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On Fridays, you get posts about money 💲💰💰💲. Expect a mix of posts on personal finance, breakdowns of the most relevant events in the Tech Industry, and insights into the unique workings of the tech industry. 🔍🔍. Use these posts to master the money game, and solidify your finances to ride out the meanest of recessions.
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A week ago I wrote a post about how mainstream media, social media influencers posturing as AI Experts, and the discourse around AI in general was built on a base of misinformation, hype, and false promises. Your reception to that has been overwhelmingly positive- a massive thank you for that. If you missed it, or need a refresh, make sure you catch it here.
Going over both the Crypto Scams of last year and the AI Hype market machine- it’s clear that a lot of the market bubbles these days prey upon a lack of financial literacy in people. Take Crypto firms. They attracted people with high-interest rates, low regulation, and quick transactions. These seem attractive until you realize that the reason traditional banks have slow transactions and lots of regulations is to protect ordinary folk. And the high-interest rates mean nothing when your platform falls apart and the rates are funded by Ponzi-like economics (read more about that here).
This is why we will be doing a few more posts on personal finance and financial literacy. You’ll still get a lot of the business of tech articles that seem to be a favorite with a lot of y’all, but we will be doing more posts about financial literacy and some of the overlooked ideas in it. Hope you’re excited. And where better to start than covering the institutions where you’d put your money- banks and credit unions!! Many people don’t understand the differences between these systems, so thought I’d cover these in more detail.
According to a new report from CUNA’s market research department, some nonmembers don’t realize they could join a credit union, while others don’t understand what credit unions are or how they differ from banks.
Key Highlights- Banks vs Credit Unions
Kinds of Institutions- While banks and CUs operate very similarly on the surface, banks are for-profit entities. This means that they have to make money for their shareholders. Conversely, CUs are non-profit- and every person that opens an account is automatically a part owner. This gives CU customers more ownership of the decisions of the union. We recently saw banks go bust over bad investments. A CU customer would have more information about any investments, protecting them from being caught off guard in such cases.
Interest Rates- Credit unions typically offer higher interest rates on savings accounts since they don't have to make a profit. Take a look at the National Credit Union Administration report on the interest rates for 2023 here for some numbers. CUs also come with lower fees, which can be a great way to save on some dough.
Flexibility- To quote Investopedia- Credit unions look to serve their membership and tend to be more flexible when it comes to customer needs. Votes regarding customer service issues are influenced by the account owners—the members of the credit union—who have equal voting rights.
Network- Banks typically have more branches and ATMs than credit unions, but credit unions often offer free ATM use through a shared network. However, keep in mind that if you travel internationally, bigger banks will be much easier to use than credit unions.
Product Offerings- Banks by being bigger would generally offer you more options and services. Banks are also better with digital adoption, given that they need it to serve their much larger customer base. This is a big reason why younger generations have been drawn to banks over CUs.
If you’re on the road and need something to listen to/want information conveyed in video format, the amazing YouTuber Plain Bagel has a fantastic video on this topic. Catch it below-
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