EPEFCU

Black Friday Deals

Revenue generated by retailers during the holidays accounts for 20 percent of their annual income each year. And this year, retailers are getting an early start. Many will be opening their doors tonight rather than waiting for November 25^th. If you’re gearing up to start your holiday shopping this Black Friday, make sure you do your homework.

According to Yahoo, Macy’s, Khols, GAP, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Target will open their doors at Midnight while Wal-Mart will begin offering many Black Friday deals beginning at 10 PM. Electronics deals will start at midnight, including over $100 off an Xbox360 game console, according to an article published by abcnews.com. 

Target has also announced that it will price match any item within seven days of purchase however you must bring in your receipt and competitor advertisement to receive the price adjustment.

But great prices aren’t the only thing retail stores will be dangling in front of customers to get them in the doors. Some retail giants like Old Navy and J.C. Penny are pulling out all the stops, offering a limited number of customer’s free goodies. Be one of the first to snag a Kodak EasyShare Sports Digital Camera if you purchase at least $40 in merchandise at J.C. Penny. Or, head on over to Sears, where free Thomas Kinkade ornaments will be handed out to the first 200 shoppers to purchase clothing or intimates.

If you have a Smartphone make sure to take advantage of applications that allow you to compare prices while you shop. Doing your research can help you save even more this holiday season, check out eBay’s ‘Red Laser’ app or Amazon’s ‘Price Check’ app.

Bottom Line: It’s easy to get carried away with so many stores enticing us left and right this holiday season so it’s important to do your research and make sure you not only set a budget in place before hitting the stores, but have a plan in place as well.

Celebrate With Us!

As the cold weather nears, El Paso Employees Federal Credit Union is looking forward to the Celebration of Lights this December. For the first time last year, EPEFCU became the sole sponsor of the downtown tree lighting festivities, adding to the merriment a fireworks display, light show, the El Paso Employees float bearing Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and unveiling the celebration's new name, the Celebration of Lights. We look forward to another fantastic celebration this year. Click here to listen to a podcast featuring Ken Walters, President and CEO of El Paso Employees Federal Credit Union, speak about the upcoming celebration. We hope to see you there!

 

 

Join Us On Our Float!

This December, the El Paso Employees Federal Credit Union float will once again be present during the Celebration of Lights parade as we sponsor the 2011 event.

Last year, Alice Sanchez and her daughter joined the EPEFCU staff on-board as our float cruised down the streets of downtown El Paso. Riding on the float was an incredibly exciting experience, one we're sure she and her daughter will always remember.

This year we’d like to once again give a lucky member the chance to ride our float! Are you interested in being a passenger with the El Paso Employees Credit Union staff? If you'd like to hop on-board our float this holiday, leave a comment below or on our Facebook page and tell us why you’d like to be a passenger with us this year. Then, we will randomly select a winner which will be announced via our social media sites in December.  Make sure to post your comment before December 1st! Good luck! Remember that you must be 18 years or older to win.

Click here to view pictures of last year's Thanksgiving parade!

Bank Transfer Day

Big banks have been making headlines lately with news to begin introducing additional fees to their customers. Monday, Bank of America announced that it will no longer implement the proposed debit card fee following in the footsteps of many other larger banks such as Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase which have also dropped plans to impose similar charges. The damage however seems to be done.  In response to these actions, and many people have come together to form what is being called Bank Transfer Day.

According to Wikipedia, Bank Transfer Day is a consumer activism initiative calling for a voluntary switch from commercial banks to not-for-profit credit unions by November 5, 2011. Since the creation of this movement, a Bank Transfer Day Facebook page has emerged generating a following of more than 35,000 people.

Still, many people who don’t belong to credit unions are under the misconception that they are only for a certain segment of the population. For example, many in El Paso believe that in order to be a member of El Paso Employees Federal Credit Union, one must work for the city of El Paso. While this may have been true 75 years ago, EPEFCU has since become a community chartered credit union, meaning that anyone who lives, works or worships in the city is eligible for membership and can sign up for a FREE checking account.

There are many more differences between banks and credit unions, below is a list of some that you might want to consider if you’re thinking of participating in Bank Transfer Day.

1. Credit unions are locally based and therefore can make decisions locally.

2. Credit unions are not-for-profit. This means that surplus earnings are returned to members often in the form of higher rates on savings and lower rates on loans and credit cards. Banks on the other hand are profit driven.

3. Credit unions are member owned. When you make a deposit into a credit union you are buying a membership and decisions at the credit union are made by a voluntary board of directors chosen by the members. Decisions are made based on what is best for the entire membership of the credit union. Banks however are run by small groups of shareholders. This paid panel of directors makes all of the decisions, leaving customers without any say in how the bank is run. In the banks case, decisions are based on what is best for the small group of shareholders or investors.

So head on over to your local credit union and start earning more for your money. If you’re interested in joining a credit union, visit culookup.com and find out which credit union is located in your community.

 

 

 

Federally Insured by NCUA