Are You Helping Members Achieve Financial Success?

Kelly Kressner
October 1, 2009 | COMMENTS

If there is one positive thing that has happened as a result of our country's economic crisis, is that it has forced people to take a good hard look at where their money is going. More people are trying to create realistic budgets and live within their means.

However, speaking from personal experience, it is not an easy task to create a budget and get your finances organized without at least a basic framework to get it going. Last year, I began looking for a budgeting worksheet online and was disappointed to find that the financial institutions I belonged to didn't have any resources to get me started.

Since then, I've made it a point to research what types of money management tools other financial institutions offer their members/customers. Some financial institutions have seminars and/or an online resource center with money management tips and a basic budgeting worksheet, but others have taken it one step further and offer an online personal finance tool through their home banking system.

What a great idea! While I think personal finance sites like Wesabe or Mint are a big step in the right direction, I'm not crazy about entering all my financial information into a company's site where I have no established relationship. On the other hand, if my trusted financial institution had the tool set up through their home banking system, I definitely wouldn't hesitate to use it.

Based on my research, here are a few of the most popular programs that financial institutions are adopting:

• FinanceWorks powered by Quicken
• Wesabe Springboard by Wesabe
• Credit Union HQ Suite by Geezeo

What type of financial management tools does your credit union offer?

Reprinted with permission from My Marketing Insights, a blog by Nicolette Lemmon, president and founder of LemmonTree Marketing Group. Contact her at 888-536-6243 or nslemmon@lemmontree.com.