Youthful savers earn prizes

Three youth members of Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union (HCFCU) were awarded special prizes for their efforts at saving during the 2006 Youth Savings Challenge.

Kamaile Gusman of North Kohala won a Leap Frog Learning System in the 0- to 6-year-old category; Taylor Aweau, also from North Kohala, won a portable DVD player in the 7- to 12-year-old division; and Jessica Lopez of Kailua-Kona won an iPod Nano in the 13- to 18-year-old group. These youth members all visited an HCFCU branch in April to make a deposit into their account and, at the same time, fill out an entry form for the contest.

The third annual Youth Savings Challenge — a nationwide event— was termed a success. In just one week's time 364 credit unions across the United States welcomed more than 66,000 youth who deposited more than $9.6 million — doubling the amount deposited nationwide during the 2005 Youth Savings Challenge.

Locally, HCFCU's five branches topped their goal for deposits, garnering 66 new accounts and 396 deposits for a total of $68,535.09. Each child who came in to make a deposit received an incentive gift and was eligible to fill out a prize form.

Congratulations to ALL youthful savers! You're establishing good financial habits early!

Practice cell phone courtesy in July

July is National Cell Phone Courtesy Month — an event developed to encourage cell phone users to be respectful of their surroundings by using simple cell phone etiquette principles.

According to the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), there were nearly 208 million cell phone users in the United States at the close of 2005. Last year was the highest growth year ever, and that trend appears to be continuing. Because of cell phones' mobility, they ring and buzz everywhere... and that means users talk and listen everywhere, too.

Following are some cell phone etiquette tips. Make an effort to follow them this month... and set some good habits for the months and years to come.

• The person you are with is the most important person to talk to. Utilize the caller ID feature for screening options. You may decide to let voice mail take the call and return the call at a more appropriate time.


• Avoid interrupting meetings, social gatherings or personal conversations by answering your wireless phone or checking your voicemail. If you must speak to the caller, use the e-mail or text messaging feature or excuse yourself and find a secluded area.


• There is no need to speak louder on your cell phone than you would on any other phone. Speak in your regular conversational tone. Speaking loudly or showing emotion may distract those around you.


• Change the ringing tones on your phone to match the environment you are in. Use a loud ring for outdoors — but inside, use silent or vibrating options. Use your vibrate function or turn off your phone in public places such as movie theaters, religious services and restaurants.


• Use discretion when discussing private matters or certain business topics in front of others. You never know who is within hearing range.


• When walking and talking on your wireless phone, be aware of your surroundings and remember to respect the rights of others.


• Practice wireless responsibility while you are driving. Place calls when your vehicle is not moving. Don't make or answer calls while in heavy traffic or in hazardous driving conditions. Use a hands-free device in order to help focus attention on safety. Make safety your most important call.

Back to school saving tips

August is almost here — it is time to think about school supplies. Once upon a time, a sharp pencil, some paper and pens were enough to get your kids through at least elementary school. Today, the amount of supplies needed and their prices have skyrocketed, but it's easy to save money at the register. Here are some school supply saving tips:

1. Don't buy everything on the teacher's list.
   Before school starts, some teachers may send a preliminary list of what school supplies parents should buy for their kids for the school year. If you receive such a list, do not rush out to buy everything on it right away. Start off buying the essentials — pens, pencils, paper, glue. Add in the specialty items when necessary. Sometimes teachers may change their agenda and your student may not even need that special tool for a specific art class.


2. Check your home school supplies inventory first.
   If you keep an updated list of what school and home office supplies are already available in the house, check this list first to see what you already have, and cross them off your list of things to buy this school year. If you don't yet have an inventory, engage your family in an evening of collecting supplies around the home. Once you have a list compiled, you can start noting what is available and what is not.


3. Write a precise shopping list.
   Make sure to write a very exact school supplies shopping list after checking your existing inventory, so that no extra items are bought, and money is not wasted.


4. Shop around for supplies.
   Would you buy all of your clothes from just one store? Of course not! The same principle applies to school supplies. Usually stores will put a few items on sale, leaving most of their other supplies priced the same. Shop around for the right supplies. Plan your school supply buying route carefully though, so you can accomplish other errands on the way. Don't waste time and gas just to save a few cents on a package of pens or markers.


5. Stock up on home office supplies during back to school supplies shopping.
   Use back to school shopping as a time to stock up on home supplies, too. Pens, pencil, papers and other supplies are less expensive this time of year. Take advantage of the sales for school and your home office.


6. Make homemade school supplies.
   If someone in the family has a talent for sewing, take a piece of material that is the student's favorite color and make a pencil case, complete with their name stitched on it. Or even better, get them to do it themselves. Create a desk pencil holder with an old can of frozen orange juice and a book and magazine holder from used cereal and detergent boxes. Be creative and be on the lookout for how you can make your own supplies from basic household items.


7. Get the kids to pay for the most expensive items.
   This is a good way to teach kids how to save money. By making them pay for the most or one of the most expensive school supply items — or higher-priced specialty items that they personally desire — they may be more careful how their money is spent and learn something about spending and saving their own money.

Give a gift this summer

It's not the holiday season — in fact, we're about six months away from December. This time of year, we don't have long shopping lists of gifts to budget for, so perhaps that makes it the ideal time to think about gift giving — to a charity.

There are literally thousands of charities to choose from, so start out by deciding what you personally feel is an important cause and go on from there. Most likely, it will be something that has personally affected you. For example, consider your Alma Mater, medical research for a disease that a loved one has endured or a local community initiative. Before you give away your hard-earned money, be sure your donation is going to a reputable organization. This may take a little research, but you want to be sure your charity is legitimate.

There is no right or wrong amount to give when it comes to donating money. Keep in mind that any amount of money you can afford to give will be appreciated. Every penny really does count, so don't shy away from donating because you only have $10 to spare.

Several organizations offer benefits for donations. These can range from free tote bags and T-shirts to having your name etched on the side of a building. While these perks are nice, remember that the cost of these premiums might be taken out of donations, leaving less to go to the actual charity.

There are several ways you can structure your donation. You can give a one-time gift, an annual gift or even a monthly gift if you so choose. Most charities that solicit donations do so once a year, but you can always donate on your own schedule.

See if your employer has a "matching gift" program. Many companies will match the donation an employee makes to a charity. This is a great way to double your gift.

If you want to claim your donation as a tax reduction, you must get a receipt. Not all charitable donations are tax-deductible. This is because "tax-exempt" does not mean "tax-deductible." If you want to make sure you can deduct your donation, look for an organization that has 501(c)(3) status.

According to the IRS, you can deduct donations to religious organizations; federal, state, or local governments; nonprofit schools and hospitals; public parks and recreation facilities and war veterans groups. You CANNOT deduct donations to individuals, labor unions, social or sports clubs, foreign organizations (except certain Canadian and Mexican charities), homeowner's associations or political candidates.

Remember, money is not the only kind of donation you can make. Donating clothing to thrift shops or books to school libraries are obvious options. Other lesser-known possibilities include donating cars, computers, eyeglasses, musical instruments, pet supplies, food and time.

Cutting costs: How to save on paper

A paperless society sounds idyllic. When and if it ever happens is a topic of many conversations and studies. But there are actions each of us can take every day to reduce the amount of paper we use. These actions are good for our environment. They're also good for your budget! Here are a few simple money-saving, paper-saving tips:

Make it a habit to re-use paper. Documents don't always come out exactly as planned. Don't throw away those sheets of paper. Instead, use the blank side for draft documents or documents that you are printing out for yourself. If you're afraid that having both sides printed will be confusing, use a pencil or dark pen to draw a line through the side that is already printed on. You'll find that, by reusing paper, you'll be spending a lot less on new paper... and making a small effort toward saving trees.

The kind of paper you use can affect how your document looks. As a result, when you're printing important documents, use inkjet- or laser-specific paper. However, that doesn't mean it is the only paper you can use. For everyday use, print on low-weight all-purpose paper, but don't use paper that is so thin it will tear. Look for your printer specs in your manual or online for the minimum paperweight that the printer can handle.

Paper — especially photo paper — is expensive. You don't want to waste the high-gloss, high-cost photo stock. Do a test print before you do a final run with photo paper. You'll see if the size and cropping of the photo is correct. Once you determine everything is perfect, then do the final printing.

If you don't need to have your photos available immediately after you take them, consider having them printed by a photo shop instead. Because they deal in bulk, photo shops can often charge much less per photo than you would be paying if you printed it yourself (especially when you factor in the cost of the ink and of the paper). And you can get professional-quality prints without worrying about whether you should buy expensive photo inks.

Enroll in paperless billing whenever it is a viable option. By receiving billing statements and other paperwork online, you can decide what you need to print out and what you don't need. You may like the idea of not having to file stacks of paper in a file cabinet, and the companies you do business with will appreciate not having to mail you a statement.