Inflation has hit all our wallets. The price of food, gas, and housing have risen significantly. And while the inflation rate has recently dropped slightly, we’ve all taken steps to make our money go further, including cutting many of life’s luxuries. From canceling streaming services to cutting out coffee from our favorite coffee house to not going out to eat, all are great ways to make your monthly budget stay in the plus column. However, by cutting everything you enjoy, you’re also cutting many of the things and experiences that make life enjoyable. Here are three ways to cut the financial fat so you can continue enjoying life’s little luxuries.
- Cut paying money to save money.
If your current savings account charges you monthly fees, is it really a savings account? Many traditional savings accounts charge $5 to $8 monthly. And as much as $25 monthly if you have a high-yield savings account and fail to meet the minimum account balance.* That’s $300 a year in fees! How many occasional dinners out could you enjoy with that money? Here’s a better way to save. Our Online Savings account has no maintenance fees. No minimum deposit. And you earn 4.00% APY** with Direct Deposit (3.50% APY with it). It’s a savings account that is also an earnings account. - Cut paying money for your money.
Why pay money to access your money when you can do it for free? ATM fees have risen by 1.5% over the past year, averaging $4.73 per transaction, which is $245 in fees per year if you visit an out-of-network ATM weekly.† That money could pay for your gym membership or favorite video streaming service. Cut the ATM fees. We’re part of a network of more than 30,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide. And if you open either our High Yield Checking or CashBack Checking accounts, you can qualify for up to $10 a month in ATM surcharge rebates. - Cut paying high interest on your credit cards.
Do you know what interest rate you’re paying on your credit card balance? Take a moment to find out. It could be in the mid-20% range or higher! If you can’t pay off your balance every month, your next best defense is to use a low-interest credit card, which could save you hundreds a year. Our Visa® Platinum has no annual fee, and rates start at 10.99% APR.‡ Interest on our Crystal Visa® begins at 12.99% APR§, there’s no annual fee for the first year, and you earn up to 3% cash back on purchases for 12 months. Whichever card you choose, you could cut your interest payments in half compared to your current credit cards. That could be weekly latte money for months. Plus, whether you prefer the Visa® Platinum or Crystal Visa®, for a limited time, we have two special offers that can help you save and earn. Enjoy 0% intro APR+ for the first six months after you open either card. And when you spend $5,000 in the first three months, you’ll receive a $100 statement credit. And now, through September 30, 2024, you’ll earn 5% cash back on gas and grocery purchases with a Crystal Visa®. And earn 5 points for every dollar you spend on gas and groceries when you use your Visa® Platinum.1
Final thoughts.
Inflation may make you think you must eliminate all of life’s little luxuries. But by cutting the financial fat, you can still enjoy the things that bring you joy. For additional ways to manage your money, visit our Financial Education Center or take our Financial Wellness Check to learn about growing wealth more efficiently, avoiding financial pitfalls, and staying on the path to financial freedom.
*Hayes, Marianne, “7 common savings account fees.” Experian.com. 20 June 2023. Accessed 4 June 2024.
**APY = Annual Percentage Yield. APY is the annualized rate based on a compounding period of one year. When the deposited money earns dividends and the accumulated dividends starts earning dividends as well, we are talking about compounding. Fees could reduce the earnings on an account. All yields except Certificate yields are subject to change retroactively to the beginning of the month. Rate bonus for $1,000 monthly Direct Deposit into a Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union Checking Account. No branch or call center access with this account.
†Bennett, René, “How much are ATM fees?” Bankrate.com. 29 February 2024. Accessed 4 June 2024.
‡$100 Bonus for New Credit Cards for: Crystal Visa, Visa Select & Visa Platinum: A $100 (one hundred dollars) bonus will be paid in the form of “Visa Statement Credit” when at least $5,000.00 (five thousand dollars) is spent in purchases within the first 3 months (qualifying period) of the “New” Visa card opening. Bonuses will be paid out within 90 days after the qualification period. Example: If a card is activated on January 1, 2021 and the total of qualifying purchases for the months of January, February and March is at least $5,000, the primary borrower will receive a Bonus of $100 (one hundred dollars) no later than July 1, 2021. Limit of one reward/bonus per member number. Qualifying transactions must “post” to the designated account during the qualified period. All qualifying purchases will count towards the $5,000 in spent purchases unless return for credit of any of the qualifying transactions takes place within 90 days of the end of the qualifying period. Transactions may take two business days from the date of purchase to post. Member must be in good standing to be eligible for bonus. New accounts are subject to FIGFCU approval and all other terms and conditions apply. This offer is valid only for individual account /card holders, is non-transferable and cannot be combined with any other offer. The $100 Bonus is a product promotion sponsored by FIGFCU and may be discontinued at any time. Visa is a registered trademark.
+APR = annual percentage rate. Rates include discounts for Direct Deposit into a Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union Checking Account and Automatic Payment/Folio Deduction. Rates are subject to change at anytime.
Visa Platinum® Credit Card Zero Percent (0%) Introductory Rate Promotion (Effective December 21, 2020)
Zero Percent (0%) Introductory Rate Promotion for purchases, is offered for new FIGFCU Visa Platinum Credit Card account holders. This incentive offer, is not available to those members who are opening a new Visa Platinum® and had an outstanding balance or a closed FIGFCU Zero Percent Loan account and/or had any FIGFCU Visa® Credit Card within the last year. If you are in an introductory rate promotion period, you are not eligible to transfer other loan balances, line of credit balances, credit card account balances or CASH Advance to take advantage of the introductory rate promotion.
The program promotion may be modified, suspended or cancelled or may be changed at any time without notice and without restriction or penalty. Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union reserves the right to change the promotion rates and program retention period from time to time. You will be notified of any expiration or program changes as required by law. Contact Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union for details on applicable conversion to current rate and payment options which are then in effect. At Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union’s sole discretion, the program offering of the program may be terminated, for any reason, including but not limited to a “Rules Violations”, your Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union account is not in good standing or is suspected of fraud, or if you move to another Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union credit card.
This program is void where prohibited or restricted by law. You are responsible for any federal, state, or local taxes.
Effective Offering Dates: Promotion period for Zero Percent (0%) introductory is effective for FIGFCU Visa Platinum® Credit Cards opened beginning December 21, 2020through “until further notice”.
Loss of Introductory APR: We may end your introductory APR and/or apply the Penalty APR if you make a late payment or are Over limit.
Billing Rights: Information on your rights to dispute transactions and how to exercise those rights is provided in the Billing Rights section of the Visa® Credit Card Agreement.
Introductory rate and incentive offers for new Visa® Platinum, are not available to those members who had an outstanding balance on a preexisting or closed FIGFCU Visa Credit Card account and/or had an FIGFCU Visa Credit Card within the last 12 (twelve) months. If you are in an introductory rate promotion, you are not eligible to increase limits until the introductory rate promotion has expired.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS The introductory Annual Percentage Rate (APR) Zero Percent (0%) will apply to purchases made during a promotional period of 6 (six) months from the date of opening of your Visa account. After this promotional period ends, 6 (six) months from the date of activation of your Visa account, your standard APR will apply to any remaining balance and to all new purchases and balance transfers. The terms of this introductory rate may not be applied to existing Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union Visa accounts.
This promotional introductory offer is based on meeting Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union’s criteria for creditworthiness. Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union will review your credit and employment history and any other information permitted by law to process your application. The credit line on this account will be determined after a credit review of your application by Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union and will be based on various factors, including income. FIGFCU maintains the right to not open this account if: a) the information provided is incomplete, inaccurate or cannot be verified, or if you do not meet Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union’s standards for creditworthiness; b) your name and/or mailing address on the credit application have been altered; c) the income you reported on the application is insufficient to support the opening of this account; or d) you do not meet Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union’s membership eligibility or “member in good standing” requirements. You have the right to review your credit history by contacting the appropriate credit reporting agencies.
Change in APRs, Fees and Other Terms: Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union may change the APRs, fees and other terms of your account at any time in accordance with applicable law including the Credit Card Act and the Visa Credit Card Agreement. Factors we may consider in determining whether and how to change your terms include, but are not limited to, a late payment or an extension of credit that exceeds the credit limit, the frequency and severity of defaults and other indications of risk on accounts with Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union and other creditors. To the extent allowed by law, the change in terms will affect all outstanding balances. If we increase your APRs, the new APRs will apply only to new transactions you make after we notify you of the change in writing unless it is for default in terms as outlined above.
§$100 Bonus for New Credit Cards for: Crystal Visa, Select Visa & Visa Platinum: A $100 (one hundred dollars) bonus will be paid in the form of “Visa Statement Credit” when at least $5,000.00 (five thousand dollars) is spent in purchases within the first 3 months (qualifying period) of the “New” Visa card opening. Bonuses will be paid out within 90 days after the qualification period. Example: If a card is activated on January 1, 2021 and the total of qualifying purchases for the months of January, February and March is at least $5,000, the primary borrower will receive a Bonus of $100 (one hundred dollars) no later than July 1, 2021. Limit of one reward/bonus per member number. Qualifying transactions must “post” to the designated account during the qualified period. All qualifying purchases will count towards the $5,000 in spent purchases unless return for credit of any of the qualifying transactions takes place within 90 days of the end of the qualifying period. Transactions may take two business days from the date of purchase to post. Member must be in good standing to be eligible for bonus. New accounts are subject to FIGFCU approval and all other terms and conditions apply. This offer is valid only for individual account /card holders, is non-transferable and cannot be combined with any other offer. The $100 Bonus is a product promotion sponsored by FIGFCU and may be discontinued at any time. Visa is a registered trademark.
Zero Percent (0%) Introductory Rate Promotion is offered on ALL purchases for new FIGFCU Crystal Visa® account holders. If you are in an introductory rate promotion period, you are not eligible to transfer other loan balances, line of credit balances and credit card account balances to take advantage of the introductory rate promotion.
The program promotion may be modified, suspended or cancelled or may be changed at any time without notice and without restriction or penalty. Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union reserves the right to change the promotion rates and program retention period from time to time. You will be notified of any expiration or program changes as required by law. Contact Farmers Insurance Credit Union for details on applicable conversion to current rate and payment options which are then in effect. At Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union’s sole discretion, the promotion offering of the program may be terminated, for any reason, including but not limited to a “Rules Violations”, Your Farmers Insurance Credit Union account is not in good standing or is suspected of fraud, or if you move to another Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union Credit Card.
This program is void where prohibited or restricted by law. You are responsible for any federal, state, or local taxes.
Loss of Introductory APR: We may end your introductory APR and/or apply the Penalty APR if you make a late payment or are Over limit.
Billing Rights: Information on your rights to dispute transactions and how to exercise those rights is provided in the Billing Rights section of the Visa® Credit Card Agreement.
Effective Offering Dates: Promotion period for Zero Percent (0%) introductory is effective for at least the first 6 (six) months from activation of new FIGFCU Crystal Visa® Credit Cards opened beginning July 30, 2020 through “until further notice”.
If you are in an introductory rate promotion, you are not eligible to increase limits until the introductory rate promotion has expired.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS The introductory Annual Percentage Rate (APR) will apply to purchases made during a promotional period of 6 (six) months from the date of opening of your Crystal Visa® account. After this promotional period ends, 6 (six) months from the date of activation of your Visa account, your standard APR will apply to any remaining balance and to all new purchases and balance transfers. The terms of this introductory rate may not be applied to existing Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union Visa accounts.
This promotional introductory offer is based on meeting Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union’s criteria for creditworthiness. Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union will review your credit and employment history and any other information permitted by law to process your application. The credit line on this account will be determined after a credit review of your application by Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union and will be based on various factors, including income. FIGFCU maintains the right to not open this account if: a) the information provided is incomplete, inaccurate or cannot be verified, or if you do not meet Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union’s standards for creditworthiness; b) your name and/or mailing address on the credit application have been altered; c) the income you reported on the application is insufficient to support the opening of this account; or d) you do not meet Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union’s membership eligibility or “member in good standing” requirements. You have the right to review your credit history by contacting the appropriate credit reporting agencies.
Change in APRs, Fees and Other Terms: Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union may change the APRs, fees and other terms of your account at any time in accordance with applicable law and the Visa Credit Card Agreement. Factors we may consider in determining whether and how to change your terms include, but are not limited to, a late payment or an extension of credit that exceeds the credit limit, the frequency and severity of defaults and other indications of risk on accounts with Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union and other creditors. To the extent allowed by law, the new terms will affect all outstanding balances. If we increase your APRs for any reason other than an increase in the Prime Rate, the new APRs will apply only to new transactions you make after we notify you of the change in writing.
No points are earned for finance charges, fees, cash advances, convenience checks, foreign transactions currency charges, purchase or currency charges for crypto currency, or insurance charges posted to their account. Charges or transactions may be added to, or removed from, the lists of eligible charges and transactions from time to time at the sole discretion of the Crystal Rewards Program.
1Target® and Walmart® purchases not included. Earn 5X rewards on up to $1,500 worth of qualifying gas and grocery transactions made on or between July 1, 2024 and September 30, 2024. Qualifying gas and grocery transactions must have the required merchant code signifying the transaction for purchases for gas and grocery transactions (merchant codes 5542, 5541, 5411, 5300). Transactions within other establishments do not apply and we do not control how merchants are categorized. We do not evaluate whether merchants correctly identify and bill transactions; however, we do reserve the right to determine which transactions qualify for the bonus rewards offers. Rewards may mean cash back or points for your program. Cash advances and balance transfers are not eligible for rewards. To earn bonus rewards, you must be a cardholder currently in good standing. Allow up to two billing cycles for bonus rewards to post to your account. All purchases are subject to credit approval. All loans are subject to approval. Terms and conditions subject to change. Some restrictions may apply.
