Congratulations, grad! You’ve worked hard for years, and now, diploma in hand, you’re ready to go out into the world on your own and start building the life you’ve dreamed of. You likely already have ideas about where you want to live and what career you want to pursue, but there’s one aspect of “adulting” that’s not always clear for many recent grads – how to start managing your money on your own.
That’s where we come in – as a Penn State grad, you have access to all that PSECU has to offer, from the basics, like checking and saving accounts, to the more complex, like auto and personal loans.
Read on to learn more about some of the most popular ways you can use a PSECU membership to get on the path to financial success.
Believe it or not, there are still some financial institutions that’ll charge you monthly fees just to have a checking account open. The details may be hidden in the fine print, but these fees are often based on how much money you keep in the account. For many recent grads, meeting these minimum balance requirements can be difficult, especially as you’re getting established in a new job and facing large expenses like security deposits for new apartments or down payments on a new (or new-to-you) car.
As a PSECU member, you have access to checking with no monthly maintenance fees and no minimum balance requirements. This way, you can make the most of the money you earn and not worry about it getting eaten up by fees.
As a recent grad, you may not feel like you have much “extra” in your account after your bills are paid. However, no matter how large or small the contributions are, it’s important to set aside what you can in a savings account each month.
Consider this scenario – you have $20 a month to put in savings. Six months after you begin putting this money in savings, you get a flat tire. As this is an unplanned expense, you don’t have the money from your regular paycheck to cover it. Instead of having to borrow money from a friend or charging the cost of the new tire on a credit card, you can pull it from your savings and avoid going into debt for the expense.
Outside of emergencies like this, we know there may be other things you’re saving for, like a new phone or even a down payment on a future home. We offer you the flexibility to open multiple savings shares (our word for accounts) and customize the names of them so that you can organize your money the way you want and have a visual reminder of your progress on each of your saving goals.
Whether it’s making your student loan payment or sending your roommate your half of the rent, we make managing your monthly expenses a breeze.
When it comes to expenses like your personal bills, you can use our free bill payer service to set up one-time or recurring payments. This makes it easy to get your bills paid on time without the worry of entering or storing your sensitive account information on a third party’s site.
If you share expenses with someone, like a roommate or family member, you can pay them easily, too, using our free person-to-person transfer service. This allows members within the U.S. to send funds to other members quickly and securely. Need to send money to someone that’s not a PSECU member? Our person-to-person service also offers that capability.
You shouldn’t have to pay to access your money. That’s why we’re part of a large ATM network of over 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs, making it easy for you to deposit or withdraw money from your account for free, no matter where you are.
Need to use your PSECU debit card, but can’t find an in-network ATM? If you use your PSECU debit card at an out-of-network ATM and get charged, we’ll rebate fees on withdrawals up to $20 per month if you have direct deposit set up with us, and up to $8 per month if you don’t.
Managing your money on your own can be overwhelming, especially when you’re just starting out. That’s why we offer our members 24/7 access to free financial tips and tools, like articles and videos that cover common money management questions. Plus, our Online Learning Center has more than 30 short self-study lessons on everything from managing debt to building credit.
As a recent grad, you have a lot on your plate. Let us help make managing your money easier. Open an account today.