Jan 29, 2024 6 min read

CHROME Federal Credit Union has adopted and emphasized the credit union industry’s mission of “Financial Wellness for All.” Over the last few years, that focus has led to having 4 employees earning their Financial Counseling certification in 2023 and in 2021 a new partnership with GreenPath Financial Wellness. This national nonprofit’s resources are available to the community providing free financial counselor meetings, student loan counseling, financial wellness articles, online courses, and more. In this continued effort to enhance their members’ access to financial wellness tools, they have recently launched a new, completely free Budgeting and Financial Insights Tool accessible right in their digital banking portal.

“We believe that everyone has the right to financial wellness. Most budgeting tools include a cost or don’t fit into the member’s lifestyle,” said Jasmine Hughes, Director of Marketing at CHROME. “Printing out a worksheet and filling it out, is just not enough anymore. Our budgeting tool, Budgeting Insights, is available no matter where they are, updating in real-time.”

Hughes said having the tool through the phone or computer, allows the member to budget in the moments they need to without waiting to get back home and fill out a worksheet or notebook to see if their purchase fits in their budget.

The current climate of the economy was another factor that influenced the app’s creation.

“We pushed to release Budgeting Insights sooner as inflation continued to rise, and we saw hardships in the community increase,” said Hughes. “The economic impacts are apparent, especially in the last six months, where we saw people struggling more than the previous year. That is why the financial wellness for all mentality is so important and we are trying to hit all of the notes of how we can help people get through these times.”

The budgeting tool will benefit anyone who is looking to manage their income, spending habits, and cash flow; additionally, Budgeting Insights includes features for setting financial goals, account alerts, and tools to track assets and debts to see an up-to-date estimate of your net worth.

Mandy Smoke, a member of CHROME shared her experience with the app, highlighting how user-friendly it is.

“I am able to view expenses and adjust spending as needed,” said Smoke. “It is great for budgeting beginners, and I love that I can set up text alerts that align with my spending and financial goals.”

The tool is readily available in the app and a cool feature is that members can set up alerts in the spending category to alert them if they are reaching a certain threshold within their budget.

For example, a high school student might start with the Spend by Category Tracker. It allows them to see by category where they are spending their money. It pulls it right in from their account(s) and automatically tags the transactions for an in-depth look at expenses without having to do all of the calculations. “This is great for a young spender that may not realize how much of their budget is going to say, a daily coffee run or gas.”

This new tool allows members to create budgets, monitor expenses, and set savings goals. It also allows you to add and view all external accounts, even accounts not with CHROME, in one convenient location.

“The tool is for everyone, whether it’s the person saying, ‘How am I going to save money to buy that car?’ or ‘How am I not going to live paycheck to paycheck?'” said Hughes. “Or it could be for people who want to track their finances in one place and not have to jump around app to app.”

The Budgeting Insights tool also features a Cash Flow Calendar that allows members to plan when payments will come out of their account for bills and other regular payments, so they can have a more realistic view of what their balance will be available to spend.

Hughes said many members are having fun with the app and alerts by setting up funny messages telling themselves not to spend anymore when they hit a certain threshold.

“By empowering our members with tools like Budgeting Insights, we hope to take the stress out of managing their day-to-day finances. We want our members to feel in control of their spending and able to plan for their futures,” says Michele Wilson, Director of Retail Operations at CHROME.

Credit unions are cooperative, not-for-profit organizations, and their boards are made up of volunteers.

“That is the difference between banks and credit unions,” said Hughes. “The money that would normally go into a for-profit organization to pay their shareholders or board members goes back into the financial institutions in ways that support the member-owner.”

Hughes said the money goes towards lower fees, better rates, and features like the new budgeting tool.

Another change CHROME FCU is making in the New Year is an increase in the yield of their Kasasa® checking accounts up to six percent which pays out monthly as long as the member meets the qualifications.

“We are trying to create this complete financial experience where we are teaching our members, and our community, how to save and spend wisely, and in the long-term build wealth,” said Hughes. “A financially healthier community is a prosperous community.”

Chrome’s Budgeting and Insights Tool helps members:

-View and track spending categories.

-Add outside accounts and track all finances in one place.

-Create budgets and set alerts to stay on track.

-Utilize the Cash Flow calendar to monitor income and upcoming bills.

-Build wealth and watch it grow through the Net Worth tool.

The budgeting tool is available to all CHROME FCU members at no additional charge or fee. If you are interested in becoming a CHROME FCU member, it is easy to join! If you live, work, worship, or attend school in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Fayette, Washington, or Westmoreland counties, you are eligible to open an account with CHROME. Visit chromefcu.org or call 724.228.2030 for more information.

Sponsored content brought to you by CHROME Federal Credit Union.

By Michele Gillis