Hi! I’m Ashley, Financial Education Specialist for Credit Union 1! Check out my blog every Friday for fun tips and tricks to help you manage your finances.

Have you detected a recurring theme the past few weeks? I have - and it's all about educating the kids in our community. From teaching kids the ins and outs of saving to encouraging them to be entrepreneurs, April is Financial Literacy Month and we take it seriously.

Youth week is April 21-27 and CU1 and credit unions across the land will be celebrating young ones and getting them excited about saving. Hop on this bandwagon early with your kids today! 

In addition to getting kids thrilled about saving - CU1 is fundraising for Junior Achievement of Alaska in April. JA totally fits the month's theme because they help kids learn to succeed in a global economy.

Hi! I’m Ashley, Financial Education Specialist for Credit Union 1! Check out my blog every Friday for fun tips and tricks to help you manage your finances.

Tax season is generally a time of financial reflection. Whether your plan is to save money, pay off debt or achieve another financial goal – at some point, we all think about changing something. Tax time can inflict feelings of panic (I hope not!) or just general feelings about needing to improve your situation. What if someone had taught you earlier how to manage money? Would your life be easier? It’s possible. It’s also possible for you to help make someone else’s future financial life a little brighter by starting now.

Start young when teaching money skills. Maybe you have kids and you want them to have a better life than what you have – you can start now by teaching them the basics and setting a good example of money management. Start with identifying different coins and notes, praise them when they put money into their piggy bank and show them that you save too by putting spare change in your piggy bank.

APRIL FOOLS! I may have tricked you by not having a Financial Fitness Friday blog last week - but I am telling you the truth when I say April is Financial Literacy Month! To kick off the One for All spirit in Financial Literacy Month - we're fundraising for Junior Achievement of Alaska! Check out this video below to learn more about Junior Achievement and where your donations will go!

Hi! I’m Ashley, Financial Education Specialist for Credit Union 1!  Check out my blog every Friday for fun tips and tricks to help you manage your finances.

I have found that there’s a direct link from my mood to my wallet. When I’m sad, I tend to spend money and care less about my financial goals and on the flip side, when I’m happy I tend to save more and work harder towards my goals. Surely, I’m not alone in this. “Retail Therapy” anyone? So, let’s all get happy with these tips and watch our accounts and goals grow!

1. Work at a place you love with leaders that you believe in. As adults, we spend more time at work than anywhere else during the week. Being an unhappy employee can definitely lead you to filling the void with things like iPods, clothes, and other things. Try finding an organization that you already like and apply. It’s never too late to be happy. I recommend CU1 but I am a little biased!

2. Try volunteering at a local soup kitchen, shelter or hospital. Most of us actually live a more “cushy” life than we think we do. When you’re feeling down and that credit card is burning a hole in your pocket, sign up for a volunteer shift. You’ll find that spending your time (instead of your money) is much more rewarding and it can help you put your life back into perspective. Maybe things aren’t so bad for you after all?

Hi! I’m Ashley, Financial Education Specialist for Credit Union 1!  Check out my blog every Friday for fun tips and tricks to help you manage your finances. 

So, I talked about this once…but I feel like I’ve got some more things to add to the list of things that cost me money when I’m lazy. Here we go!

1. Letting people use my internet. Oh boy did this get me in trouble once. $56 worth of trouble to be exact. Over the holidays, my youngest brother stayed with my husband and I for a few days just for fun since school was out and he’s old enough to be home alone while we’re at work. He instantly fell in love with our brand new iPad. We showed him the password to the internet and let him go hog wild. I didn’t think anything of it…until I got the bill. Yikes! I was too lazy to set up the “alerts” that the internet folks offer to let me know when I’m getting close to my limit and it cost an extra $56.

2. Ladies, this one’s for you. Sometimes I’m too lazy to pluck my eyebrows at home so I pay $20 to get them waxed. This is the lamest excuse of frivolous money spending I’ve ever had, but I’m totally guilty. Over the course of a year…that’s a lot of money wasted on my eyebrows! Eyebrows?!?! Ugh!