Make Your Home Energy Efficient for Winter

We may not get winters in Dallas like they do in upstate New York or Seattle, but that doesn’t mean our homes don’t need a little winterizing before Jack Frost blows in. Taking just a few small steps to get your home ready for cooler temperatures could save you hundreds of dollars on energy costs this winter.

Check for Drafts and Leaks

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, simple leaks can zap energy efficiency by as much as 30 percent. Wherever there’s a draft coming in, your heat is getting out. Check seals on doors and windows. Check spots where two different building materials come together. Pay attention to those places where pipes and wires exit the wall or foundation, as well as electrical outlets.

There’s a method called the incense test that you can use to detect drafts in your home. Move a lit incense stick along these potentially draft places. If the smoke wavers, there’s air coming in. You can also have someone outside the home blow a hair dryer around each window while you hold a lit candle on the inside. If the candle flickers, you have leaks that can be sealed with caulking or weather stripping.

Insulating window films also help. They affix to your windows but don’t obstruct your view. Place them on the inside panes in the winter to keep heat in. Flip them over and place them on the outside panes in the summer to keep heat out. Window films are available at home improvement stores.

Attic Insulation

Insulation should be at least 12 inches high. If you can see the ceiling jois in your attic, it’s time to add more insulation. In 2010, the federal government will reimburse 30 percent of your cost for efficient insulation.

Install a Programmable Thermostat

Don’t pay for heat you’re not using. Use a programmable thermostat to automatically reduce the temperature in your home during times when nobody is there. For every degree you lower your thermostat, you’ll save up to 3 percent on your electric bill.

Water Heater Temperature

Most professional installers set the temperature at 140 degrees. If you lower the temperature on your water heater to 120 degrees, you will reduce your water heating costs by 6 percent to 10 percent.

Fireplace

Cold air can enter the home through the fire place. Keep the damper closed when a fire isn’t burning.

Upgrade Your Heating Unit

This is the most expensive option, but if your unit is old, it may be cheaper in the long run to replace the unit with an energy efficient system. Both the federal government and the state of Texas are issuing tax credit credits and rebates for making your home more energy efficient. See the website for more information.

Low Income Homes

You may qualify for $6,500 of free weatherization improvements to your home. Contact your electric or gas company for more information.

Saving energy means saving money. Don’t pay more than you than necessary to heat your home this winter.

Traditions Your Family Might be Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving! On this one day of the year set aside to reflect on the people and things we are most thankful for in our lives, Neighborhood Credit Union would like to thank YOU for making us your credit union. You are the reason we are here, and we are thankful for your continued loyalty and support.

As you enjoy this holiday with your family, we hope you will find comfort in your own traditions or perhaps start some new ones with these ideas created by Once Upon a Family. Creating family traditions is one of the most important things you can do to strengthen family ties.

Thankful Tree

Cut leaf shapes out of autumn colored paper, enough for each guest to have one. Ask each person to write down on the leaf what they are thankful for. Hang each leaf on a small tree, a wrought iron tree or in a basket. Take turns reading them as you enjoy Thanksgiving dessert. Preserve the leaves in a scrapbook or album so you can go back and enjoy them year after year.

Thanksgiving Family Trivia

Ask each guest to write down a few unknown facts about themselves. Perhaps Grandpa earned a purple heart in a war or Uncle Joe raced derby cars when he was a young boy. Mix up the facts and read them one by one. Have other family members try to guess which fact goes with which family member.

Letter of Thanks

Place a note card and a pen at each person’s place setting. Let them know a letter of thanks must be written before dessert is served. Ask everyone to reflect on their year and write a small note of thanks to someone who has impacted their life. Young children can participate by drawing a picture. Provide each person a stamp so they can send their card.


What are some of your family’s favorite Thanksgiving traditions? Please click on Comment below and share them with your Neighborhood Credit Union family.

We hope you have a Happy and fun-filled Thanksgiving Day!

Make Someone Thankful for You

Thanksgiving is a day when we stop and reflect on the people and things in our lives for which we are truly thankful. This year, in addition to counting your blessings, consider becoming someone to be thankful for.

Each year, there are thousands of people who don’t get the luxury of spending the holiday with other people. Many don’t even get a meal. Here are some ways you can be the difference in someone else’s life, even if it’s only one day out of the year.

Invite Someone to Thanksgiving Dinner

If you know someone who has no family in the area, invite him or her to your holiday gathering. It’s hard to be alone on regular days, let alone a holiday.

Provide a Thanksgiving Meal to a Needy Family

If you don’t know a family in need, contact the public school in your neighborhood or a local church to find out how you can provide a Thanksgiving meal to a family that needs your help. Many will ask you to purchase a specific list of groceries which will be delivered by designated local volunteers.

Help Get Meals to the Homebound on Thanksgiving

For many homebound people, the only food they get all day is the meal delivered by Meals on Wheels. Contact your local Visiting Nurses Association to see how you can assist with Thanksgiving Meals for the Homebound.

Volunteer at a local Soup Kitchen

Soup kitchens are often the only source of food for homeless men, women and children. Find a local soup kitchen and see how you can help serve the homeless on Thanksgiving Day. Google “soup kitchen” and the name of your city (i.e. soup kitchen Garland) to locate a local soup kitchen.

Support the North Texas Food Bank

The North Texas Food Bank needs to raise $6.5 million this holiday season to deliver the programs and services it has committed to throughout the year. From now through December 31^st, anything you donate will be matched up to $250,000.

The North Texas Food bank also needs volunteers to work in its warehouse and host food drives, either on-site or virtually.

It’s never too late to be the difference in someone else’s life. This Thanksgiving, be the person someone else is thankful for, even if they never know who you are.

Staying Within Your Budget During the Holidays

This can be an expensive time of year. Between buying gifts, traveling to see family and buying food for meals and parties, it’s easy to see why so many people don’t even keep a budget for the holidays. Those are the same people who spend months and sometimes years paying off their December debt.

You can get through the holidays without going into debt. Here are some money-saving tips to help you think outside the box while staying inside your budget.

Reward Points and Cash Back Bonuses

Check with your credit and debt card companies to see if any offer reward points or cash back bonuses. Those are dollars and prizes you have earned by using your cards. Use them to help pay for gifts this holiday season.

Skip a Payment Programs

Many financial institutions offer the option to skip loan payments during specific months of the year. Interest still accrues on your loans that months, but that money is usually a drop in the bucket compared to the debt you could accrue by shopping with credit cards.

Free Gift Cards or Store Bucks With Purchase

Shop at stores offering free gift cards or store dollars when you spend so much money. Give those free gift cards as presents, or use them to pay for other gifts.

Re-Gift

If you received a present you’ve never even opened, wrap it up and give it to someone else who might love it. There’s nothing wrong with re-gifting if it’s something you won’t use and something you know another person will use.

Give the Gift of Time

Gifts don’t always have to fit in a pretty package. If you don’t have the money to spend on gifts, give friends and family gifts that save them time or money: a homemade certificate for free babysitting, a free home cooked meal, free house or yard work, etc. Google “free gift certificate templates” for professional looking certificates you don’t have to pay for or design yourself.

Potluck Parties and Holiday Meals

Save money by asking guests to bring part of the meal. Tell them you’ll provide the meat and beverages if they each bring a side dish or dessert. This works for holiday parties and holiday meals.

Donate in Lieu of Gifts

Ask your circle of friends or co-workers to skip a gift exchange this year and use that money to buy a holiday meal for a needy family or adopt an angel from the Salvation Army. Buying part of a gift for someone in need saves you money and goes a lot further than buying a gift for each of your friends or co-workers.

The people who love you most do not want you going into debt just to buy them a gift. Make a budget and stick to it. Most importantly, if you can’t afford gifts this year, be honest with people. They will understand.

Finding a Legitimate Charity

People donate to charities between Thanksgiving and Christmas more than any other time of the year. Some charities actually spend more time soliciting during that month, because they know people are more inclined to give. Unfortunately, this is the time of year when charitable giving scams are also on the rise. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give. It just means you should do your homework first.

Charity Navigator is a good place to start. This organization assesses the financial health of more charities than any organization in the country. It uses an unbiased, numbers-based system to rate charities on how efficiently they function daily, as well as what they’ve done to sustain themselves long-term. Every charity it has ever evaluated is rated on the website, and you can donate to any of these charities through the Charity Navigator website. That’s more than 5,000 of the largest charities in America.

With a million charities across the country, you obviously won’t find all of them on this website. You can, however, find all kinds of information about charitable giving, possible scams and tips on finding a charity for the cause you wish to support. It also tells what information to ask for if a charity solicits you for a donation, and it provides tips that make you think before you open your wallet.

For example, this time of year, some charities will advertise in the newspaper, send solicitations by mail or even erect billboards asking you to help them feed the hungry. Advertising is not cheap, and there’s a good chance that a large part your donation could be paying some of those costs. Do you want to support a charity that feeds people or one that advertises that it feeds people?

To be a wise donor, Charity Navigator recommends looking at three different things: financial performance, governance/accountability and results. Financially healthy organizations have more flexibility to pursue their goals, which means your money pays for what you want it to pay for. Charities that follow good governance practices are less likely to use your donation for unethical purposes. Charities with results demonstrate they are using donations for their intended purposes. Charity Navigator’s ratings provide financial performance, and data regarding accountability is available for 1,000 different charities on its website. Results should be obtainable from an individual charity’s website or literature.

Charities will tug at our emotions to get us to open our wallets. We have to resist that temptation until we’re positive this is where we want our money to go. Check Charity Navigator before making a donation. If the charity is not listed there, ask for the organization’s website and annual report. If they cannot provide any kind of proof they exist or have accomplished something, you may want to send your money elsewhere.

Most importantly, never give someone your credit card number over the phone or by mail if you haven’t initiated the call or do not have a history with them. If that information gets into the wrong hands of one person, you can spend years repairing your credit and your good name.

This holiday season and throughout the year, give what you can, and always give wisely.

Honor Our Veterans by Giving Back

Veterans Day is a time to recognize and appreciate the men and women who have sacrificed so much to protect our country. The best way to thank them is to support them both at home and abroad. Here are few ways you can honor these brave soldiers.

Support Wounded Warriors

The USO has partnered with GiveBack10 to raise awareness and support of the countless wounded warriors who have returned home from battle. GiveBack10 was founded in 2010 by Tim Noonan, a former Marine, to drive a national dialogue on the moral imperative of every American to give back to wounded warriors. The program has three components:

Take 10 minutes to learn about the issues affecting wounded warriors and their families.
Tell 10 people and help hem embrace a new perspective about our wounded warriors.
Give back 10 – Make a donation to support programs that help wounded soldiers recover.

From physical health, recreation, and family strengthening activities to job education and skills building, this program provides the necessary support to help men and women throughout their recovery.

Local Veterans Hospitals

There are local veterans in every community that need your support. Remember them and their families as they continue to deal with the struggles that resulted from their tour or duty. You can show support by helping military families in your community and by remembering the hospitalized veterans in local Veterans Affairs medical centers.  VA North Texas Healthcare System is a Dallas-area Veteran’s medical facility.

Send Holiday Cards to Soldiers

The American Red Cross is sponsoring a national “Holiday Mail for Heroes” campaign to receive and distribute holiday cards to service members, veterans and their families in the United States and abroad. The card campaign includes those working and receiving care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. A special P.O. Box address may be found here. Cards must be postmarked no later than Dec. 10.

Send Care Packages To Soldiers

The Department of Defense advises citizens to identify troops through friends and family or by going through one of the groups listed here. Each group has contact with service men and women and will have a list of items to include in a care package. For security reasons, care packages cannot be addressed to “any soldier” or an entire group/platoon.


American soldiers put their lives on the line every day to protect the freedoms we hold so dear but often take from granted her at home. Consider supporting them in some way this Veterans Day.

Does it Make More Sense To Cook or Buy Thanksgiving Dinner?

It’s the meal we savor most the entire year – turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and of course, the pumpkin pie. It’s Thanksgiving dinner, and with it comes much preparation. It used to anyway.

Nowadays, there are many options for feeding your friends and family on Thanksgiving Day. You can shop, chop, peel and cook a meal from scratch, or you can purchase a fully cooked Thanksgiving meal from local grocery stores. Which one is actually the better deal? Let’s do some comparison shopping.

Tom Thumb is offering a holiday turkey dinner that serves six to eight people for $39.99. It includes:

• A fully cooked turkey, 10 to 12 lbs
• Stuffing, 2 lbs.
• Creamy mashed potatoes, 3 lbs.
• Homestyle turkey gravy, 24-oz.
• Holiday cranberry sauce, 15-oz.
• Dinner rolls, 1 Dozen
• 8" Pumpkin Pie Serves 6 to 8

We went through Tom Thumb’s weekly ad and found prices for these items individually. These are the basic ingredients for the meal:

• A fully cooked turkey, 10 to 12 lbs   $14
• Stuffing, 2 lbs.                               $  3
• Creamy mashed potatoes, 3 lbs.      $  2
• Homestyle turkey gravy, 24-oz.       $  2.50 
• Holiday cranberry sauce, 15-oz.       $  5
• Dinner rolls, 1 Dozen                       $  3
• 8" Pumpkin Pie Serves 6 to 8           $  5

$34.50

If you cook your own meal, you’ll save about $5. If you buy the pre-cooked meal, you’ll save a day or more of prep time.

Albertsons has three pre-cooked Thanksgiving dinner options:
Smoked Turkey - $39.99
Cajun Fried Turkey - $54.99
Roasted turkey breast - $ 39.99

Each meal serves six to eight people and includes the following:

10-12 lb. Fully cooked turkey
44 oz. Combread stuffing
48 oz. Mashed Potatoes
24 oz. Homestyle Gravy
One Dozen Kings' Hawaiian Dinner Rolls

The Cajun turkey is not a value, but the other two are. The question is, what is your time worth?

If your time is worth $5, the pre-cooked dinner is a definite deal. If cooking dinner is something you enjoy, that tradition may be priceless to you and your family. Only you can decide.

If you do decide to go with the pre-cooked option, you will need to order it in advance. Contact the grocery store today to place your order.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Heads Up on Savings for Holiday Shoppers

There was a time when the holiday shopping season started after Thanksgiving. Many people would make a tradition of pouring through the thick stack of circulars that came in the newspaper on Thanksgiving day. They were anxiously anticipating their shopping trip the following day – Black Friday.

Times have changed, but Black Friday hasn’t. It’s the still the day when consumers shop in the middle of the night to get the best deals on the hottest holiday gifts of the season. The difference is that now those ads come out online weeks and sometimes months before Thanksgiving.  At least three websites are dedicated to Black Friday savings.

BlackFriday.com

This site is already posting holiday shopping ads. The Target holiday toy catalog many received in the mail today is already on blackfriday.com, and the website is dedicated to posting black Friday ads, even if they are scanned ads that somehow get “leaked” before the ads are scheduled to be published.

Blackfriday.com also has links to Black Friday retail websites, an entire page dedicated to Black Friday deals by category and tons of articles related to holiday shopping. Get shopping tips, information on pre-Black Friday sales, the history of black Friday and even the history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

Some retailers already have holiday shopping sales going on. Check out this site to start saving now. You can also sign up to receive free e-mail alerts when new deals are added to the website.

BlackFriday.info

This site bills itself at the official site of all Black Friday ads, which are provided by the retailers. Find links to ads, see which deals are also available online and even create a shopping list online. There is not much activity on the site right now, but it is already running daily contests on Facebook. Yesterday’s contest was for a free Apple Ipod Shuffle. It may be worth your while to link your Facebook page to this website.

BlackFridayads.com

This site is apparently working out its final kinks, but plans to be up and running soon. Sign up for alerts so you start receiving information when the site is up and ready.

It’s hard to believe Christmas is less than two months away. Arm yourself now for holiday savings.

Turn Halloween Clearance into Year Round Savings

Halloween may be over, but the fun is just beginning for bargain shoppers. Halloween costumes are on sale everywhere right now. Wal-Mart and Target both are offering 50% off on all things Halloween.

Halloween costumes make great gifts. If you have a special child in your life – child, grandchild, niece, nephew, etc., head to one of these two stores today and stock up on costumes you can give as gifts all year long. Kids love to wear costumes, and not just on Halloween. They’ll dress up all year long if they have the costumes to play with. Kids as old 10 love to pretend play, because they can use their imagination. What parent can’t get on board with that? With Christmas just around the corner and birthdays throughout the year, now is the time to cash in on some very inexpensive gifts. You can even give them as gifts to the children whose parties your child gets invited to.

If your kid only likes to dress in costume for Halloween, buy next year’s costume this year. Now is the perfect time to get the deluxe model of your child’s costume at the same price or even lower than the price of the standard costume. Deluxe models often have extra parts or are of a higher quality. They’re also more expensive. Getting them on clearance makes them more affordable.

And, most costumes never go out of style. Princesses, fairies, witches, super heroes, Star Wars heroes and Transformers are all just as popular now as they have been for years. Plus, keep in mind that the third part of the Transformers trilogy will hit theaters on July 1, 2011. Transformers won’t just be a hot costume next Halloween. It will be something kids want to wear when they go see the movie.

Halloween clearance isn’t just about costumes. There’s also decorations to stock up on and candy. Schools, churches and civic organizations are always looking for candy donations for events they host throughout the year. And don’t forget your kids’ birthday parties. Why not buy that candy on sale? If you still have coupons for Halloween candy, stack those coupons on top of clearance prices for even more savings.

Take advantage of Halloween clearance sales. They only comes once a year, but they can save you money all year long.