This helpful Credit Card Pay-Off Calculator, found on our Financial Resource Center, will help you to see what it will take to pay off your credit card balance, and what you can change to meet your repayment goals. Visit http://aspire.frc.finresourcecenter.com/Credit_Card_Payoff_89982.html to give it a shot! Feel free to leave us a comment and let us know about your experiences using the calculator.

If you’re thinking about taking advantage of Presidents’ Day Auto Sales, there is one piece of advice we would like to give you: don’t finance with the dealer! Dealers will tell you anything to sell you the vehicle, but what they won’t tell you is that their 0% interest rate may end up costing you more than what you’ll pay by financing with Aspire. Members who finance with Aspire instead of the dealer save an average of $2,000 over the life of their loan. Plus, you have the opportunity to shop for your vehicle in our Member Showroom at aspirefcu.zag.com,…

For a limited time, we’re offering Aspire members a 0% Introductory Rate for 12 months* when they choose a Visa Platinum Card or Visa Business Card. This offer applies to both purchases and balance transfers. With a 0% Introductory Rate, cardmembers can pay down their balances faster and save on interest! For more information and to apply, call 732-388-0477, Option 3 or visit www.aspirefcu.org, and click “Get out of Debt”. *Extended introductory rate in effect for applications received from 1/1/12 – 1/31/12.

Ready or not, it’s time for January graduates to receive their first student loan bills. If you’re in the same shoes as countless grads all over the world, you’re given a choice: to defer or not to defer. I’ll give you the bad news first: no matter what you choose, there’s no avoiding the payments altogether. But here’s the good news: there’s no right or wrong decision. Whether you decide to defer your loans for a few years or pay them back immediately, additional interest will not accrue on your original rates. Deferring your loans might be a consideration if…

College financing is a huge issue; how is tuition going to be paid for? The following information breaks down the basics of financial aid so your child will know what to expect in the near future. Your child must file a FAFSA to determine what need based funding they are eligible for. The FAFSA is available through the federal department of education here: www.fafsa.ed.gov/ There are four primary funding sources used to pay tuition. Need Based Grants, Merit Based Scholarships, cash payments and Student Loans. Need Based Grants originate from Federal and/or state government agencies. They can also be awarded by the school your child attends. They use the FAFSA to determine eligibility. The lower your household income the more likely your child can qualify for a need based grant. Examples for these grants include Pell, SEOG and TEACH. Merit based scholarships are awarded by admissions offices by considering GPA,…