rd
Camp Hill, PA 17011

Eric S Pasquini
Financial Advisor
(800) 642-4482 ext. 6220
1758 Oregon Pike
Lancaster, PA 17601

Sincerely,

Lonny Maurer, President/CEO

Representatives are registered, securities are sold, and investment advisory services offered through CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc. (CBSI), member FINRA/SIPC, a registered broker/dealer and investment advisor, 2000 Heritage Way, Waverly, Iowa 50677, toll-free (866) 512-6109. Nondeposit investment and insurance products are not federally insured, involve investment risk, may lose value and are not obligations of or guaranteed by the financial institution. CBSI is under contract with the financial institution, through the financial services program, to make securities available to members.

• If you have not owned a home within the last three years, you are eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000 or 10% of your home purchase, whichever is less
• Under the extended homebuyer tax credit, single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and couples with incomes up to $225,000 may receive the full tax credit

Tax credit expanded to Current Homeowners

• If you have owned or resided in a home for at least five consecutive years of the eight prior years, you are eligible for a tax credit up to $6,500, or 10% or your home purchase, whichever is less
• Income limits of $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for couples apply

Additional information that applies to both tax credit opportunities:

• The tax credits are available for purchases made on or after November 6, 2009 through April 30, 2010. In cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, the home purchase still qualifies, provided it is completed by June 30, 2010
• Any home that will be used as a primary residence will qualify, provided the home is purchased for a price less than or equal to $800,000

Remember, these tax credits are available for a limited time only!

Contact Belco today for current mortgage rates and to get pre-qualified. You can also apply online at www.belco.org.

For a limited time, Belco is offering this popular loan with NO FEES – no closing costs, no points, and no recording fees.

Belco members will also receive:

•    Same-day pre-approvals
•    Rates starting at 5.84% APR*
•    Easy payment options, including automatic transfer

Switching to a shorter-term mortgage will reduce your interest payments and increase your home’s equity faster. A shorter-term loan can be particularly helpful if you have a child heading to college or are planning to retire in the next decade, and don’t want a mortgage payment hanging over your head.

To apply, or for more information, stop by any Belco branch or call us at 1-800-642-4482. You can also click here to apply online.

Save money. Own your home sooner. What’s not to like?

*APR=Annual Percentage Rate. Rate shown requires automatic payment transfer from a Belco account. Rates subject to change. LTV up to 80% and minimum $25,000 in new money borrowed required. All loans subject to credit approval. Other restrictions may apply. Equal Housing Lender.

Let me tell you why this one is pretty cool.

My name is David Forbes and I’m the Assistant Vice President of Marketing here at Belco. Why do you care? Because even someone in my position didn’t realize the value of Belco’s Visa Extras until one of my very bright employees pointed out in a staff meeting that you can enroll your debit card in the Visa Extras program.

(By the way, enrollment for all of your cards is free.)

Why is this a big deal? Because I almost never use my credit card. I use my debit card for everything – groceries, gas, prescription refills, online purchases, bookstores, eating out. Pretty much everywhere I can so I don’t have to carry cash.

I thought Visa Extras was just for credit cards, which meant I (incorrectly) believed it didn’t have much value for me.

When I heard you could enroll your debit card I immediately went to the website  to sign up.

Guess what I found out when I got there? I had enrolled my debit card two years earlier and had been racking up points ever since! I’d simply forgotten about it!

So what did that get me?

For doing nothing other than buying the stuff I needed to buy anyway, I’d earned more than 50,000 points I could redeem through the Visa Extras store!

Here’s what  I got:

• Three $25 Barnes & Noble gift cards
• One $25 Amazon gift card

That’s $100 worth of free stuff I got for nothing. Nothing! It doesn’t get any better than that. And I still have 11,000 points left. (And yes, as you can see, I am a bookworm.)

So what are you waiting for?! This is just another way that Belco’s Visa cards — credit or debit — work for you.

The website is https://www.visaextras.com

Enroll today! The only thing you have to lose is free money!

Best,

David Forbes

On your electronic sign on 581, I think it is rather interesting that right after your ad for car loans starting at 5.49%, there is an ad for car loans for another financial institution starting at 0.00% APR. Hmm…I wonder who is getting their money’s worth out of that ad…

I’d like to address this. Not to pick on the member (I’m not), but because he or she brings up a valid point that I’d like to talk about in more detail.

First of all, there is a mistake in the member’s post: it was not an ad for another financial institution. It was an ad for a particular brand of Saturn car. This is not nitpicking — it’s really the reason for this post.

You will never find a financial institution of any kind offering 0% car loans, for one very simple reason: they cannot make money on it. Ever.

So why do car companies do it? And how do they make money?

The short answer is that they don’t make money on the loan. They can’t. You can’t lend out money with a multi-year repayment term that pays no interest and make money. It’s not possible.

Car companies make money on the service after the sale. At least that’s the idea. They hope to entice you to buy a new car that you will maintain at the dealer, and that’s where they’ll make the money. Since financial institutions have no way to service your car (and don’t want to), this isn’t an option for them.

So what should you do?

Simple. If you can find the car you want for 0% and can afford the monthly payment, buy it! It used to be that the 0% financing was limited to no more than 24 months, which mean that on even relatively inexpensive new cars the monthly payments even without interest would be more than a consumer could afford. But hey, the 0% got you in the door, at which point the dealer could then counter-offer an interest-bearing loan so you could get the car you wanted.

The collapse of the auto industry has made auto makers desperate, so now we’re seeing 0% financing extended all the way out to five years, and sometimes six. But they still usually restrict it to one specific model at a time, so if you don’t want that particular car, you’re out of luck.

The moral of the story: if you can find the car you want at 0% and the term is long enough that you can afford the monthly payment, buy it! (I know I would!) Free money is always the best deal in town.

But make sure it’s a car you want. I also know there’s nothing in the world right now that would make me buy a Saturn since the brand is shutting down next year. (And before happy Saturn owners flame me, that’s no slam on the car itself, just the fact that GM is closing the doors. I wouldn’t buy any car from a company that is going out of business.)