Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union,
3305 E Elms Road
Killeen, TX 76542
Telephone: 254-690-2274
www.gctfcu.net

How to Save Money?

Learning how to save money is one of the key components of financial literacy. It allows you to make the most out of your financial resources while encouraging you to take well-informed financial decisions. 

Let us explore some effective ways to build up your savings and a good credit score. 

  • Learn to Distinguish Between Wants & Needs - Be clear on your financial priorities and divide your income wisely. To make it more effective, learn to distinguish between wants and needs. Your needs include housing, transportation, electricity, insurance, gas, clothes, food, water, health and other household items. These are the recurring expenses and are essential for survival. Things that you buy for leisure, entertainment, fun like travel, expensive clothing, dining out, automatic subscriptions, memberships, etc. are considered as wants. To save money, keep your focus on the needs rather than overspending on the wants. Keep track of your monthly expenses; do not stress yourself and save a comfortable amount of your income. 
  • First Pay all the Debts - The first and foremost priority should be paying off all the debts while making small contributions to build up savings. Once you've paid off your debt, it will be more comfortable and convenient to save significant amount of your income.
  • Find Ways to Save on the Monthly Expenses - Find ways to save on recurring monthly expenses such as: investing in energy-efficient appliances. Managing lifestyle priorities also help in saving on monthly expenses.
  • Wise Savings & Investment Options - Explore various savings and investment options that have potential of higher returns, good interest rates, minimum risks and reliability.  
Insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union, Killeen offers a broad array of financial services. With various types of saving accounts like Share Account, Money Market Accounts, Christmas Club, Vacation Club, Certificates of Deposits and Individual Retirement Account and investment & lending options including New and Pre-Owned Vehicle Loans, Secured & Unsecured loans, Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union strives to cater different financial needs and interests of our members.

Visit Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union at 3305 E Elms Rd, Killeen, TX - 76542. You can also contact us by filling up the contact form available at www.gctfcu.net or call us: (254) 690 – 2274.
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GCTFCU Blog | Improving Your Credit Score
Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union,
3305 E Elms Road
Killeen, TX 76542
Telephone: 254-690-2274
www.gctfcu.net

Improving Your Credit Score

Good credit score helps in qualifying for loans, better deals on car insurance, getting credit cards at favorable terms and more. Many factors like payment history of loans and credit cards, amount of revolving credit used, balances in one’s bank accounts, frequency of applying for credit, types of accounts, etc. affect the credit score.

Following are some tips for improving credit scores:

  • Use Online Tools To Keep A Tab On Your Credit Score: The first step towards improving your credit score is to check your status. You may use free online tools as they can help you in checking your current score and also provide insights about the factors affecting credit score. This information will help in formulating a plan for credit score improvement.
  • Create A Plan: After studying your credit report thoroughly, formulate an action plan to make possible improvements. You should aim to keep your credit card balance and revolving credit low.
  • Set Up Payment Reminders And Automatic Payments: Avoid late payments by setting up due date alerts. Also, you can set up automatic payments as per the schedule of your pay check.
  • Maintain A Low Credit Utilization Ratio: Credit utilization ratio is calculated by adding all credit card balances and dividing the amount by the total credit limit. A low credit utilization ratio is indicative of a good credit score and implies that you are managing your credit well.
  • Avoid Unnecessary Credit Accounts: It is advisable to avoid opening new credit accounts as unnecessary credit may lead to overspending & accumulated debt. This may negatively affect your credit score. You should open new credit accounts in unavoidable circumstances only. Applying for new credit may harm your credit score as it results into multiple inquiries on your credit report.
  • Keep Unused Credit Cards Open: Closing credit cards increase credit utilization ratio which has a negative impact on your credit score. 
  • Create An Emergency Fund: Build an emergency fund to ensure that you meet your debt obligations on time even during dry financial periods. You may utilize this fund, if needed instead of applying for a credit.
Improving credit score requires diligent planning and dedication over time but eventually brings about many financial benefits & provides more opportunities to achieve bigger financial goals.

Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative that operates for the common benefit of its member and offers an array of services. For more information, visit 3305 E. Elms Rd., Killeen, TX -76542 or call at (254) 690-2274.

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GCTFCU Blog | Texas Auto Loan Facts
Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union,
3305 E Elms Road
Killeen, TX 76542
Telephone: 254-690-2274
www.gctfcu.net

Texas Auto Loan Facts

There are many options for obtaining auto loans for those who wish to purchase a vehicle in the state of Texas. Texas has a well developed banking system that provides competitive interest rates to car buyers along with reasonable terms and conditions. The only requirement for qualifying for a loan in this state is to have a sound credit rating. It can get quite difficult to obtain a loan if you have a negative credit history. Thus the first thing that should be done in this case is to go about improving your credit ratings so that you qualify for auto loans in the state of Texas.

There are several things that can be done in order to improve your credit like repaying existing loans in a timely manner, not taking loans for an amount that you will be unable to repay, asking a person to stand in as surety, etc. There are credit counseling services provided by many experienced companies in Texas that can guide you regarding the best methods to improve credit in a short time period.

The kind of car that you are purchasing can also have a direct bearing on whether you are granted a loan by the lending institution or not. If you have a great credit rating, you can choose an expensive new car and still obtain approval from a bank for your auto loan. However, in case your credit is bad, you may have to settle for a second hand or a low priced car in order to qualify for a loan.

Before going ahead with an auto loan, you should conduct an online survey in order to find out the prevailing auto loan rates in Texas. This figure should then be compared to the actual rates being offered to you by banks in the area. You will also need to have a fair idea about the amount of down payment you may have to provide in order to obtain the auto loan successfully. In most cases, the down payment tends to be around twenty percent provided you have a reasonable credit rating in the state. It may increase if you have low ratings.

For Lowest Used Car Loan interest rates in Texas, visit Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union.

Lowest Used Car Loan - Secured Auto Loan

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