405.722.2234 • 800.324.8259oecu.com

OECU HolidaysMay 25th — Memorial Day

EventsApril: Wild About Saving ~ National Credit Union Youth Month

May 4-8th: Teacher Appreciation Week

May 8th: Teacher Appreciation Day (all branches)

June 5th: 2015 Teacher Grant Deadline

TEACHER GRANT DEADLINE: FRIDAY, JUNE 5TH

In 2000, Oklahoma Educators Credit Union developed the Teacher Grant Program.

“We support educators and their efforts to bring imaginative and in-novative learning projects to their classrooms,” Cindy White, OECU President said. “That’s why we began our Teacher Grant Program; it’s our way to help Oklahoma teachers bring new projects to life.”

Since the program’s inception, Okla-homa Educators Credit Union has awarded over $200,000.00 to Oklaho-ma teachers through its Teacher Grant Program.

In 2014, 105 applications were re-ceived and reviewed by our Grants Committee with 64 grants being awarded.

Deborah Baak, a teacher at West-fall Elementary School in Choctaw/Nicoma Park School District, used her 2014 grant funds to purchase a document camera which has helped bring a whole new understanding of geography to her students.

“I have tried for years to use these maps running to each student who would get lost or needed help. With my document camera, not only was the activity fun, the discussion was inspired and the excitement for our future studies contagious! My OECU grant has enabled me to us the mate-rials I have in a much more efficient and effective manner. I can’t thank you enough. I have no doubt that my student’s learning has been greatly impacted by the addition of this tool in my room.”

ALL Grant applications for 2015 are due on June 5, 2015. Grants will be awarded during our Grant Presenta-tion Reception in late August.

The Teacher Grant Application is available at oecu.com under the ap-plication section. Teachers, please share this with your colleagues!

2015 2nd Quarter

Saving Tips to Help You Create a

Safety Net

Children can learn money skills as early as age 3! Here are just a few tips to help young credit union surfer savers Catch the Save Wave™:

• Have young children—preschool age—sort different types of money into piles by color and size.

• At the grocery store, let youth of all ages help you shop. Teach them how to comparison shop. For example, show them that for every $4.85 box of cereal, there may be similar brands on sale for half as much.

• If you decide to pay an allowance, include youth in the decision-making process. Discuss allowance amounts and expectations. One idea is to have children set aside part of their allowance for spending, part for saving, and part for sharing or charity.

• As youth reach high school age, reexamine the rules. Clar-ify what you will pay for and what your teenager is respon-sible for. For example, your teenager may want the newest cell phone that comes with a high price tag, so establish your spending limit. If she still wants the more expensive version, have her make up the difference. Oftentimes, once the responsibility of paying for items is on the teenager, the "latest and greatest" isn’t so important.

Get youth started on the right track financially. Bring them in to Oklahoma Educators Credit Union —we have more ideas and accounts from savings to checking to help you raise children to be financially savvy young adults.

Celebrate Youth Credit Union Month

Wild About Saving

Living life without any savings is like jumping out of a plane without a parachute. Setting aside money is key to getting through an emergency, such as an unexpected car or home repair, without going into debt. Having the safety net of a healthy savings account not only helps with surprise ex-penses but makes it easier to prepare for vacations or save for other big purchases.

Creating a Savings PlanIt’s not easy to save money if you aren’t living on a budget. Creating a basic budget allows you to see precisely how much money is going in and how much is going out, making it easier to determine how much you can afford to save.

It helps to designate a specific amount of money to save each month and add that to your budget like any other recurring expense. If you’re likely to forget to transfer money to sav-ings, set up an automatic direct deposit from your paycheck into your account every month. Your savings will add up quickly if you make it a regular habit.

Savings OptionsThe most common place to put your money is a traditional savings account, which helps you keep the funds separate from your checking account. Oklahoma Educators Credit Union offer savings accounts that earn interest on the bal-ance as an extra incentive. Just be aware that unlike a check-ing account, savings accounts have limits on how many free transfers or withdrawals you can make. Savings accounts are ideal if you want to have an emergency fund or save up for a purchase.

Having savings is necessary to protect yourself from emer-gencies or plan for large purchases without going into debt, and a savings account or share certificate can help you reach your financial goals.

Be Safe & Secure This Storm Season

STORM SHELTERSIt's not too early to install a storm shelter and Oklahoma storm season is right around the corner. OECU wants to ensure our members have the opportunity to make their families safe and secure with great Storm Shel-ter loan financing.

Two years ago, there were seven weather and climate disaster events with losses exceed-ing $1 billion EACH across the United States, including the EF-5 that struck Moore. These events killed 109 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted. Many in the im-pacted areas said they did not have a plan and were caught unprepared.

Be prepared and apply for a storm shelter loan today. Oklahoma Educators Credit Union has storm shelter loan rates as low as 2.99% APR*. Also, as an OECU member, you receive $100 off your Storm Shelter if you purchase it from Oklahoma Shelters (405.973.4149).

Contact an OECU Loan Officer at 405.722.2234 or 800.324.8259 or apply online at oecu.com.

*Annual Percentage Rate. Certain terms and conditions may apply. Rates based on bor-rower's credit worthiness. Not all applicants will qualify for the lowest rate. We reserve the right to modify or cancel this promotion at any time.

Credit Corner

There are a number of good reasons to take out a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). A few examples are: home improvement; debt consolidation to reduce overall inter-est costs; and the creation of an available fund, so that you won't have to deplete other financial assets in an unforeseen emergency.

What About Rates?

The interest rates on home equity loans vary, and are typical-ly higher than those paid on a first mortgage. Interest rates can vary dramatically depending on the amount borrowed, the amount of equity remaining in your home after the loan is taken out, and your credit score.

Rates can run anywhere from approximately 1% to nearly 7% higher than a first mortgage. Lower rates are associated with higher loan amounts, higher credit scores and more equity remaining available, or combined loan(s) to the ap-praised value of your home, after the loan is closed.

Everything You Need to Know About HELOCs

HELOCs offer tremendous flexibility in that the loan is an open line of credit which you may access at your conve-nience, up to the available limit. Monthly payments and closing costs are determined by your credit union.

Home equity loans are tremendous vehicles for offering ways to help property owners maximize their tax deduc-tions. This is the case because the interest is normally tax deductible for these loans, as compared to consumer loans. You should consult your tax adviser about the de-ductibility of interest paid.

When considering any of these options, the best way to begin is by talking to your credit union. If you have any questions regarding how a home equity loan can benefit you, call us today!

Visa® School Spirit Debit Cards

SHOW OFF YOURSCHOOL SPIRIT

Oklahoma Educators Credit Union

OUTSTANDING ASSOCIATE

One financial product that OECU is really excited about is our School Spirit Debit Card program. We offer six Visa® debit cards that represent - Western Heights, Yukon, Putnam City, Mid-Del, El Reno and Moore school districts.

Here’s what’s so cool about this program – for example: let’s say that you live in the Putnam City school district. If you had an OECU Putnam City Visa® School Spirit Debit Card and used that card to make purchases and pay bills (groceries, clothes, gas, movie dates, etc.), each time you swiped the Putnam City School Spirit Debit Card, OECU would give money back to the Putnam City school district.

OECU has been doing this for a while – we’ve given hundreds of dollars to local school districts as part of our School Spirit Debit Card program. It’s a great way for OECU to support our local school districts.

You could start helping us give back even more to your local school district by requesting a School Spirit Debit Card at your local branch. The debit card is free to any OECU member with a checking account - get yours TODAY!

Blair Olvera, Member Service Representative Supervisor at the Yukon branch has been named Oklahoma Educators Credit Union’s Outstanding Associate for the first quarter of 2015.

The Outstanding Associate award is given to a credit union employee who has performed above and beyond normal expec-tations.

Olvera, 27, joined the OECU team in 2012 after working for another local credit union.

Getting to meet new people and helping OECU members with their daily financial needs is just one of the things Ol-vera enjoys about her job. “All of our members have different needs. It’s the ability to take the time to listen and figure out what each individual members needs are and figure out how to help them that I enjoy most,” she said.

When Blair is not at work, she enjoys playing with her daughter, doing crafts and volunteering at her daughter’s school.

BLAIR OLVERA

Federally Insured by NCUA

Oklahoma City4001 N. W. Expressway Oklahoma City, OK 73116

Midwest City1704 S. Air Depot Midwest City, OK 73110

Local (405) 722-2234Toll Free (800) 324-8259Fax (405) 720-5242

Moore2120 Riverwalk Drive Moore, OK 73160

Yukon732 Garth Brooks Blvd. Yukon, OK 73099

Mailing AddressPO Box 22222 Oklahoma City, OK 73123

oecu.com