TIP: Want Good Cheap Fun? Try Camping

Last weekend I went camping for the first time in 25 years. We decided on camping because it's so affordable. I certainly had my concerns about rain, bugs, bathrooms, bugs, showers, bugs, snakes. Did I mention bugs?

I wanted to go because my daughter, who turned 13 this year, has never had the experience of sleeping in a tent. I spent many weekends camping with my family as a kid and they're some of the best memories I have. Campfires, hiking in the woods, the stars at night.

The campsite in Slade, Kentucky, was $15 per night including electricity and water. The cost of gas was $100. I bought some camping equipment - $100 for cots (well worth the money and I'll use them for my daughter's sleepovers), and $16 for old pots, pans and utensils at the Goodwill store. The biggest expense was food, but I would've spent money on food if I had been home anyway. I brought the dog along, so I saved on the cost of a kennel.

We had a great time. The hiking was fantastic...the campsite was shady and beautiful with big tall trees and a little creek running behind our tent. We slept to the sound of crickets and trickling water. It was a lot of work, but it was SO relaxing. At night I got up to walk the dog and the sky was amazing...hundreds of big, bright stars in the black sky. Gorgeous. And while I usually feel like summer is passing me by while I look out the window of my office each summer, I feel like I've already had a chance to really enjoy summer, and it's not even the Fourth of July - the half-way mark.

My fears were about the heat and the bugs and the rain. The heat wasn't too bad because we had a shady campsite. Sure, it was hot but we were dressed for it. Yes I had lovely "camping hair" for four days, but who cares? The bugs weren't bad, maybe because we used some bug spray, but not excessively. I came home with more bug bites on my trip to Puerto Vallarta where I stayed in a resort!

It did rain one night. That stunk. That's the thing about camping. You have extremes - moments when you love camping and moments when you're asking yourself why you ever dreamed about such a crazy activity. For me, the good aspects outweighed the bad this trip.



Here's what I spent:
Campsite for 4 nights: $60
Gas roundtrip: $100
Gear: $116 (reusable for next time!)
Food: $150 (I would've spent this at home)
Ice, firewood: $15
TOTAL: $381
REAL COST: $160 (excluding the gear and food)

TIP: Slow down in work zones - save up to $1000!

TIP: Illinois drivers pay $375 for the first offense of speeding in a work zone and $1000 for the second offense and you'll lose your drivers license for 90 days! Ouch. I didn't realize the fines were that steep in work zones. (Get the details from the Illinois Dept of Transportation.) This summer the IDOT will be using cameras to crack down on speeders. I thought the $75 speeding ticket I got last week was bad...yikes.


In addition to saving yourself from steep speeding tickets, driving slower saves gas, too. According to fueleconcomy.gov, you'll use 5% more gas with every additional 5 MPH that you drive. Fuel economy peaks at 35-55 MPH so slowing down really does use less gas.

Plus, it's safer! You have more time to react to what's happening ahead of you at a slower speed.

Three good reasons to slow down.

VIDEO: Talking to your kids about money

I try as much as possible to share the finances with my daughter to help her understand some of the decisions I've had to make such as why we cook dinner at home rather than go out to eat as often. It's certainly a balancing act - balancing wise spending but also enjoying life. Or put another way, enjoying more with less or appreciating simple things. Next week we're going on a camping trip with extended family. I'm hoping we'll be able to look back and say how much fun we had - what great memories we gained - spending a fraction of the cost of a traditional hotel/amusement park vacation! What's your best strategy for teaching your kids about money?

This video offers some suggestions and reasons why it's a good idea to engage your kids in the money talk: http://hffo.cuna.org/15562/video/2625/html

TIP: Reduce Gas Consumption on your Road Trip, part 3

TIP: Next week I'm going on a driving vacation, so this topic is very timely for me. Whether you're going on a driving vacation or just driving to work each day, you can save money using less gas by changing your driving habits, according to The Daily Green. This is Part Three of series on saving money by changing your driving habits.

*Avoid idling. While you're waiting in your car picking up your kid, or waiting for a frieght train to pass by, you're wasting gas. Turn the motor off if you'll be sitting still for more than one minute.


*Check tire pressure. Make sure your tires are inflated to the pressure recommended by the manufacturer (check the sticker on your driver's side door) and use 3-5% less gas.


*Don't tailgate. My pet peeve! Not only is this annoying habit dangerous, it wastes gas with the constant braking and accelerating and contributes to road rage!


*Use cruise control. Sure and steady wins the race, as the saying goes. Apparently it's true. The research team at Edmunds.com research say you can improve your gas mileage by 15% by using a steady speed with cruise control as compared to inconsistent speeds and frequent lane changing.

Hawthorne joins the Relay For Life

This weekend we formed team HCU4U and walked in the Relay For Life for the 4th consecutive year. We raised money a variety of ways (the total is not in yet!) like Jeans Days where we all paid $5 for the opportunity to wear jeans to work. The management team spread the mulch we needed for the landscaping around our buildings to save money and we donated a portion of the savings to the American Cancer Society. The event took place at Naper Settlement - a nice environment for an event like this. I'm even thinking about staying all night next year! It was amazing to see the survivors and all the people who have been affected by cancer.

Here's a photo of the early Relay group - our second shift came out a little later.

TIP: Reduce Gas Consumption part 2

TIP: With so many people planning road trip vacations this summer, we're offering some money saving tips for reducing your gas consumption this summer, according to The Daily Green. This is Part Two of our series on saving money by changing your driving habits. You can get better gas mileage just by changing your driving habits. Here are two things you can do to save on gas:

1) Don't put luggage on top of the car. When you pile the luggage on top of your car in your roof-top carrier, you increase the air resistance and thus the gas mileage by 21% in tests conducted by Edmunds.

2) Pack light. Your gas consumption increases for every additional 100 lbs of weight. So lighten up!

Another successful Shred Day!

Saturday’s Shred It day was a huge success at the Bolingbrook office. It was a busy day, with over 100 people that came out to our event. The members of the Bolingbrook community were in good spirits and were thankful for the service we provided. Many people are already planning for the next Shred Day - Saturday July 11 at the Naperville branch 10 am to noon.

Some of our staff were selling popcorn and candy to raise money for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, which we're participating in on Saturday. Thanks to everyone that came out for Shred Day!

-Emily J
Bolingbrook Branch Manager

Hawthorne Credit Union Managers Get Hands Dirty for Charity

Today the senior managers are taking on a task that would fall under the “other duties as assigned” category on our job descriptions: we’re spreading mulch! We’re reducing our landscaping costs this year by spreading the mulch ourselves and donating a portion of the savings to the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, which raises money for cancer research and treatment. The donation will be part of a bigger fundraising effort for the Naperville Relay for Life, which takes place next weekend, June 13 at the Naper Settlement.

We spent last Friday afternoon spreading mulch and doing other landscaping clean up duties at our Naperville branch and this afternoon we’ll be spreading mulch at our Bolingbrook branch. We were lucky enough to have a charitable-minded landscaping company - Waldschmidt & Associates of West Chicago – that was willing to donate the mulch and use of their equipment (valued at approximately $1,000) for the project.

I was surprised when I first heard about the idea, but it was a lot of fun!

Our Generous BillPay Winner

During these difficult times, if you ever find yourself wondering if there are any good people in this world anymore, then I have a great story for you.

Recently, Hawthorne had an Online BillPayer contest encouraging members to enroll in BillPayer and pay two bills to be entered in a drawing to win a $100 Visa Gift Card. The contest also included members who already use BillPayer.

We randomly selected the lucky winner last week and scheduled a time for her to come to the credit union and pick her gift card. The winner was Stefanie Demkowicz from Bolingbrook.

Stefanie met me in Bolingbrook last Saturday, but not to pick up the $100 gift card. She came into the branch to let me know that she would like to donate the money to Families Helping Families (FHF) in Naperville. FHF is an organization that helps homeless families in DuPage County. FHF adopted families are usually homeless mothers and their children who have been victims of domestic violence or poverty.

I was shocked and touched by this gracious gesture. I am now embarrassed to admit that if I won $100 I would probably be asking my husband and son where they would like to go to dinner!

There are still good people out there and we are lucky enough to have them as members of the credit union. Stefanie also spends time volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House.

We made Stefanie’s donation to FHF and they will be using the gift card to help a mom buy books for school. For details on FHF, click here.

If you're not familiar with online banking and Billpayer, they are electronic services that help us provide convenience as well as increased security to our members. Click here for details.

TIP: Reduce your auto expenses with 20 tips

TIP: Reduce your auto expenses with these tips from MSN.com. I tend to agree with all of them except the last one about washing your car yourself. I believe that's not good for our local lakes and rivers. As I understand it, car wash facilities reuse their water so it doesn't get flushed into natural water systems. To me, it's worth a few bucks occasionally to wash my car at the gas station. I usually go for the cheap drive through kind - don't get the wax - go for the cheapest wash at about $3 every month or so.

Check out this article!

Make sure to get your credit score at least once a year!

We always hear about how important it is to run our credit report at least once a year, but it may be something that you put off because you think that it will take a lot of time. I know that is how I feel about it. With everything else going on I just keep putting it off, and it ends up at the bottom of my list of things to do, even though I know how important it is. It has probably been over a year and a half since I have done this, even though I know that I get one free report a year.

Well, last night I finally ran a credit report for myself and my husband and I think it took me less than 15 minutes to get both reports. Can you believe it? It made me feel pretty stupid that I put myself (my credit score, “the most important number”) at risk instead of taking care of something that is so easy to do.

You may be unsure about what credit reporting site is the best to use. You do need to be careful when selecting one because some credit reporting sites are not legitimate and they put your personal information at risk. Hawthorne recommends that our members go to annualcreditreport.com.

Click here for more information about credit reports & credit scores.

TIP: Reduce gas consumption part 1

TIP: You don't have to change your car to cut your gas bill. You can get better gas mileage just by changing your driving habits, according to The Daily Green. Here are two habits that save a lot . . .and can also reduce the frustration of your fellow drivers on the road!

Avoid jack-rabbit starts and stops. Steady driving increases your fuel efficiency about 66 cents a gallon!

Don't ride the brakes. Driving with one foot on the brake pedal and one foot on the gas pedal costs as much as 35% more gas. Plus, you'll have the added expense of wearing out your brake pads sooner. Drive with just one foot and save 70 cents per gallon.

This post is Part 1 of a series about improving gas mileage by changing your driving habits.

The scoop on those tax credits

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included tax credits for homeowners who make energy efficient improvements to their homes. Today I found a website that has all the details about that credit and the tax credit for consumers who buy a hybrid or diesel vehicle.
Check out the Alliance to Save Energy for the details.

TIP: Sweat equity is saving me $3,530 in 2009

There are a lot of home repairs and maintenance that you can do yourself and save a lot of money with a little sweat equity. Here are a few things I do that are pretty easy and will save me a total of $3,530 by the end of the year:

Lawn care: DIY $980 annual savings - with my light electric mower (no oily engine, no starter, no stinky gasoline!) I mow my own lawn every week. It takes about an hour. I grab my iPod and get some sun and exercise and save the cost of hiring a neighborhood teenager at $35 a week. I save $140 a month and $980 from May-Nov (for leaves). I have a mulching mower that allows the shredded grass to decompose and feed the lawn. I also use my mower to shred the leaves in the fall. I shred about a third and rake the rest. Free mulch!

House cleaning: DIY $2400 annual savings - I hate to clean. But I also hate a dirty house. So I enlist the help of my daughter and in 2-3 hours on a Saturday morning we get it done and then spend the rest of the day relaxing. I save about $200 a month doing it myself as opposed to hiring a service to come every other week.

Clogged drain: DIY $150 savings per occurance - According to Yahoo, to hire a plumber for one hour would cast $50-$75 per hour plus a trip charge and materials. That's steep! I recently unclogged my bathroom drain using a home solution of vinegar, boiling water and baking soda. Pour a half cup of baking soda down the drain followed by a cup of white vinegar. If that doesn't do it, try again but pour a few cups of boiling water after the vinegar. After it's finished bubbling, use a plunger to force the clog out. It worked great and saved me about $100-150.

I really never realized how much money these few things were saving me until I added it up for this blog post! Makes me much happier to cut my own lawn and clean my own house! :-)

You can also save money on home repairs and projects by doing it yourself. The Home Depot offers free classes that shows you how.

TIP: 5 Delicious Meals for Under $10!

During these difficult financial times I often find myself trying to figure out how to cut cost on groceries and still cook nice dinners for my family. I cut coupons and we shop at Aldi, but I still have trouble figuring out how to prepare a delicious meal for less money and not get any complaints from my husband and son. Sometimes they can be very picky eaters.

Earlier this week on MSN I saw an article titled 5 Delicious Meals for Under $10. So last night I decided to take a look and was surprised to see that the site really has some great ideas. I think that I will give some of the recipes a try this weekend.

The name of the site is delish.com. I thought was a really cute name, because every time my 8 year old son Zach eats something that he likes, he puts his fingers together (like he is Italian) and says delish!

Click here for the exact link to the meals under $10 recipes or just go to delish.com. Good luck with your cooking and let me know if you find a dinner that is really good. I will do the same!