This year, my husband and I got a later start than usual on our taxes, so our refund didn’t come into the bank until a couple of weeks ago. We have plans for what we’d like to do with the money, from adding to our outdoor space (I think I want an outdoor playset MORE than my children), to giving some of the rooms in our house a fresh look. I think it speaks to the basic lack of financial literacy in my generation, but also in this area in general, that we didn’t even consider a CD. In fact, when I mentioned it to my husband last week, he thought I was talking about music.

 

So for those who share our ignorance, a CD is a Certificate of Deposit, and the basic idea is that you get a better interest rate for placing your money in your financial institution for a guaranteed length of time. Since we’re really hoping to retire one day and weren’t really counting on that money for bills or home repairs, we decided to deposit it with Afena last week and add to our nest egg. The kids were happy to tag along, as they knew the credit union was decorated for its Kid’s Month with safari gear, and they wanted to drop off their entries for the coloring contest Afena is holding this month.

Now I love that the credit union was going above and beyond to engage my children and making a trip to the credit union is less of a chore and more of a treat, but I wasn’t expecting what happened when I sat down and talked with Steve about opening a CD. After deciding on a term and amount, he pulled out a deck of cards and requested that I draw one. Confused, and expecting some kind of card trick, I drew a card that was graced with a tiger and a number. Steve let me know that my CD rate was getting bumped up by the amount on the card. Now that’s a card trick I’d like to see again! I was delighted, and as my family stopped by the teller window to make a deposit into the kids’ Lucky Buck accounts, I saw that they had buckets sitting out to collect spare change for their Non-Profit of the Month program. This April, all donations go to Circles of Grant County. When I asked about it, Patriece told me that it’s an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty in our community. We made a contribution in the bucket, and I left feeling like the luckiest woman in town.

 That day was full of wonderful surprises, and my husband and I knew we were making the right decision for our financial future in choosing to save our tax refund. Having Afena give us a little bonus felt like the universe’s way of commending that decision, and it made sense to pay some of that forward to one the many excellent non-profits that our community is blessed with. I’m Claire, the Afena blog mom. Thanks for reading.