President Message

Would you believe…people will turn anything into a phone? An adult friend of mine can barely walk by a banana without picking it up and saying, “Yellow?”  In the 1960s TV comedy Get Smart, Agent 86—better known as Maxwell Smart—relied on dumb luck to catch his criminals and achieve professional success. But when it comes to money, dumb luck is not so reliable.

Consider the Netflix series “Get Smart with Money”—a documentary that pairs financial experts with some folks in need of some financial refocusing. This week, CUBFI’s own Dave Hinchey shares his thoughts on the value of financial education as a tool to extend your membership pipeline while doing what credit unions do best – helping people achieve financial independence.

Bruce

I always appreciate it when entertainment TV takes on the thorny topic of financial education. After all, this is not the sort of programming that gave reality TV its meteoric rise. But these shows often hit close to the credit union home. At a minimum, TV can raise awareness to the financial challenges Americans face better than almost any other medium. 

“Get Smart About Money” puts many of the Reality Fair concepts on full display, and shows what can happen when young adults do not receive the education they deserve.

Get Smart (not the 1960s comedy series) helps us to appreciate the value of adopting basic principles of personal finance such as paying down debt, earning more income, reducing spending, downsizing one’s lifestyle, and responsible investing. It also helps us learn from some seasoned professionals about how to improve our communications by meeting people where they are in their financial journey, not where we think they should be.

The selection of people in the documentary is not perfect for every situation—a professional athlete as well as a high-income/high-spending couple—but there are others featured who might closely resemble your membership and their financial situations. But all people experience financial challenges. Some need help maximizing the power of a limited cash flow, while others need our help managing a sudden windfall. 

If you’re at least a little passionate about financial education, the League’s charitable foundation—CUBFI—is the organization for you.

At CUBFI, we use the Bite of Reality app to deliver Financial Reality Fairs which teach high school students and other groups how to avoid the one-step playbook of trusting dumb luck to carry them through their financial lives. These fairs not only leverage community social impact, they are a great way to introduce a new generation of financial consumers to the Credit Union Advantage and secure a healthy pipeline of new members for your credit union.

If you want to make a difference in someone’s life and invest in your credit union’s membership pipeline, please consider volunteering for a reality fair near you.  The next one will be held at Cheshire High School on Oct. 18.

With the generous assistance of CUNA Mutual Group and Alloya Corporate FCU, CUBFI will underwrite the cost to put your employees through CUNA’s FiCEP program with the goal of getting one counselor at every affiliated credit union.

It’s one thing to be well versed in financial education and helping future members, but it’s another thing entirely to provide quality, certified financial counseling to your members. Talk with us about how you can add FiCEP-certified counselors to your products and services.

I appreciate you supporting CUBFI through our golf tournament and raffle. The foundation can always use financial support to fuel our signature programs. Consider CUBFI in your year-end corporate giving.

~Dave

David Hinchey, CUDE, CCUFC  (he/him/his)
VP of Community and Social Impact
Credit Union League of Connecticut