In 2000, the U.S. savings rate declined from a high of 8% in 1991 to a negative 0.4%.Surrounded by advertising and a cultural pressure to spend money, it is easy to see where this dangerous trend is heading. Alternatives Federal Credit Union is working to increase savings with financial education programs for students and adults.

Families spend money together on many things, but rarely do they save money together. When saving does happen, it often occurs individually and out of sight. The covert aspect of saving makes it appear less important than the spending we demonstrate on a regular basis. Alternatives teaches that making savings regular and obvious will increase its significance in your family.

In Alternatives money management course, Money Wise, participants say they did not grow up with a savings habit. In some homes money was never discussed. In others, it was a source of tension and associated with parents fighting. Now they have grown up without regular savings and find themselves working paycheck to paycheck with large credit card debt, struggling to make ends meet.

In response to the lack of financial education for youth, Alternatives has created the Student Credit Union. In addition to helping students make savings a regular part of their week, we want students to grow up with an understanding of financial services and how to use them responsibly. The Student Credit Union helps students learn how to manage checking accounts, VISA cards, and pay off loans. We can’t afford to wait until our students leave home to discover money management the hard way. Until science finds a human gene that understands personal finance, we know it must be learned!

When saving becomes just as much a habit as brushing teeth, going to school, or getting dressed, it becomes a habit difficult to break. Not only is this habit a good one, is pays off...literally! To make saving easy, the Student Credit Union has branches in areas schools, offers a savings account with a higher interest rate than a regular Alternatives’ account and requires a minimum deposit of only $1.00 to earn interest. We are not concerned with the amount of deposit, only the habit that is being created. As savings grow, students begin to really see how “time equals money”, and that lesson is invaluable.

We have student branches at Ithaca High School, Alternative Community School, Boynton Middle School and soon to be at Beverly J. Martin Elementary school. Students are trained as tellers and learn about the operations of the Credit Union.

Graduates of our program are constantly amazed at how much more they know about financial services than their peers in college. They find themselves helping their friends open checking accounts and pay bills. These youth are a lot less likely to fall into the trap of credit card debt.

For more information on Money Wise or the Student Credit Union, please contact Joe Cummins at joe@alternatives.org or 216-3429.