Members Share Top 4 Goals & What CUs Can Do To Help
WASHINGTON–Survey results released by Callahan’s Internet Strategy Consortium of 10,664 online members have shown that their top four financial goals are reducing credit card balances (29%), saving more money (27%), increasing their income (24%) and reducing debt (23%).
The studies authors said that some differences exist based on age. “One distinction is that while reducing credit card balances and saving money are top goals for members across age segments, the groups differ in terms of how they expect to accomplish this,” the study observes. “More members in the over-40 groups say they expect to reduce expenses or reduce debt. Members in the younger age groups (under age 39) are more likely to say they expect to increase income. Goals vary less by income than might be expected, as members across all income levels have the same top four goals.”
The study offered several recommendations to CUs:
* Education is clearly needed. “In addition to providing a critical service to members in need, financial counseling and education can help strengthen the member relationship.”
* Member feedback illustrates the need for basic guidance on budgeting and saving. However, many credit unions are already offering some tools in this area, so the challenge is primarily increasing awareness. Many times, credit unions are offering tools that will help members track their finances, they just are not “packaged” or marketed as such. Online banking tools, savings related articles and email alerts together could be marketed towards members who are budget conscious or focused on reducing debt.
The survey found that one online member had these suggestions: “Create tools to automatically save money from paycheck; Create separate savings accounts that can be named for specific goals, and create online tools for tracking expenses.(c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com
