All You Need is Love this Valentine's Day...

Valentine's Day is coming up on Saturday, have you made plans for your honey? Or maybe you're just going to hang out with your friends and have a good time. Either way, there is no reason to empty your wallets to show how much you care. I've put together a little list of cheap or even FREE things to do around L.A. this Valentine's Day.

1. Take a picnic to a local beach or park. An oldie, but a goodie. Have a sweet picnic out in the open. Or if you want to go at night, you can find a baech that has fire pits (like Huntington Beach) and roast marshmallows by the fire!
   
2. Hiking in the local mountains. There are some lovely hiking trails around L.A. to explore. What could be more romantic than natural scenery? Visit localhikes.com for ideas.
3. Make Dinner at home and rent a movie. You don't even have to rent the movie, check out your local library. And dinner doesn't have to mean expensive ingredients, remember it's about the thought and the presentation.
4. Day at the Getty Museum. Admission to the Getty is free all day and there's a free tram from the parking lot. Parking is $10, but you can also take the Metro Rapid Line 761 and it stops right there on Sepulveda.
5. Griffith Park Observatory. There is free admission to the observatory and the grounds. You can ride bikes, hike, or take a shuttle up there. There is an LADOT route ($0.25) that connects the observatory to the Red Line. And if you want to see one of the shows, it's only $7.00 for ages 13+ or $5.00 with your student ID.
6. Aquarium of the Pacific. The aquarium in Long Beach is right next to Shore Line village and the Queen Mary. On February 14th, the aquarium is extending it's hours to 9:00pm and after 5:00pm everyone gets in for kid's price ($11.95). You can also take the Metro Blue Line out there and walk the 0.8 mile to entrance.
   
7. Hollywood Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Go down to Hollywood and check out the stars. You can go down during the day and grab lunch or just sight-see and be tourists. If you don't want to drive, you can take the Red Line.

Hope everyone has a lovely Valentine's Day with whomever you spend it with!

Did you say, FREE Checking?...

It has come to my attention that I actually know people who pay for their checking accounts. I'm not talking about fancy-dancy checking accounts that earn interest and give you rewards. I'm talking about basic, everyday, deposit-money-and-magically-your-Debit-card-works-when-pay-for-your-Chipotle-burrito Checking accounts.
I'm here to tell you that basic checking accounts are supposed to be free. Yes, FREE. If you are paying $5.95 a month for basic checking services, then you are selling yourself short. If you are paying these outrageous fees, I suggest you do some research. Most of the time, these fees can be waived if you have direct deposit, you have some sort of electronic transfer each month, or you maintain a specified balance.
Look at your statement and see if you're paying a monthly fee. Yes, those letters you get in the mail at the beginning of every month? Open them. Read them. If you see a monthly service charge, call and see if you can change that. (This information is obviously for your non-Green Account friends, because we all know that a Free Checking account from LA Financial has no monthly fee. Ever. That's why we rock.)

$5.95 doesn't sound like much, but that turns into $71.40 per year. I could ski at Big Bear for the day and still have money for lunch. What could you use it for?

Thoughts on my Credit Card...

So many things came up in 2008 that made me realize how much I value my credit card:

• Car Emergency - My car broke down thankfully in a town where I was able to get it fixed.
• Wisdom Teeth Removed - Ouch to my teeth and Ouch to my credit card!
• Season Pass to a Ski Resort - Yes, I didn't need it, but I hope to save money in the long run.
• So many good sales, so many new clothes!
• New laptop computer - I bought it refurbished, so I saved quite a bit of money.
  
• A few more car repairs.
  
• And of course, holiday shopping!

So, you can see that I do not want to cancel my credit card, I have needed it on more than one occasion. But now I have started 2009 with a balance, and I'm sure that I'm not the only one. So, in the spirit of the new year I have some new rules for my credit card:

1. Pay more than the minimum amount due on each bill. This way I can pay off my credit card faster. I plan to pay a set amount every time I get paid so that I don't really miss it out of my paycheck.
   
2. Stop using my credit card for every day purchases. My credit card should only be used for emergency and big ticket items that I don't want to pay in cash. No more spur of the moment shopping with plastic money!
3. Save for the big ticket items! I'm more of a spur of the moment shopper, so I opened a Secondary Savings account specifically for large purchases that might come up. (Like a laptop, or a ski pass, or holiday shopping...)
   
4. Continue to carry my credit card for emergencies. When my car broke down, I was in a small town and was about 2 1/2 hours from home. It's nice to know that if I need the money, I have access to it.

My credit card is a valuable tool, but like anything I just need to use it more responsibly. If I stick to my plan, maybe I'll start 2010 without a balance on my credit card.

Happy New Year!!

Its that time!

Wishing everyone a very safe and happy holiday!

Just remember the holidays are not all about trying to find the perfect gift or buying the most presents but a time to be with family and friends and to remember those who may not be as fortunate as you.

Be A Smart Shopper!

Last weekend I went Christmas shopping with a friend of mine. (Yes, I know it's early for that, but I prefer to get all of my shopping done before Thanksgiving.) As we were shopping, she found a pair of jeans that she liked that were a pretty good deal. Once we got to the register, the salesperson mentions that if my friend bought another item it would be 1/2 off, which sends my friend into a frenzy searching for something else she might want. In the end, she just bought the jeans because whether or not the extra item is 50% off, its still 50% that you are spending that you hadn't planned on before.
So the purpose of this story is to prepare everyone for the temptations of holiday shopping. There are a huge amount of sales right now with more popping up every day. Here is a list of shopping tips to help you avoid going overboard:

1. Make a list of things you need to buy before you go.
2. Stick to the list.
3. If you are about to buy something that is a "really good deal" ask yourself if you really need this right now.
4. Compare prices. There are great deals out there, make sure you get them!
5. Keep track of your expenses, what you think you "need" might not be so necessary once you realize how much you've already spent.
6. Don't be pressured by salespeople! If you need to be talked into it, you probably don't need it.
7. Keep your receipts, just in case you change your mind later.

The last thing you need is a smoothie maker with the awesome automatic pour spout that you bought on sale that still has the tags on it that could have been more money saved up for your much more awesome ski trip to Colorado. (See, I speak from experience.)

Happy (Smart) Shopping!

A New Bank VS Credit Union Video - "Money to Blow".

Check out this funny Banks vs Credit Unions video called "I Love You"!

Would you like to win an iPod?

A big thank you to all of our friends who have been adding blog and face book comments. Don't forget... we are giving away two iPods each month.

To become eligible you need to:

• be our "fan" on facebook


• comment on our go green blog or facebook blog


• takes our Vitamin G quiz

We start each month off with a clean slate so you need to enter every month.

So.... get some Vitamin Green. You may just learn something about money management - and - you may just win an iPod!! Green!!

Be A Fan. Visit LA Financial on Facebook!

Now you can visit us on Facebook. Check us out and don't forget to be our fan!!!

Text to Find an ATM!

As financially savvy LA Financial members, everyone already knows that you can go to any ATM with the CO-OP logo and withdraw cash from your LA Financial account fee-free, right? Why is this cool? Because there are over 25,000 CO-OP ATMs nationwide where you can get cash! I'm not sure if you think this a lot, but check the big banks, and they don't even come close to having that many.

So how do you find all of these fee-free ATMs? You can check the CO-OP website , call 888-SITE-CO-OP, or you can text your location to MYCOOP (692667) and in 30 seconds you'll have the nearest CO-OP ATM location texted to you. Obviously standard texting rates from your phone service provider apply.

I personally love it that I can text from my phone to find an ATM because usually if I need cash it is unexpected. I use my debit card for everything.

So, I'm just sharing the tip! Don't pay at a foreign ATM when you can text to find one for free.