International Credit Union (ICU) Day has been celebrated on the third Thursday of October since 1948. The day is recognized to reflect upon the credit union movement's history and to promote its achievements. It is a day to honor those who have dedicated their lives to the movement and show members our appreciation. This year's theme, "Local Service. Global Good." emphasizes credit unions' positive impact in their communities locally and around the world.

When it comes to newlyweds or a recently engaged couple, it can be easy to get caught up in the honeymoon phase of your relationship and disregard financial issues in your relationship. It is easy to get sidetracked when you are wedding planning, searching for the perfect home or deciding how many children you want to have. While these are excellent topics to discuss, to ensure a healthy marriage we encourage you to discuss money matters.

Ask a twenty-something professional what's on their shortlist of priorities, and it's doubtful you'll see "retirement planning" on there.  Then again, this is a time in life when choosing the right career path is a little more pressing than thinking about leaving it.

Are you still planning a summer vacation? Haven’t quite finalized your plans due to budget concerns? Never fear - the season is still young, and you have plenty of time to clean your financial house in advance of a nice summer getaway! With this in mind, here are a few helpful strategies to make your summer vacation a smashing success.

Summer has arrived, and kids everywhere are dealing with a sudden spike in free time. As parents, the chances are good that you'll be tapped for a little spending money during the season.

I don’t know why the World Cup was not on my radar in the past. Has it been hyped more this year? Maybe I’ve just been paying attention to sports lately, thanks to the Heat’s run to the NBA finals.

Since 1952, City County Credit union has been providing topnotch financial services for tens of thousands of Floridians due in no small part to our ability to keep up with the changing times.

Spring is giving way to the earliest stages of summer, and young, ambitious students everywhere are preparing to matriculate.  But, once the caps and gowns are packed away, new grads are going to have to prepare for a harsh reality - student loan repayment.  Crafting a plan to tackle student loan debt doesn't have to be hard or scary, but it does involve some due diligence.  If you're a graduating student about to start the repayment process, here are five baseline tips for staying on top of your loans.

Everyone says that we are in the information age. With a laptop or a tablet, knowledge is literally at our fingertips. When it comes to financial learning however, we tend to unconsciously skip over this readily available, yet boring information. We are all guilty of this (myself included). Who wants to think about finances when we can be entertained by ethereal ball gowns worn on the red carpet at the Academy Awards ceremony?

I had a birthday last month, and as I usually do, wrote thank you notes to friends and family for the thoughtful birthday gifts I received.

Many of our members were introduced to us by a loyal parent or grandparent who sent their youngsters to CCCU because it was the best place for their money. This is still true. But times have changed. We are no longer your grandmother's credit union.

Just as I expected, coming back to work after three months away on maternity leave wasn’t an easy thing. Being separated from my baby, adjusting to a new routine and being sleep deprived is lots of fun… not! Having to buy new clothes to fit my post-pregnancy body, deal with a lot of new expenses and still think about dieting is the icing on the not so fun cake. All this internal angst had to be channeled positively somehow and so the Tighten Your Waist & Your Wallet campaign was born; the perfect program to help myself, but also my community and business contacts that count on me for their financial education.

Most of us make a New Year's resolution at some point in our lives. The passing of one year and looking forward to the next brings both reflection and promise. What I like about resolutions is that we identify goals that we have the power to change ourselves, such as reading more, starting an exercise program or saving money.

We are scattered all over the world. My siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins and in-laws. Our children now speak Japanese, German, Norwegian, Tagalog, and of course English (albeit the Canadian and British variety). And at Christmas time, each family living in a particular country will celebrate in the tradition of that nation.

Soon it will be my thirty-fifth anniversary! Not a wedding anniversary, but I've been a credit union member for thirty-five years. It all started when my father opened an account for me at the credit union for the pharmaceutical company where he worked.

As I sat in the Physical Therapy hospital waiting room, I watched the others. The middle aged woman in great discomfort, one arm in a soft cast, the old man with vacant eyes, attended by his disinterested companion, the young child wheelchair bound with shriveled limbs, confined perhaps since birth. A heavy atmosphere of pain and resignation filled the room. No one made eye contact. I looked down at the book I was reading. You could have heard a pin fall.

Every experienced parent I ask seems to swear by one baby product or another and so my husband and I have amassed quite the collection of baby stuff in hopes of having everything we might need to take care of our little bundle of joy. Of course all of that cute, tiny stuff does not come cheap so I'm always on the lookout for ways to save on baby gear. I am definitely not an expert, but I have managed to save a lot of money on some big purchase items with these tips I've gathered along the way.

Budgeting is more about developing a habit you can stick to than it is about money. We already generally know how much we’re going to make in a given period, and predict how much we need to spend. What can put us off-balance are the irregular expenses: the flat tire or the hospital stay. While these events often visit us unannounced, they really aren’t all that unexpected when you think about it. That’s why it’s important to also budget for these unpredictable expenses.

When I was a kid my father would take advantage of a rainy summer day and had me and my two brothers roll coins. It seemed that the empty peanut butter jars of coins he had accumulated were never ending. This was no small task - it took us hours and hours, but I didn't mind. The work was mindless and I liked the sense of accomplishment from seeing the full rolls neatly stacked (was this a precursor to my banking career?).

I have this recurring nightmare. There I am, stuck on the shoulder of I-95. It’s a summery 96 degrees outside; if it gets any more humid I will be under water. I am starting to melt...