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Page 1: CCCS of Buffalo NEWSto enjoy it to the fullest without financial distress before, during, or after. First and foremost planning for a vacation should start with setting an overall

SUMMER 2016

This newsletter is a publication of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo, Inc., a not-for-profit agency. It is provided as a

source of information for clients, sponsors, representatives of the credit industry and the

human service networks supportive of the mission and vision of CCCS.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo, Inc.

40 Gardenville Pkwy., Suite 300West Seneca, NY 14224716-712-2060 [phone]

800-926-9685 [toll free]716-712-2079 [fax]

[email protected]

Twitter:@CCCSbuffalo

CCCS Main Office 40 Gardenville Parkway West Seneca, NY 14224

Dale Association 33 Ontario Street

Lockport, NY 14094

Evans Bank 2800 Niagara Falls Boulevard

Tonawanda, NY 14150

Family & Children’s Service of Niagara

1522 Main Street Niagara Falls, NY 14305

Key Bank 306 West Ferry Street

Buffalo, NY 14213

M&T Bank 750 Main Street

Niagara Falls, NY 14301

Veteran’s One-stop Center 1280 Main Street, 2nd Floor

Buffalo, NY 14209

Veterans Outreach Center 403 Main Street, Suite 320

Buffalo, NY 14203

Community Counseling Centers:Please call

716-712-2060 to schedule an appointment

at any of our locations:

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CCCS of Buffalo NEWS Now Offering First-time Homebuyer Education CoursesBy Lisa Frankenberger

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo, Inc. is excited to announce our

expanded involvement with Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Education.

We’ve become an approved Homebuyer Education Provider through the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. This allows us to provide homebuyer education counseling for individuals who enroll in the First Home Club Program, a down payment/closing cost assistance savings program available to first-time home buyers.

CCCS offers a homebuyer education course which covers topics such as becoming financially ready to

buy a home, managing a budget, understanding credit, the process of obtaining a mortgage, and shopping for a home. The course is offered periodically throughout the year in a workshop setting

and also available to take online at any time. For more information, call 716-712-2060.

We understand that purchasing a home

can be a very exciting time, as well as a newfound responsibility in one’s life. Whether someone is a first-time homebuyer or just looking to become more educated about homeownership, we can help them prepare.

Please join us for our next workshop on Saturday, July 16th, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Register for the workshop by calling 716-712-2060 or by visiting us online at www.consumercreditbuffalo.org.

Lisa Frankenberger

Page 2: CCCS of Buffalo NEWSto enjoy it to the fullest without financial distress before, during, or after. First and foremost planning for a vacation should start with setting an overall

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo, Inc. Summer 2016– 2 –

By Geoff Williams, US News & World Report, June 3, 2016

If you’re buried in credit card debt and can’t make your payments, you may have wondered if you should tap a

credit counseling service. And you may

well need one.But what you may not realize is that

these days, credit counseling services do far more than help consumers with credit card bills. In recent years, the scope of

Booted by Your Bank? Up to Your Ears in Student Loans? Help Awaits.

Beyond Debt: Other Ways Credit Counselors Can Help Consumers

their offering has expanded and evolved. If you have a money problem, chances are, a credit counseling service can help you.

That doesn’t mean you should drop everything and seek one out automatically.

While credit counseling services are nonprofits, they do charge money for many of their offerings, although your first introductory meeting should be free. What’s more, not every credit counseling service is on the up and up. Generally, a good rule of thumb is to find out whether the service you’re eyeing is a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, or NFCC, or the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies, or AICCCA.

In any case, if you feel you need help with your

finances, these are some of the services credit counselors frequently offer—beyond helping you whittle down your credit card debt.

Student loan counseling.

According to Edvisors.com, which offers information about college financial aid, on average, each member of the class of 2015 graduated with $35,051 in student debt. That may not be so bad if you land a well-paying job, but that could really weigh you down if you don’t. Which is how many credit counseling services have come to include student loan counseling as one of their offerings.

Financial coaching. You could argue that all a credit counseling service does is offer financial coaching, but the field has become much more specialized than it used to be. Many credit counseling services offer free financial advice to members of the military, some of whom historically have had trouble adjusting their finances to the civilian world. There are programs for the Hispanic community, and many nonprofits have homeownership education programs, post-bankruptcy programs and even programs to help children become more financially savvy.

In other words, if you fear you’re financially in over your head, and you’re mulling over the idea of going to a credit counseling service, now’s the time. You probably don’t want to discover what might happen if you wait until later.

The full article can be read at: http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2016-06-03/beyond-debt-3-other-ways-credit-counselors-can-help-consumers

Page 3: CCCS of Buffalo NEWSto enjoy it to the fullest without financial distress before, during, or after. First and foremost planning for a vacation should start with setting an overall

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo, Inc. Summer 2016– 3 –

Vacationing on a BudgetBy Robert Dunn

Many individuals have varying financial goals, but often an annual vacation or trip with

family top the list of most. Of course they don’t just happen

with the snap of a finger. Vacations take financial planning, budgeting, savings, and research and creativity for finding affordable transportation, accommodations, and activities upon arrival. Vacations are well-deserved treats that are the result of hard work, and with the right preparation you should be able to enjoy it to the fullest without financial distress before, during, or after.

First and foremost planning for a vacation should start with setting an overall budget for the trip. This will allow to you determine how much you need to start systematically saving, ideally for several months up to a year in advance of the trip depending on the anticipated cost.

The total cost can be the most difficult task to accurately estimate as you have to account for all expenses during your vacation, including and not limited to: airfare and transportation, lodging, travel documents, food and groceries, dining out, entertainment, activities, local transportation expenses, souvenirs, and gifts.

After you have determined your allotted budget for the trip, and most importantly begun saving for the adventure, it’s time to shop around for the necessary and most costly travel expenses: airfare and lodging. One thing that appears not to be changing anytime soon is increasing flight prices. With continued rising fuel costs, the era

of cheap travel is over. Although that doesn’t mean you can’t find an affordable flight, or perhaps even a “cheap” one at that. The best way to ensure that you do find an affordable ticket is by booking your reservation well in advance. About two to three months in advance used to be plenty of time, but nowadays you will want to purchase your flight as soon as

you know you want to go. Also, having some flexibility in your dates of travel can help reduce the cost. Flying on weekends is almost always more expensive, and if you can manage to travel on Tuesday through Thursday you will significantly reduce your cost of flying. You will also want to try and avoid holidays if possible as this

is when many people are flying, which drives the prices up.

As for lodging, some of the same rules that apply to flying can be followed in order to find cheaper accommodations. First and foremost though, you need to decide what level of quality lodging you want. Are you looking for somewhere that is simply clean and has a bed to lay

your head at night and take a shower? Or are you looking for somewhere with flat screen TVs, a luxurious pool, and a five-star restaurant downstairs?

Once you decide on the quality of lodging you would like, you can begin your research. In addition to standard lodging accommodations such as hotels and hostels, where you can find potential discounted rooms on websites such as www.priceline.com, take a look at options for renting from owners, such as www.VRBO.com (Vacation Rental By Owner) or www.airbnb.com. These could be great options for saving money, and staying somewhere that will fit your expectations.

As for tips when you arrive at your destination, whether you are traveling locally or internationally, spending more time at “local” spots you will find that you take less of a hit on your wallet. For example, you will find in Europe that most

restaurants near tourist locations (parks, squares, museums, etc.) tend to have far more expensive prices, and likely a subpar quality of food. Invest in a good guidebook of your choice, and learn some secret spots so you can go have fun with the locals—and save money.

Happy travels!

Page 4: CCCS of Buffalo NEWSto enjoy it to the fullest without financial distress before, during, or after. First and foremost planning for a vacation should start with setting an overall

“It has been said that good governance makes for good organization. COA Accreditation confirms that organizations you’re working with have a Board of Directors and leadership that accepts responsibility for organizational and management oversight and ensures that the organization remains mission-driven and true to its values.”

PrESIDENT & CEOPaul C. Atkinson

BOArD OF DIrECTOrSMark J. Mendel – Chairman

Group Vice President, M&T Bank Customer Asset Management

Kevin McNamara – Vice Chairman Chairman, Millington Lockwood, Inc.

John Eagleton – Treasurer Executive Vice President, Evans Bank

Nancy A. Palumbo – Secretary Chief Administrative Officer, People, Inc.

Nancy M. Blaschak CEO, American Red Cross, Finger Lakes/WNY Regions (Ret.)

Phillip C. Hagadorn Regional Manager, Experian (Ret.)

Kathy M. Herod CMB Ops. Support Manager, HSBC Bank USA

Jason Houseman Vice President, Corporate Banking, Citizen’s Bank N.A.

Michael P. Kubala Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo Bank

Nancy LaTulip Vice President, Retail Banking Officer, Lake Shore Savings Bank

Dolores McCarley President, Resource Planning Associates, Inc.

CCCS is a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families & Children (COA), Inc., a member of the Better Business Bureau and is a certified HUD counseling agency.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo, Inc. – 4 – Summer 2016

Dear Clients of CCCS of Buffalo Inc.,

As CCCS, we know you have worked hard to establish your Creditor Repayment Plan and are confident that you want to successfully complete your debt repayment. We commend you for your efforts. The collective mission of our Agency is to provide the best strategies to help you master your credit, and we strive to minimize the social stigma associated with debt.

We understand that even during your journey of paying back your outstanding debt through CCCS it may be easy to find yourself struggling with other debt that you do not have listed on your current Creditor Repayment Plan. We encourage you to take some time and think about contacting Client Support Services to discuss some possible repayment options for that debt with one of our Client Care Specialists.

Our goal is to help you become debt free and that means placing all accounts on your Creditor Repayment Plan. As you already know, a Creditor Repayment Plan has several benefits such as reduced monthly payments, reduced interest rates, and the convenience of simply having one monthly payment to keep track of. Perhaps you left an account off your Creditor Repayment Plan because that particular account was not eligible for one reason or another, but this does not mean that this is still the case. If you contact our office, we will be able to review your account with you and see what options may now be available.

Client Support Services has your best interests in mind and we want to help you reach all your financial goals. Adding new accounts does not necessarily mean that the timeframe will be increased or payments will be higher, and the long term effects will help your financial success.

Please consider adding your outstanding debt! Contact our office; we would love to assist you with all your questions and options.

Sincerely,

Scott LaughlinVP of Community & Creditor Relations

Message from Client Suport Services

Client Support Group, from left: Mark Twarog, Janet Webb, Patty Ann Baker, Scott Laughlin, and Robert Dunn.


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