Last year, the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) published their 2015 ‘Third Level Education Survey'. They asked parents and students about how they plan to meet the costs of third level education.

The results show that 59% of parents expect to get into debt to cover college costs, with €5,030 the average debt per child per college year. The research also shows that parents contribute an average of €453 per child per month, up on last year. With money worries being a big concern for parents and students, we at Skibbereen CU have come up with several tips to help new students to manage their financial needs in this new stage of their lives.

Tip 1: Work out all the new expenses you will have. For many of you, this is your first time living away from home, your first time buying your own groceries, preparing your own meals, paying bills. Without a clear plan in place, you may overspend. It is a good idea to set up a budget to help track your expenses. See our tables below for the average cost of living for college students.

Tip 2: Track your spending and income for a few weeks at the start of the college year. This will give you an idea of your average spending over the year. It will also show you instances where you were overspending and give you opportunities to cut back for the next month.

Tip 3: If you need to borrow, calculate your total borrowing requirement, but don’t draw down the entire loan immediately. This will allow you to maximise your efficiency and avoid overspending. If you are in receipt of a student grant, borrowing each term will also ensure that you need to borrow less.

Tip 4: Always shop around for the best deal. Whether this means doing your shopping in Aldi or Lidl, or buying your textbooks online, it always pays off to look for the best deal. This applies to loans and borrowing too. Always check out the different loans available, the APR and any other charges.

Tip 5: Sometimes, things can be overwhelming and it helps to talk to someone. All colleges have a support structure in place for their students. If you run into any financial difficulties, you can always talk to us at Skibbereen Credit Union.

No Grant Costs

With Full Non-adjacent Grant Costs

Saving for College

It’s time again to start preparing your child for the new school year. While your children might be more pre-occupied with the loss of their free time over the Summer holidays and the prospect of homework, parents will have many big purchasing decisions to make. Last year the ILCU published a survey finding that the cost of a child returning to school to be around €400, and 1 in 20 parents needing to borrow to cover the costs.

Skibbereen Credit Union has some tips to help ease the burden and let you focus at getting your child ready without the stress.

The biggest cost any parent will face each year is the school uniform. We all know that there is a lot or wear and tear when it comes to our children’s clothes, especially with their uniform that they wear 5 days a week. Reducing the cost involved in a uniform can end up saving you a lot of money.

Most school jumpers have a crest on them, so you will need to buy this from the main suppliers, but shirts and trousers can be bought almost anywhere at a fraction of the cost. Shop around for any of the generic uniform items. Ties can also be part of a school uniform, but should last longer as it won’t need to be replaced as your child grows.

Buy a high quality schoolbag. It will last longer, and can be passed down to younger siblings or cousins as your child ages and moves onto secondary school where they’ll need a bigger bag to keep up with their workload.

Buying school stationery in bulk will also save money in the long term. Copybooks and pens don’t have an expiry date, and it’s often cheaper to buy them in bulk than individually.

If you want to set up a savings plan for your child’s education, then Skibbereen Credit Union is the place for you. Call into any of our offices in Skibbereen, Bandon, Schull and Drimoleague to get started.

Creating a Saving Habit is easy with Skibbereen Credit Union. When your child develops a saving habit at a young age, it will stay with them for life. Saving provides a sense of responsibility and independence to a child, and gives them decision-making skills and promotes maturity.
 

Saving money is one of the best ways to teach children to make decisions and act responsibly. Here are our children savings guideline:

• Give your child a savings goal. Let your child pick out a toy or game, and work out how long it will take to save for it. That way, they will have a reward to look forward to when they reach their goal, and will be encouraged to continue saving.

• Give saving advice to children, but let it up to them to decide how to spend their money

• Encourage children to recognise impulse buying. Children do not have the same level of foresight as adults, so explain that a purchase now means they won’t have as much money later.

• Link their pocket money to household chores. Pocket money should be earned, the same way as Mum or Dad earn their money by going to work. By associating money with work, children will be able to put a value on their savings and it might even encourage them to help out around the house more often!

There are many options available to you to help your child save with Skibbereen Credit Union. You can open an account for your child in the same way you opened your own account, or set up a sub-account within your own account. Your child can also use our School Savings Stamps to begin developing their habit. Saving Stamps are available in schools throughout our common bond and cost €1 each. A full book can be exchanged in any of our offices in Skibbereen, Schull and Drimoleague.

Buying a car is often regarded as the second most important purchasing decision in our lives, after buying a home, so it is important to spend time choosing the right type of finance and understand the conditions attached to that finance. Most car dealers offer hire purchase agreements as their car finance loans. Hire purchase differs from a credit union loan in that you do not own your car until you make the final repayment. With a credit union loan, you own your car from day one.

Dealers offer hire purchase agreements through finance companies, who basically rent the car to you in return for a regular repayment over a number of years. Once the last repayment is made, the ownership of the car passes from the finance company to you.
Hire purchase agreements are one of the most inflexible forms of car finance. The interest rate is fixed for the term of the agreement and all the interest is added on from day one.

Typical fees and costs on a hire purchase agreement
The fees and charges on hire purchase agreements can vary, but may include:
• Documentation fees – a fee for setting up the hire purchase agreement
• Interest surcharge for missed repayments – an additional interest charge on any missed repayments
• Penalty fees – for missed or late payments, in addition to interest surcharge
• Completion fee – to facilitate transfer of ownership of the car to you
• Repossession charge – a fee for repossessing the car
• Rescheduling charge – a fee for changing the loan terms
• Balloon payment – a large repayment at the end of some hire purchase agreements

Skibbereen Credit Union Car Loan
• You own your car from day one
• You can sell your car at any time
• You can borrow for the full amount of the car, or borrow more to cover insurance, tax, etc
• There are no hidden fees, admin charges, transaction charges, set up costs or balloon payments
• Repayments are calculated on your reducing balance, so you pay less interest with each repayment
• You can pay off your loan early without any fees or charges
• Increased repayments will reduce your interest repayments
• If you need to reschedule your loan, we can work with you to adjust your repayments
• Your loan is insured at no direct cost to you, thereby protecting your family

With the 162 car market about to kick off, Skibbereen Credit Union offers a New Car Loan rate of 5.99% (6.2%APR), one of the cheapest rates in the marketplace to own your own car. We encourage you to compare our rates to what car dealers offer. You’ll find our rates and terms very competitive. It’s easy to apply: call into our office, talk to us over the phone, or complete your application online at www.skibbereencu.ie. Happy driving!

Electronic banking, also known as electronic fund transfer (EFT), uses computer and electronic technology in place of checks and other paper transactions. You probably already use some types of EFTs without realising. For example, getting your wages paid into your bank account directly is a form of EFT. EFTs allow you to process regular, recurring payments in or out of your account automatically.

Direct debits lets you authorize specific payments — like loan repayments or savings — into your account on a regular basis. You can also pre-authorize direct withdrawals from your account so that recurring bills — like insurance premiums, mortgages, utility bills— are paid automatically. These payments can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly, or whatever suits your payment schedule.

Direct debits can be used to pay regular amounts known to you, like a loan repayment, or irregular amounts like your electricity bill that changes based on your usage each month. You can set up a direct debit in Skibbereen Credit Union at any time, just bring along the BIC and IBAN for the account your payments are coming from. We can also provide you with a BIC and IBAN for your own account in the credit union.

Online Banking lets you handle many banking transactions using your own computer, phone or tablet. For example, you can request transfers between accounts and pay bills electronically. This is especially useful for one-off payments from your account. You can sign up for online banking at www.skibbereencu.ie.

E-Cheques allow you to transfer money from an account in one financial institution to another, without physically visiting both institutions. These can be done online or in person. There are many advantages to doing this over cheques, or even cash. First of all, a cheque can take up to 10 days to clear, depending on the financial institution, so the funds will not be readily available to you immediately. With an e-cheque, the funds are transferred electronically, a process which normally takes 2-3 working days. E-cheques can also be more secure for moving large sums of money, as you don’t run the risk of losing your cash in transit, or a cheque getting lost in the post. There is no risk of an e-cheque bouncing, as the funds must be in your account to send it.

Some banks charge for these types of transactions, but in general they are cheaper than making cash transactions in a bank branch.  With Skibbereen Credit Union, there are no charges for any transactions, so sending money by EFT with us can save you time and money. You can ask any member of staff for more information.

Skibbereen Credit Union is a proud supporter of our local community. Not only do we support the people of West Cork by providing savings and competitive lending, we also support local organisations through sponsorship. This year, we call on all the people of West Cork to continue to support their community by shopping locally, and here we provide our Top 10 Reasons why local is better.

1. It stimulates the local economy

When you buy something from a local business in West Cork, instead of from an international company or online, your money stays in the community and stimulates the local economy. Local businesses will buy from other local businesses and service providers, which in turn adds to growth and job creation in West Cork.

2. Local Charities Reap the Rewards

Many West Cork charities rely on donations from local businesses. When local businesses are doing well, they are able to donate more to local charities that help our community.

3. Unique West Cork Businesses Create Character

By supporting local businesses, you are creating an opportunity for unique business to grow and prosper. This adds character to our community, and acts as a great incentive for more people to visit and shop in the area.

4. It’s Good for our Environment

Shopping local means less travel over long distances, which means less cars on the road, which reduces the impact on the environment. Many local businesses are situated in a central location, which means you can park the car and still have easy access to everywhere you need to go in one trip!

5. It Generates New Jobs

Supporting local businesses helps to create and maintain job. When we shop in local businesses, local businesses need to hire more people to keep up with demand. Every jobs created in West Cork means one less person emigrating.

6. Excellent Local Customer Service

A local business owner will be far more passionate about their work and serving the needs of the local community than a large company with headquarters overseas. As a result, you will find better customer service and a more personal approach with more familiar faces.

7. Local Business Owners Invest In Local Community

Local businesses are owned and run by people with a vested interest in the community. Supporting local businesses means that they will invest in the community, making West Cork a better place for people to live and work in.

8. Benefits outweigh Costs

Local businesses require comparatively little infrastructure compared to the larger chain stores and big businesses. The cost of setting up a small local business to the public is generally a lot less than setting up a large chain store. Smaller stores can set up in existing buildings, meaning less empty premises in our towns, and are far quicker to open than a large store that needs a new building constructed – which also leads to increased traffic and noise during construction.

9. Competition and Diversity Leads To Better Choice

One large shop with a monopoly will have less choice than several smaller ones. A community with a large number of small local businesses allows for more competition to help keep prices fair and provide a wider choice of products and services to local consumers.

10. You Matter

At Skibbereen Credit Union, our members matter. This applies to local businesses too. Each customer is important to a local business, so local businesses value their customers more than large chain stores and will respond to your needs and desires to create a wonderful local shopping experience for the entire community.

Thinking of changing banks? Read our guide on how to Switch your Bank Account  

Switching banks may seem like a lot of work, but with Skibbereen Credit Union's guide to Switching your Bank Account, you only need to worry about which bank has the lowest fees. Our guide has all the steps you need to follow to ensure a hassle-free transfer of your savings to a new bank with lower fees and better savings rates.

Step 1: Pick a new bank

Research the different current account options available to you. There are several websites available which give advice on how to choose an account and compare the fees and charges of various financial institutions(bonkers.ie, consumerhelp.ie).

Once you have decided on a bank, you can contact them directly, either online or in person.  Your new bank may provide you with a switching pack, which is available in the branch or on their website. A switching pack contains information on the current accounts that the bank offers and a guide on how to switch accounts. 

Step 2: Pick a switching date

Your new bank will help you to decide on a date to begin the switching process. It is important to pick a date during the month with the least activity on your account. Try to avoid dates where money is automatically paid in or out of your account.

At this point, you will also need to decide if you want to keep your old account open or to close it. You can keep your old account open if you are not sure that all payment details have been changed to your new account. However, if you keep your old account open, you will be liable for any charges or interest rates that apply.

Step 3: Complete an account transfer form

You will need to complete an account transfer form for your new bank. This involves providing the details of your old bank account and your new bank account, and gives authorisation for your old bank to supply your new bank with details of your direct debits and standing orders, to help make the switching process smoother. The balance on your old account will be also transferred to your new account. 

Your old bank will provide you and your new bank with a copy of your direct debit and standing order details. You can use this to ensure that all payments from your account have been transferred correctly.

You must give your new account details to anyone that pays money into your bank account, e.g. wages. Your new bank cannot do this for you, but may give you information on what details you need to provide.

Step 4: Switch!

Your new account will be up and running within 10 working days of the switching date you selected. If you left your old account open, keep an eye on it for the next 30 days. If there has been no activity on it during this time, i.e. automated payments, then you can have the remaining balance transferred to your new account before closing the old one.

When you do close your old account, avoid using your old cheque books and bank cards after you receive your new ones. Cut your old bank cards in half and return them along with your old cheque books to your old bank. You will receive a refund of Government Duty on any unused cheques.

Remember that banks aren't the only financial institutions around. Skibbereen Credit Union already offers most of the services that a bank does, (including direct debits and online banking) and we are committed to providing a friendly and professional service to all our members. You can visit our website for more information on membership or call into one of our offices in Skibbereen, Schull or Drimoleague to talk about becoming a member.

When your child develops a saving habit at a young age, it will stay with them for life. Saving provides a sense of responsibility and independence to a child, and gives them decision-making skills and promotes maturity.

Saving money is one of the best ways to teach children to make decisions and act responsibly. Here are our children savings guideline:

Give your child a savings goal

Let your child pick out a toy or game, and work out how long it will take to save for it. That way, they will have a reward to look forward to when they reach their goal, and will be encouraged to continue saving.

Give saving advice to children

but let it up to them to decide how to spend their money

Encourage children to recognise impulse buying

Children do not have the same level of foresight as adults, so explain that a purchase now means they won’t have as much money later.

Link their pocket money to household chores 

Pocket money should be earned, the same way as Mum or Dad earn their money by going to work. By associating money with work, children will be able to put a value on their savings and it might even encourage them to help out around the house more often!

There are many options available to you to help your child save with Skibbereen Credit Union. You can open an account for your child in the same way you opened your own account, or set up a sub-account within your own account. Your child can also use our School Savings Stamps to begin developing their habit. Saving Stamps are available in schools throughout our common bond and cost €1 each. A full book can be exchanged in any of our offices in Skibbereen, Schull and Drimoleague.

Budgeting need not result in stress and debt. Looking at your finances will help you to see exactly where your money is going and put you on the path to managing your money more effectively.

Most of us find budgeting boring, but it is absolutely essential. To put it simply, a budget is a plan of the money you expect to receive and how you expect to spend it.

A proper budget should show you three things:

1.       How much money you have coming in
2.       How much money you are spending
3.       How much money you can afford to repay to those you owe

With these three points in mind, you can now focus on a plan for how to manage your future spending.

Skibbereen Credit Union has put together some tips for Managing Your Money in 2015.

Track

Keep track of your spending. Use our Budget App to record all your spending and income. It will show you where your money is going and help you keep up-to-date with your spending habits.

Budget

After using our Budget App to record your income and expenditure for a short time, a personalised budget will be created for you. You can adjust this budget each month if needed, but remember to be realistic and include everything.

Save

Get into the habit of saving. Try to save some of your income for any unexpected spending.

Be Prudent

Shop around to get the best deals. Use cost comparison websites like chill.ie to get the best deal on your insurance.

Borrow

Everyone runs a little short sometimes. If you do have to take out a loan, you should only borrow what you can afford to repay. Best advice is to stay away from credit cards and definitely avoid moneylenders. There are many benefits to a loan from Skibbereen Credit Union. Speak to a member of our staff if you have any questions and we’ll help you make the best decision.

The three things that make credit unions  stand out from other financial organisations is our community ownership structure, service to members ,  and social responsibility. These are the three pillars that are embedded in our culture and support everything we do.

Community Ownership

Credit unions are owned and managed by the members in the community. Credit unions were built out of the self- help ethos where people in the community come together to save and thereby enable others in the community to borrow to achieve their financial goals. This ownership allows members have a voice in building a better community for themselves and their children by cooperating for a greater good

Service to Members

People aren’t just customers they are members .They are people who grew up together ,played  together , prayed together ,they are ,friends , neighbours, cousins They are family and community . Community  is  made up of the values we all share that connects us all at a human level and  define us as a community. The credit unions dedicated to supporting these values of integrity,self help and  improving the economic well-being of all by encouraging thrift through savings and thus provide loans and other services.

Social  responsibility

Credit unions seek to bring about human and social development. Their vision of social justice extends both to the individual members and to the larger community Credit unions actively promote the education of their members,  in the economic, social, democratic, and mutual self-help principles of credit unions

Survey

These principles support how credit unions do business  and their success was demonstrated in a recent survey  carried out by Amárach Research for the Irish League of Credit Unions and was published last August

Credit unions are becoming a more relevant to people's needs than the large financial institutions, the results of a recent survey reveal.

Of those surveyed, 79% said that they were unhappy with the service provided by their bank, and more than two thirds believed that credit unions had an important role to play in economic recovery.

The results also show that, in a time of branch closures and other cutbacks by the main banks, people greatly value the 'face to face' interaction provided by their local credit union. In fact, 95% of the respondents said that such a personal approach is what they sought most.

Other findings by the survey include:

• 65% of those surveyed in the Republic are credit union members,
• In the Republic, membership is spread across all age and socio-demographic groupings,
• The principal reasons people join a credit union include family tradition, ease of obtaining loans and the way members can save.
• Credit unions are perceived by members and non-members to be stronger financially than the banks.
• Almost all believe that credit union services have improved or remained consistent, unlike other financial institutions.

These findings underline the unique role of credit unions in this country, and should be noted by those who would seek to place legislative restrictions on their potential for growth.  They also show that credit unions can thrive in adversity and contribute in a huge way to the future of the country. There are many challenges ahead, including an expansion of services if the movement is to compete as an alternative banking system—but, as the survey demonstrates, the foundations for the future are securely in place.