This Weeks Reason to Bank with a Credit Union:

According to this article http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/11/average-price-of-new-cars-hits-a... from “autoblog” The average price of a new car has reached an all-time high of $30,748.

 The average car loan rate as of April 5^th was 4.52% on a 60-month loan and 5.22 on a 36-month term. See this article for more details http://www.bankrate.com/finance/news/auto/interest-rates-040512.aspx.

 So why am I sharing this with you. When the price of your car is that high your interest rate really does make a huge difference. If you have a 36mo loan with the 5.22 rate, that loan will cost you $2,536.33 for the life of the loan. Credit Union rates can be far lower than bank rates. If you do that same loan with a Credit Union rate of 2.39, that same loan will cost you $1,145.77. That is a savings of $1,390.56 for the life of the loan. On a 60-month loan at 4.52 it will cost you even more, since you are paying interest for two additional years. At 60-months this loan will cost you $3,662.37. With a credit union rate of 2.89 that loan will cost you $2,311.60. That is a savings of $1350.77.

So get your statement and see how much you are paying, and call your local credit union to see if you can save some money by refinancing.

Jason Coleman-Heppler

www.bestbankerinspokane.com

Not everyone will qualify for the lowest rate credit unions have to offer, however credit unions can typically save you money. Credit Union rates used for this post are from United Health Services Credit Union as of 04/25/2012 and are not guaranteed and are subject to change.