The summer quarterly newsletter for Greylock Federal ...

The autumn quarterly newsletter for Greylock Federal Members

Volume 51, No. 4 | October 2023

NOTICES

Holiday Closings Monday, October 9 Saturday, November 11 Thursday, November 23 Saturday, December 23 Monday December 25 Monday, January 1

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Insured by NCUA

Let's stay connected!

We want to ensure our members are connected to all that's happening at Greylock. Here are two ways to review and update your contact information: Visit a branch: Simply let a teller or Member Service Representative know that you'd like to update your contact information and they will assist you with this update. Online banking: Log on to online banking, click "More" and then select "Ask A Question." In the drop-down box, select either "change address" or "change email address" and enter your new information.

Here for the moments that matter

I am delighted to share the news that Greylock marked an extraordinary milestone this year. We have officially welcomed more than 100,000 Members to our credit union! Our growth is a direct reflection of the deep trust and confidence that each of you have in Greylock. Thank you!

In August, we celebrated Member Appreciation Week to share our gratitude for our Members' steadfast trust in Greylock through the years, and we hope our Members had an enjoyable experience when they visited our branches.

Looking beyond this memorable week, our focus on our Members remains the same. It's been that way since Greylock first established its presence in 1935, and it's still true today: Our Members know that they can always count on Greylock to be here for the moments that matter.

For Members like Melissa Van Bramer, who joined the credit union in the late 1980s to purchase her first car, it's all about the local and personal touch that she receives when she visits her local branch. Others like Charliston Dos Santos, owner of C&A Cleaning, sought funding for his growing business, but was initially turned away from other financial institutions. However, through Greylock, he was able to successfully open a business account, and obtain the resources he needed to expand his business. And for Makenzie Evangelisto, having access to Greylock's wealth of financial wellness resources empowered her to pursue her entrepreneurial dream.

These experiences, and so many more, reflect who we are as Greylock. It's the reason why we do what we do each and every day. Our Greylock team understands that excellent service starts with meaningful relationships and I am proud of their outstanding work to help our Members achieve their financial goals.

Looking ahead, we have some more exciting news to share. Construction is underway on Greylock's new Lee branch, which will be located at 43 Park St. and will be nearly three times larger than our existing branch, allowing us to enhance our services. We look forward to welcoming our Members to the new location when it opens in early 2024.

Here's to many more milestones and moments in the years ahead. Thank you.

John L. Bissell President and Chief Executive Officer

Visit the Community Empowerment Center's online calendar today for helpful, fun and educational events from Greylock and many of our partner organizations.

CEC Here are some of our upcoming educational classes:

Presented in English:

Register at CEC Preparing for Homeownership

9-10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 7 via Zoom. Gift of Debt: How to avoid adding debt during the holiday season Noon-12:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9 via Zoom. Breaking the Debt Cycle 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5 via Zoom.

Presentado en espa?ol:

(para inscribirse 413-236-4875) Pasos Para Comprar Una Casa

Martes 3 de Octubre a las 5-7 p.m. en la oficina de Allendale. Habilidad Crediticia Lunes de Noviembre 13 a las 5-6:30 p.m. en la oficina de Kellogg Street. Taller Declaracion de Impuestos 101

Lunes 11 de Diciembre a las 6-8 p.m. en la Escuela Secundaria de Lee. Visite CEC para obtener m?s informaci?n.

A Week to Remember!

This year, Greylock officially welcomed more than 100,000 members, and we celebrated this momentous milestone with Member Appreciation Week held Aug. 14 through Aug. 18 throughout our branches. All week long, our members enjoyed fun giveaways and themed events like Ice Cream Day, Coffee and Cookies Day, while showing their outstanding community spirit on Give Back Day by sharing donations for local pantries. One lucky winner was also selected to win the grand prize giveaway, a $10,000 CD. Thank you all for choosing Greylock as your trusted financial partner. We appreciate you!

Don't let your home or auto insurance lapse ? Here's why

There are many factors affecting the insurance industry right now. With that, it has become even more important not to let your home or auto insurance lapse, especially for non-payment. If you have a lapse on your auto insurance, when you attempt to reinstate it, many carriers will require that you settle any premiums previously owed to a former carrier in addition to paying your new policy in full. Lapses in home insurance can have serious affects as well. In addition to leaving your home unprotected, many times the policy will need to be rewritten with a new company that will offer insurance on an uninsured home. The premiums tend to be much higher than the original policy. If your policy goes into cancellation and you are having a difficult time making the payment, sometimes payment arrangements are available. Please contact your agent at (888) 200-4445 to discuss these options.

The Chairperson's Corner

By Peter Lopez, Board of Directors

Whether it's cheering on youngsters at the Westside Legends Soap Box Derby in Pittsfield, partnering with Berkshire United Way to ensure students have enough school supplies, or spending a Saturday with Hudson residents at the Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood Block Party, these are just a few of the many ways that Greylock supports the communities we serve.

Service is central to Greylock's mission because it's the foundation for all that we do. But there's another amazing component.

As we serve our community in a myriad of ways, Greylock too, is the recipient of invaluable benefits. With each engagement, we are privileged to have rich one-on-one conversations. We're able to listen more intently to the needs and thoughts that are top of mind.

We also witnessed the tremendous generosity of our members who contributed nonperishable food items for Give Back Day, part of Greylock's Member Appreciation Week in August. Greylock proudly shared these donations with local pantries benefiting veterans and other community members.

Indeed, it is our pleasure to serve, and I know that the weeks and months ahead will provide continued opportunities to nurture our community relationships in deep and meaningful ways.

To learn more about our charitable contributions, please visit Greylock's website, .

GreenPath

You've worked hard on your household budget to keep your finances on track. Could you suddenly squeeze in a $359 payment that you hadn't previously budgeted?

Starting this month, student loan repayments resume and 43 million student loan borrowers will be asking themselves some form of a very similar question when they receive their student loan bill.

This is a time for trusted guidance, and Greylock's financial education partner, GreenPath, is here for you.

GreenPath can review, or create, a budget with you, and look for opportunities to

free up cash to squeeze this payment in comfortably. For instance, a Debt Management Plan may be a good option to reduce credit card payments enough to offset the student loan payment.

Whatever you decide, just know that GreenPath has the resources and tools to help you resume your student loan payments without derailing your financial goals.

For more information, please visit . Compiled from GreenPath

Fraud trend: AI voice clones

Did you know that artificial intelligence allows scammers to clone voices, including those of friends and family? If you receive a call asking you to send money, don't trust the voice. Hang up and call the person using a phone number you know is theirs. If you can't reach your loved one, try to get in touch with them through another family member or friend. Learn more about various scams and how to protect yourself at or , or stop in to your local branch. We're here to help!

Important Information about Overdrafts and Re-Presented Items

Any item (check, ACH, or any other type of electronic transaction) that is initially presented to Greylock for payment and is returned by us to the payee (the person or business you are attempting to pay for a product or service) because the Available Balance in your account was not sufficient to cover the item can be re-presented to us by the payee for payment multiple times.

Please note that this is entirely beyond our control. Re-presentment of an item is at the sole discretion of the payee. Greylock simply facilitates these requests for payment as they are received from you and/or your payee. It is also important to note that this process is completely automated. Therefore, we will charge an Overdraft Fee or Insufficient Funds Fee each time the item is presented to us for payment against insufficient funds regardless of the number of times an item is presented to us, and regardless of whether we pay or return the item.

If you have any questions about this process, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone or visit us in-person at any one of our convenient branch locations.

Tell us your Greylock story!

Whether it was a first car, new home or support for a business, we know that each of our Greylock members has a special story to share and we want to hear from you. If you'd like to share your Greylock experience, please contact Greylock's Marketing Team at marketing@.

Greylock Federal Credit Union

Volunteer Board of Directors

Peter Lopez, Chairperson Kelly J. Krok, Vice Chairperson Krystle A. Blake, Clerk/Treasurer

Gerard E. Burke Tyrone A. Jackson John C. Law

Sheila LaBarbera Anthony J. Rinaldi, Jr. Stanley B. Walczyk

JamieEllen Moncecchi, Assistant Recording Officer

Supervisory Committee Allison Bedard, Chairperson

Krystle A. Blake Bryan House

Lori Broderick-Bean Catheryn Ortega

Directors Emeriti Daniel Donovan ? March 2014 Richard DeFazio ? September 2014

Alfred Shogry ? April 2015 J. Paul Dube ? April 2015 Marilyn Sperling ? October 2015 Jean Doak ? October 2016 Angelo Borsello ? July 2021

Money Talks is a quarterly publication of Greylock Federal Credit Union included with Members' March, June,

September, and December statements, and online at . Editorial comment is encouraged and can be sent to the Editor at 150 West Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201. The articles in this publication are not intended to provide specific recommendations. You should consult with a

professional with regard to your individual situation.

Attenci?n miembros de habla espa?ola! No dude en visitar a nuestro personal bilingue in Greylock.

Ellos estaran siempre dispuestos a ayudarios con sus preguntas. Por favor llame al (800) 207-5555.

This newsletter is printed on recycled paper.

? 2023 Greylock Federal Credit Union. All rights reserved.

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Fiscal College Checklist: What you and

your college student should know

Let's face it, most kids don't understand banking. Why would they? They have that tree in the backyard, you know the one I'm talking about ?The Money Tree, of course! If only you had one of those, right?

As caregivers, it's our job to teach children that money doesn't grow on trees. It's something you must earn and nurture. We totally messed that up in our household! I think our first two actually believed there was a tree. The middle one still might!

Perhaps paying for college gave us the wakeup call we needed or "the banker" in me finally kicked in after 25 years, but our baby actually gets it! She doesn't let us pay for anything. Well, almost anything! Colorado State, that's on us! Somehow, she has this profound sense of dollars and responsibility and yes, I think hubby and I deserve at least some credit for that! The crazy thing is, we both actually feel guilty that she doesn't let us pay her way!

It's such a beautiful relief to have a young person so in touch with her finances. Financial needs change throughout life and understanding your options is important. Together, we created this Fiscal Check List for Colorado:

1. Credit card for emergencies (see options below)

a. Mom can have a card issued to an authorized user 18 years + or;

b. 18 + can apply for their own card. (May need a mom co-signer, not likely to have established credit yet).

c. In our daughter's case, she could do a secured Visa card using her funds at Greylock.

d. Mom and student can apply for a joint card secured by mom funds to establish credit for student.

2. Greylock checking account & debit card ? simplest way for your student to pay for every day needs.

3. Greylock app ? With our app, students can transfer funds between accounts, remotely deposit checks from a work study job on campus, monitor accounts and stay on budget. Parent Tip: take pictures of cards and driver's licenses and any other important document your child may need to take to school (front and back). This will help if anything goes missing!

4. Online banking credentials ? Be sure your child knows their online banking credentials in case their phone is lost or broken. Unless I have missed something, there's no "Face ID" or "Thumb Print"

to access the old-fashioned PC way to bank! Parent Tip: Sit down with your student and have them show you they can access their accounts with both the app and online banking. At present, online banking does have a bit more functionality than our app (We're working on that and I promise, it will be worth the wait) ? Like Card Controls for example, if they lose their debit/credit card ? they can turn it off immediately with Manage My Card!

5. Share to Share Overdraft Protection ? Funds must be on deposit in a savings account and will be transferred automatically to the checking account at the end of business should your child's checking account fall short. There is a $5 charge to savings per any day this service is utilized, but the cost is much less than a per item insufficient funds (NSF) charge! Teach your student to monitor their activity and avoid fees altogether! Students and care givers can transfer funds any time prior to 6 p.m., using online banking or the app and avoid the $5 charge when this service in place!

6. Surcharge free ATMs & Shared Branch ? Use the ATM Locators on our website here: ATM Locations - Greylock Federal Credit Union to find surcharge free machines across the United States and Canada or click the Shared Branch Locator Button on this page: Locations & ATMs - Greylock Federal Credit Union to find the closest Credit Union that can process your child's Greylock banking.

I would say it's vital to be sure you have a way to get funds into your student's hands quickly. With Greylock, the easiest way to do that is by being a joint account holder on at least one of your student's accounts. We can then link that account to your online banking and Mobile app and you can transfer to it at will.

From one Banker Mom to another, college is such an exciting, proud moment for us, but it's also a really big courageous thing our kids are doing! We want to help eliminate the anxiety that naturally comes with any college transition so both our kids and caregivers can simply enjoy the journey!

Just know that our Greylock family is here for you and yours. Need help with your Fiscal College Check List? There's still time! Let us help.

-Yours truly,

Jennifer Supranowicz "Banker Mom"

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