SAVINGS
The Huffington Post noted that 27 percent of people don’t have enough savings to cover basic living expenses for just three months if they suffer a financial setback – many of those people couldn’t even cover a $100 emergency if it came up tomorrow.
At Caro, the entry to membership is establishing a basic savings account, for two reasons. We ask that you deposit a minimum of $25 in your savings account and keep it there because:
- This is your share of ownership in the credit union. Unlike being a customer of a bank, at Caro you are a member-owner. Each member owns an equal share of the credit union. What happens to your $25 if you choose to leave the credit union? If your account is in good standing with us, that $25 in your share savings account will be returned to you
- We want to encourage smart financial habits. We hope that by establishing this basic savings account, you’ll find other opportunities to deposit a little here and there to start saving for a rainy day.
Oh yeah. There’s one more difference between being a customer at a for-profit bank, and a member-owner at a not-for-profit financial cooperative like Caro: we pay dividends on most savings accounts. That means you’re making money just by saving money!