TIP: Got staff? Fun for staff doesn't have to cost a bundle

MONEY SAVING TIP: If you own a business, you don't have to spend a bundle to thank them! It's possible to show your appreciation with a small budget. Last week we said a “Big Thanks” to our employees as part of a year-long monthly effort. We served hot dogs to our staff of 35 last week for less than $55. Like other companies, we have tightened our belts to make it through these challenging financial times. But we figure that doesn’t mean we have to curtail the fun and festivities…especially when it comes to showing staff members just how much they are appreciated!

Last month we had a Pancake Breakfast where we served up heaping stacks of fresh-cooked pancakes and equal helpings of “pats on the backs” to our employees.

These low-cost thank you days were the brain child of our VP of Human Resources, Florence Botbol. “We fed 35 people for under $40 and everyone had a smile on their face,” said Florence. “We're trying to go light on the expense and heavy on the kudos to make sure every one of our staff members knows how much they mean to the success of our member owned, not-for-profit financial institution.”

Other monthly “Thank You Days” coming up including: an Ice Cream Day, a Late Summer Cook-Off, a Halloween Potluck, a Bagels Bonanza, and a Holiday Potluck. “Our wonderful employees go above and beyond to make sure our member/owners are well satisfied and taken care of in these lean financial times, so we want to do the same for them,” Botbol said. “It doesn’t cost much to dish up a heaping helping of thanks!”

$100 bonus isn't really free money with costly fees

Recently, over dinner and a couple of drinks, my neighbor and her husband got into a friendly heated discussion about her recent experience trying to open a checking account at the new Chase bank that has opened a branch close by. Her husband was focused on the fact that they were offering a $100 bonus just for opening the account and either using the debit card or having direct deposit. Free money, it’s a no brainer, right? Wrong!

Lisa’s (the wife) concern was the incredibly bad experience that she had when trying to open the account. It started out with what she though would be the simple procedure of opening her account online, only to experience problems with the “next button” on the account opening application not working. She even filled out the application on two different computers to make sure that the issue was not related to a computer problem.

Without online success, Lisa called Chase’s online customer support and they were unable to help her. She was told that she would need to open her account over the phone. She was then transferred to another department and left on hold for 15 minutes. After finally getting through to someone and giving her application information, the representative was not able to figure out where to go on the system to add her husband’s information, so that it could be a joint account.

Lisa ended up deciding that it would probably not be worth $100 to open an account at this bank. She figured that this might be a sign of poor customer service in the future. I let her know about the great member service that Hawthorne provides and told her about out new Cash Back Checking, which will be available on August 17th. The new checking account offers a lot of great features including, no minimum opening deposit, no monthly balance requirement, one free NSF “BOUNCE FORGIVENESS”, and a Reward of .05 paid for each signature based transaction. I told Lisa that if she makes 166 transactions per month she could get $100 every year! Plus, the fees she's going to pay at Chase will offset that $100 she'd get. AND the money she'll save with our 677 surcharge free ATMs in Naperville...how many ATMs does Chase have in Naperville? She'll pay a surcharge to use another bank's ATM. So the $100 deal isn't such a great deal after all!

Shred Day was a success!

Shred Day was a success again! We had approximately 100 people attend. (I think the rain kept a few folks away.) We collected about 2 boxes of food for the Northern Illinois Food Bank and talked to a lot of people about the great deals at Enterprise Car Sales. Next Shred Day is Saturday, Oct. 3 from 10 am to noon at our Naperville branch!

Shred Day August 09

Email Notices another convenience I can't live without!

Email Notices are here! With email on my mobile phone, I'm getting notified right away about activity on my acount. I have my Email Notices set up to tell me about deposits made to my account, which is really fun because the email I get says "You've Got Money!" I also set up Email Notices for when checks clear. I don't write a lot of checks but when I do, I want to know when they clear. Also, I get an email about any withdrawal over $1000, so that if anything fishy happens I'll know right away.

If you have online banking and a valid email address, you don't have to enroll in Email Notices, just go into online banking and set up your preferences. If you have a checking account but not online banking, what are you waiting for? It's free and it'll allow you to get Email Notices. Sign up at eHawthorne.org.

Shred Day/Food Drive/Car Sale

Lots going on this Saturday at our Bolingbrook Branch! We are adding a little twist to Shred Days starting with this Saturday, Aug 1 from 10 am to noon. We will be taking a collection of non-perishable food items so that we can accomplish two things – you can protect yourself from identity theft by shredding documents containing personal info AND you can pay it forward by bringing some much-needed food donations for the Northern Illinois Food Bank! We're suggesting one item per box shredded. We'll take cash too! :-) AND you can get a free 32" flat screen TV if you buy a car from Enterprise Used Car Sales and finance it with Hawthorne.

Don't miss it. See you there!

Cash for Clunkers and Enterprise Used Car Sales...two great options

I've been thinking about a new car. There are two offers I'm thinking about, one of them is the Cash for Clunkers deal that started yesterday. Cash for Clunkers offers up to $4,500 in government incentives for those who trade in an old gas guzzler. But here's the catch: it only works out for you if your trade in vehicle is worth less than the rebate. And unless your vehicle is paid off, it may not work out for you. MSN included a story of a couple who traded in their old truck for a new mini van and it saved them from upcoming maintenance costs. Dealers are expecting big sales from it. Let's hope the financing is made responsibly...so that the desire to sell cars doesn't get folks into loans they can't repay. If you're thinking this deal might work for you, come to Hawthorne. We'll get you pre-approved and ready to go when you walk into the dealer. Read more about Cash For Clunkers and check out Hawthorne's rates.

If Cash for Clunkers doesn't work out for you, check out Enterprise Car Sales. You can get a great no-haggle deal on a terrific used auto from Enterprise. Buy before July 31 and you could get a free 32" TV when you also finance your vehicle through Hawthorne!

Free Flat Screen TVs making members smile!

The staff has been sharing with me stories about members who've been really happy with their experience of buying a car at Enterprise Used Car Sales. Right now Enterprise is giving away a free 32" flat screen TV when you buy a car and finance it with Hawthorne....nothing like a free TV to make folks smile! But beyond that they're saying how easy and hassle-free their car buying experiences have been. Gotta love that! I'm thinking about trying out Enterprise myself...I'll share my experiences, too. Here's what our staff is hearing:

Hi all,
I just had the pleasure of waiting on a Mr. H when he came in to withdraw a check from his account payable to Enterprise Car Sales. I started asking Mr. H about the recent car purchase (an 08 Chevy Malibu to be exact). He learned of the sale from our email notifications/blasts. He said it was a great experience…knowing that there was not going to any haggling or price bickering. He traded in a vehicle
and got $500 above blue book. He stated that he was letting all of his
friends and family know about Enterprise & stress free experience he
had.

Jennifer C, Branch Manager

Hey there,
I also had a new member came in yesterday that been coming in with a [third party] check. I had been talking to him about the credit union and I also talked to him about Enterprise. He always told me he would be back. Well yesterday he came in and again I talked to him. He had his wife with him and I told him about our services and he did a car loan with Angie and also I told him about our mortgages and he liked the 15 year so hopefully he does that too.

Laura, Teller

Give a fan a whirl and save

This summer has been unusually cool in Chicago, I was complaining yesterday to a friend on the west coast. I'm craving a trip to the pool and I'm feeling cheated because mid 70s is not pool weather. On the other hand, it's been very nice to have the windows open all summer and not hear the hum of air conditioners outside my window at night. Instead, I've been using a fan in my room. I've grown accustomed to the cool breeze and gentle hum of it. It seems to be helping me sleep. That and the sound of the birds outside my window in the morning...quite pleasant. I wouldn't be enjoying that if the air conditioning was running.

Although, according to this article in The Daily Green, a fan helps cool the air in the room and used with the air conditioner, can be very effective, making the room feel 7-10 degrees cooler! Give a fan a whirl!

The Enterprise cars have arrived!

Enterprise Car Sales is displaying a car in front of our branches from now until the big Enterprise Used Car Sale which takes place from July 20-31 at several local Enterprise locations. Of course, you can buy a car from Enterprise anytime, but if you finance your auto from Hawthorne during the sale period you'll also get a free 32" TV and a great loan rate, too. Don't miss it - this little baby is priced around $11,000...stop by and see it at our Naperville branch at 1519 N Naper blvd.

Another great Shred Day

The beautiful weather and desire to safely destroy old documents brought more than 100 people out to shred their documents at Shred Day on Saturday. Many were cleaning out closets and attics and shredding papers going back to the 1960s! It made me think we ought to give out a prize for the person who brings the oldest document for shredding...

Many asked me what is done with the paper. In about 60 seconds, the massive shredder turns the documents safely into confetti. The bits of paper go to a paper mill that turns the bits of paper into pulp that can be turned into new paper. In 2008, Hawthorne saved more than 100 trees with our shredding program.

Our next Shred Day is August 1 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Bolingbrook branch and October 3 from 10 a.m. to nooon at the Naperville branch. See you there!

How to be a Smart Shopper!

It’s Monday again! Back to work after a weekend spent grocery shopping, cleaning house, and spending quality time with my family. Last night we went to the Cubs game. They lost, but my son Zach had a great time. It was his first Cubs game.

Okay, back to the first part of my weekend. The grocery shopping! It is always a struggle trying to figure out where to shop, how to stick to our budget, and to only buy what we actually need. When I finish shopping I always wonder if I bought too much or could have saved more by going to a different store. Or, would it be better to go to different stores for different items. It is hard to figure it all out.

I guess today is my lucky day, because the first thing I saw this morning when I got online (I have MSN saved as my default home page) was an article titled “How to be a smarter grocery shopper.” The article offers tricks of the trade to help you save money and resist temptation.

Hopefully, this will help me do my shopping a little differently next weekend. I hope it helps you too. Please let me know how it goes. Good luck!

TIP: Save $1400 drinking tap water instead of bottled water

TIP: Drink tap water instead of bottled water, and save $1,400 annually, according to an article by The Daily Green. A few years ago I installed a water filter in my kitchen sink and we drink from the tap now. It saves a lot of money, and it saves me the hassle of carrying cases of water home from the store. I feel much better about the water we're drinking. Did you know that bottled water is not regulated to the degree that our municipal water is?

If those reasons weren't enough for you, The Daily Green lists these seven reasons to stop using bottled water:

The 7 Sins of Bottled Water
1) Plastic bottles are made from petroleum.
2) The bottles often go into the trash, rather than the recycle bin (in part because many states don't offer five-cent deposits to encourage recycling, as they do on soda and beer cans and bottles).
3) The water is pumped far from where it is sold, creating needless pollution as trucks and barges transport it across the country or around the world.
4) Some local communities have objected to the sale of their water, arguing that the water underground or flowing from natural springs is publicly owned and should not be exploited for profit.
5) Bottled water is rarely as closely monitored as tap water.
6) Tap water in the United States, when provided by a municipal system, is the most highly monitored and safe supply in the world.
7) Some of the water sold in little plastic bottles is tap water, but it costs an awful lot more per gallon.

Silver lining to the economic storm cloud

Mom always said there is a silver lining in every cloud. While this recession has been far reaching and painful for just about everyone around the globe, there will be some good that comes from it. At home, I'm constantly reviewing every penny I'm spending and re-analyzing whether or not each expense makes sense. We're doing the same at the credit union. The recession has caused everyone to tighten belts at home and at work. We'll be operating more efficiently in the long run. Seems everyone I talk to is wishing they would've done this a few years ago.

Hard times teach lessons. Here's a great article from The Daily Green on "6 Upsides to a Down Economy". One of the benefits he mentions is Americans are saving more and relying on credit less - that will come in handy years down the road. We're also wasting less, driving less and buying smaller homes - that's better for the environment. We're eating better - that's sure to improve our quality of life and reduce medical expenses. He also suggests that locally owned businesses may benefit from the multitude of big-box stores closing left and right. Great points and a positive spin on a painful economy - check it out.

TIP: Save $2 per person to see "Public Enemies"

TIP: You can save $2 per ticket to AMC Theaters by buying your tickets at Hawthorne branches. Tickets for first run movies, like "Public Enemies" are $10 at AMC Theaters and only $8 at Hawthorne. We also $6.50 tickets for movies that have been out for a couple weeks.

So if your holiday plans include a trip to the theater to catch one of the big summer blockbusters, take a quick trip to Hawthorne first. We'll be open on Friday until 6 PM but closed on Saturday for Independence Day.

"You've Got Money!"...what a great email to get!

I'm beta testing the credit union's new Email Notice service and it's pretty cool! While hiking in the woods in Natural Bridge State Park in Slade, Kentucky this past weekend, I got an email on my mobile phone with a subject line that said, "You've Got Money!" and the message was about my paycheck that was deposited to my account that day. Cool. Gotta love technology. (Here's a photo of me and my daughter...hiking in the woods when I got the good news!)

Other notices I'll get include a withdrawal of a certain amount, a check that clears, an overdraft :-( ...don't want to get those, but it'll be nice to know ASAP if it happens.

Email Notices will be available to all members mid-July - if you have online banking with a valid email address, you'll automatically have Email Notices, just go in and set up your preferences. If you have a checking account but not online banking, what are you waiting for? It's free and it'll allow you to get Email Notices. Sign up at eHawthorne.org.