Vicksburg, Miss. – – Mutual Credit Union is pleased to announce the selection of Roderick Bradford as branch manager of the Mutual Credit Union Cherry Street branch located in Vicksburg, MS effective August 31, 2020. Roderick is a graduate of Grambling State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management in 1999. He brings to Mutual Credit Union over 20+ years of management experience and over 7+ years of specialized experience in the financial services industry working for both Capital One and Chase Home Mortgage. Roderick serves in the Men’s Ministry at Calvary Baptist Church and is an active member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Roderick is a veteran of the United States Air Force where he served his country between 1989-1991.
We are excited to welcome Roderick Bradford as one of the newest members of the Mutual Credit Union family.
For more information about Mutual Credit Union, please follow this link to our webpage. For additional questions, please contact the marketing department at marketing@mutualcu.org or call (601) 636-7523 ext. 1226.
MEMBER: Can you tell me what I can expect to happen if my house goes into foreclosure?
CREDIT UNION: Well, let me first ask you this; are you having trouble paying your mortgage?
M: Not yet. But the holidays are coming up and my credit cards limits are starting to lose the wiggle room I used to count on. So, I’m thinking I’ll just skip my mortgage payment next month. Then, I can use that money for holiday expenses.
CU: You’ll what?
M: I know … it sounds crazy. But you heard right — skip paying the mortgage for a month, maybe two.
CU: (Sigh) You know I am going to have to break the news to you that going this route is never a good idea, don’t you?
M: I know, I know … foreclosure and all that. But tell me what I could expect to happen if I go this route.
CU: Whoa — let’s back up a second here. You’re looking for a way to cover your holiday expenses, right?
M: Yes.
CU: Well, there are much – MUCH – better ways to do that than skipping your mortgage payment!
M: Like what?
CU: First of all, you can try to scale back this year. Take a look at your list of holiday expenses and trim it as much as possible. There’s no need to go deeply into debt just to get through the holidays.
M: I can do that. But even after I cut back on my holiday spending, I’ll definitely have some expenses I can’t afford. Still need some cash. And the mortgage payment …
CU: OK, hear me out. After you cut your budget as much as possible, look into your options for finding the funds to pay for it all.
M: Like what?
CU: Well, for starters, you can take out a personal loan at Mutual Credit Union. Our personal loans feature low interest rates and a reasonable payback plan you can probably afford. You can also choose to open up a Mutual Credit Union credit card with a generous spending limit, but that might not be the smartest move if you’re already pushing your existing credit card limits.
M: I see. Well, the loan might work for this year, but I don’t want to fall into the cycle of taking out an annual loan for the holidays.
U: Mmm hmm. Smart. Paying for expenses with a loan means paying more for your purchases because of the added interest charges.
M: Is there any other way?
CU: Actually, there is. You can open a Mutual Credit Union Christmas Club Account to help pay for your holiday expenses.
M: A Christmas Club Account? What’s that?
CU: It’s a way for you to cover your holiday expenses in an affordable manner.
M: Through another account at the credit union?
CU: Yes, but this is one is built especially for the holidays.
M: How’s that?
CU: Your Mutual Credit Union Christmas Club Account is a savings account we created to help you better finance your holidays. You’ll contribute a little bit to the account throughout the year so that you’re planning ahead for these expenses instead of being hit with a mountain of bills each January.
M: So I keep this money in the account and add to it all year until the holidays?
CU: That’s right. There’s a penalty for withdrawing your funds more than twice in a twelve month period of time, so you’ll want to keep the money in the account until the holiday shopping season begins.
M: That makes sense.
CU: Yes, it does. A Christmas club account is a way for you to plan for the holidays responsibly.
M: It sounds amazing. My holiday expenses will be so much more manageable when they’re spread across the entire year.
CU: Exactly. And don’t forget the dividends!
M: Dividends?
CU: Yes. Instead of being charged interest by a credit card issuer or a lender for the privilege of borrowing to pay for your purchases, the money you save will earn dividends so it actually grows.
M: Wow! Why didn’t I think of this?
CU: That’s what we’re here for! The current APY rates on a Mutual Credit Union Holiday Club Account can be found by visiting mutualcu.org. Your money will grow just by being here.
M: Wow! Is there a minimum balance for opening a holiday club account?
CU: There is a minimum, but it’s very reasonable, at just $10. We understand that you’ll be saving up for the holidays all year, so you might not have a large sum to work with when you first open the account.
M: This sounds fantastic! I’ll be putting away money for the holiday season all year, and when it’s time to hit the shops, I’ll have the funds I need waiting for me in my Christmas club account. No more Santa shock in January! And my money will be growing all this time, too.
CU: Doesn’t this beat going into foreclosure?
M: You bet! Where do I sign up?
Interested in opening a Christmas Club Account? Visit mutualcu.org 24/7 for complete details.
Rosemarie Groner knows what it’s like when your financial aspirations are in conflict with your personality. After all, she’s been there herself.
When Groner left her job as a state trooper to be a full-time mom, her family had spent its way into $30,000 of debt. By her own admission, most of her financial mess could be attributed to the family’s disorganized lifestyle.
“We spent a fortune in groceries,” she writes on her blog, “only to let them rot in the fridge when we got busy and had to eat out. Our sink was always piled high with dishes, making it hard to cook at home, and we tried everything to stop spending so much money only to fail time and time again.”
After lots of frustrating trial and error, Groner and her husband, Jon, finally discovered a strategy for organizing their lives and their finances and pulling themselves out of debt. Through her self-developed 90 Day Budget Bootcamp, the Groners learned that budgeting and efficient home management cannot be separated. By focusing on improving home management, they successfully paid off $30,000-plus in debt and slashed the family’s annual spending by more than $23,000, all while finding a way to make up for the lost income upon leaving Rosemary Groner leaving her job.
When she had reached her goal, she was so ecstatic with her newly organized home, life and finances, that she launched a blog, The Busy Budgeter, to share all her newly discovered wisdom. The blog exploded and has been visited by 18 million readers since its launch in 2014. Through her insightful posts on all things financial, and her tried-and-true system for home and life organization, hundreds of thousands of followers have pulled themselves out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and have started living financially responsible lives.
The Busy Budgeter focuses on organization and home management, and aids those who find it impossible to create a budget, track monthly expenses and stick to a spending plan. Through Rosemarie Groner’s innovative tips and strategies, the chronically disorganized can learn the secrets of successful home management and budgeting.
Blog visitors can choose from a wide variety of trending posts to read, like How to Play Pickleball: A Budget-Friendly Game and How to Quit a Job You Hate. Topics also include How to Budget; Organization; Easy Meals and Make Money. Tips and tricks are always presented in a down-to-earth language, making for easy reading and almost effortless implementation.
For visitors looking for more intensive training, the free 90 Day Budget Bootcamp is the perfect beginner’s guide toward organized living and budgeting. Participants receive a daily challenge to help them make small yet significant changes in their daily routines.
Groner also offers several paid courses to teach participants how to transform their homes and their budgets with organized, efficient systems.
As she says, “[T]here is absolutely nothing standing between you and a life with less stress, constant money wins instead of fails and a house that you’re excited to come home to.”
Do you want to be an outstanding homemaker and budgeter? Check out Groner’’s blog and follow her on Facebook and Twitter to learn the Busy Budgeter’s secrets.
Your Turn: Are you a Busy Budgeter follower? Tell us in the comments how you’ve applied the advice in your own life.
