Today was jeans day at First Source – and it’s for a great cause. Employees make a donation up to $5.00 to sport their blues for the day. Funds are donated to our local United Way.

Five employees from First Source’s Rome Branch are volunteering their lunch hour once a week to read to students at two of Rome’s elementary schools – Bellamy and Gansevoort.

The staff has stated how rewarding it is to see the smiles of the students while they are reading to them.

If you travel, make sure the card is accepted worldwide and can give you cash advances if you need them. And check the policy on international purchases—some charge extra fees. Sometimes your agreed-upon APR (variable or fixed) is only as good as your timely payments. If you’re late, that agreement may be void—percentages can get tacked on, and fees added. See how long you have to make a payment. How is the minimum payment due calculated? Some are flat fees and some are percentage-based. What’s the grace period? Do they offer purchase/fraud protection? If you have an issue, can you make a local phone call to easily get it resolved? Don’t take anything for granted.

Want to learn about our First Source Platinum Visa®?

Why is it that every year the holidays come at the same time, and somehow, we’re still surprised when they seem to creep up? Like we don’t know they’re coming! And then we scramble to figure out how best to pay for gifts. First Source can help. Why not open a savings account specifically created for discretionary spending? We offer many different savings accounts but our Club Account is geared specifically toward stashing some money away for things like a trip or holiday gifts. You only need to start with $50 in the account and as you add more to your savings, we add some in too via monthly dividends. Now you’ll be ready for flash sales on Black Friday and great deals on Cyber Monday with the money you’ve saved just for this.

Credit card promotions definitely have their benefits, but remember to check the fine print. Balance transfers at 0% are great, but check to see how long you have to pay it off at that rate (it could be only a few months). Also note that 0% is only on the amount transferred; any new purchases fall under the card’s normal APR. And pay attention: find out which purchases get paid off first if you make a payment—the 0% or the standard APR ones.

First Source has a longstanding commitment to education – from our original founding to be exact. Staying true to our roots as the Utica Teachers Federal Credit Union, it is important to us to invest in the health of our community and that includes eduction. Education is the foundation of what makes a community thrive. This is why we have longstanding partnerships with our local colleges, helping to meet their goals. This includes funding the Trading Room at Utica College and a Nursing Classroom at MVCC, development and expansion at SUNYIT and a planned business classrooms upgrade at HCCC. All are important facility upgrades for students enrolled in higher education. If we can help to get them the training and experience they need and keep them in our area after graduation, we’re all about that cause.