With Valentine's Day just around the corner, you may be considering an engagement to that special someone. If that's the case, you should also be thinking about a few insurance options, including wedding insurance and personal property insurance.

Wedding insurance can help put your mind at ease as you plan your big day. Coverage is available for a complete range of unexpected situations including a lost or damaged wedding dress, lost deposits, lost rings, severe weather, transportation shutdowns, ruined photos, calls to duty, damaged gifts, sudden illnesses, venue insurance, liquor liability as well as a variety of other expenses.

As for personal property, your engagement and/or wedding can also be the right time to take stock and make sure your newly combined household items are adequately insured. Because the engagement ring is such a significant investment, you'll want to make sure it is protected against theft or loss. And don't forget about her precious artwork and his rare baseball card collection.

Most homeowner's policies limit coverage of personal property. A personal property insurance policy may be exactly what you need to protect everything each of you own.

To get a free quote or to speak with a TDECU Insurance Agency representative, visit TDECUinsurance.org or call TDECU Insurance at 888.833.7358.

TDECU Insurance Agency, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Texas Dow Employees Credit Union. TDECU Insurance Agency, LLC and Texas Dow Employees Credit Union are not affiliates of the insurance companies represented. Insurance products are not deposits; not NCUA insured; and not guaranteed by TDECU Insurance Agency, LLC or Texas Dow Employees Credit Union.

*Originally published in TDECU's February 2011 Newsletter

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1. Finding your nearest TDECU ATM, Allpoint ATM, TDECU branch, or CU Service Center - If you're looking for a TDECU ATM, surcharge-free Allpoint ATM, TDECU branch, or shared CU Service Center branch, use the "Find ATMs & Locations" tool available on the TDECU homepage. Don't know what a CU Service Center is? Read about them here.

2. Member Discounts - On our Member Discounts page, you'll find information about our Studio55+ Club, Young & Free Texas program, current specials (like our TurboTax 10% discount, check it out!) and deals through Invest in America.

3. Dealer Locator - Looking to buy a car at a local dealership but you don’t know who offers financing through TDECU? Use our Dealership Locator and scroll through the list after typing in your city. It's that easy!

4. Calculators - Need help figuring out whether to buy or lease a new vehicle? How about getting an estimate on a mortgage payment for a new home? Our calculators page provides tools to help you analyze credit cards, mortgages, savings, autos and more.

If you haven't explored TDECU.org beyond Online Banking (and our blog, of course), what are you waiting for?!

It's been a great year and 2010 is now coming to a close. Everyone here at TDECU wants to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year! Please keep in mind the following hours for the holidays:

Christmas

Friday December 24 - Christmas Eve

Victoria Mall Branch
8 am to 6 pm

All other branches
Open Regular Hours
Lobbies to close at noon
Drive Thru's to close at 2 pm

Saturday December 25 - Christmas
All Branches Closed

New Years

Friday, December 31 - New Year's Eve
Normal Hours

Saturday, January 1 - New Year's Day
All Branches Closed

It's been a long-running tradition that Santa is the sparkle in children's eyes during this time of the year. Letters are written and pictures are taken with the jolly man in red. With the rise of technology however, there are more and more ways to bring Santa to the children in your life.

I have recently discovered something that was introduced by Google Voice called Message From Santa. This is something that will definitely brighten your child's day (or even a friend or family member for that matter). You are asked a series of fun questions and are able to personalize it with the child's name so they know it's a special phone call from Santa himself. Choose the number you are sending it from and the number you are sending it to and it will call them within a matter of seconds. Just make sure they are within arms reach of their parent's phone or their own phone.

Another great site I stumbled upon is one that does personalized letters from Santa. You can check it out on this site. This would be a great idea for your children after their letters to Santa are written. It will be as though Santa has already received their letter and written them back. In addition to this, not only is it a free service but this would be a great keepsake for when your children are grown;something for them to look back on!

Of course we all know that Santa has email as well. This site has more great things to offer aside from getting to email Santa though. At the top of the page your children can see when Santa will arrive at their house along with Santa coloring pages, pet emails to Rudolph and many other features. A great place to keep your child entertained and up to date with their pal Santa.

Keep the spirit of Santa alive for your child with these three sites. It'll be great to see that you've put a smile on their face even before Christmas day arrives!  

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If you're a photo fanatic like me but you haven't heard of Picnik.com, this week's post is meant to introduce you to this amazing photo editing site. Get ready: it'll change your digital life!

Signing up is a cinch, and once registered, you can start collecting your own personal library of photo creations you'll be doing down the road. Simply provide a username, password and email address and you're done! You can then import your photos from your Picasa, Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, Webs, Webshots and Photobucket accounts if you're already active in the communities there.

I happen to love their featured filters this month (you can find this under the "Create" tab at the top); not only can you "pink" a picture for Breast Cancer Awareness Month but you can also do some fun Halloween filters like vampire eyes and zombie skin. (Let me tell you, making yourself look like a zombie is actually pretty fun!) You can also add little extras like stickers, text, frames and other fun stuff not to mention photo-editing musts such as taking out red-eye, cropping a photo or resizing one if you need to.

Basic features come free of charge, and for those of us who need more intense photo editing and adding more photos to your collection, you can also upgrade your account.

So, what are you waiting for? Go create!

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When you hear the word "frugal", who comes to mind? Franklin, Lincoln, Thoreau, and Ghandi to name a few, right? Here's a name to add to the list: Shakespeare.

Yes, Shakespeare.

Not only was the bard known for beautiful sonnets and amusing comedies, frugality showed up in his works.

Before we dive into Shakespeare like a ninth grader in 4th hour English, let's break the word frugal down first. From the latin frugalis, it not only mean "economical", but "useful". Diving deeper, the root - frux means produce and fruit. So if you think about it, if frux means "produce", you can truly understand why people say being "fruitful" is the equivalent to being successful.

While the Merchant of Venice mixes lending and love in a comedic tale, my favorite money-related Shakespearean quote comes in, Sonnet 146, where he writes: "Why so large a cost, having so short a lease, dost thou upon your fading mansion spend?", questioning the wisdom of living beyond one's means.

Oh Shakespeare, you're even more cool in my book now that I know you were a frugal man at heart.

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Amidst all of the headline news, Facebook statuses and Twitter tweets, I'm sure you've heard of the website Etsy. If you haven't, where HAVE you been?! All kidding aside, this website has taken off in a significant amount of time. Why you ask? Well, for one, there are too many crafty and talented people out there that don't want to pass the opportunity up to sell their trade. And second, this community of crafters was built by someone who wanted to get his trade out there as well. So welcome, to the wonderful world of Etsy!

When first approaching the website, you have to ask yourself three questions: do I want to sell? buy? or do both? If there is a trade that you are passionate about and want to sell, this is definitely the place for you. There are three categories that your items must fit into: handmade, supplies and vintage. It's a good idea to get well acquainted with the Sell on Etsy page and that way you know the ins and outs of being an Etsy entrepreneur. Plus, it's chock full of useful information you may need down the road and everything you need to becoming a seller is right at your fingertips.

Now, if you want to buy, well you are in luck my friend. Etsy provides everything from antiques to jewelry to furniture, you name it. I've done searches on this site for things I didn't even think existed, but they have them! Explore the site and browse around, you'll be quite amazed at all of the items for sale and I can guarantee you will find something you like. The more you look around, the more you will begin to understand how talented each and every one of these Etsy artists really are!

What really sets Etsy apart is their sense of Community. There is always something going on at the Community page: chatting, blogging, how-to posts and so much more. Artists that are part of this community are very willing to share their ideas on how to make several different things. This especially comes in handy if you are just a buyer as well and can't quite afford what you're looking for at the moment. Want a hand-stitched purse that is maybe out of your price range? Why not make it instead?! 

If you do happen to own your own business, taking advantage of Etsy may be a great benefit for you. Not only will you get local buys, but nationwide ones as well. Just something to think about! So the next time you are looking for a unique item to purchase or are wanting to sell something you've made, look no further than Etsy!

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After two tumultuous years rocking the financial markets and the global economy, being frugal is "in.” For many consumers, belonging to a credit union is the banking equivalent of buying produce at a local farmer's market – you’re making a difference by banking in your community with the folks you know, getting high quality products and high touch, high technology service.

When you're telling your neighbor about why you bank with TDECU, what do you say? If you don't have the elevator speech memorized, here are five talking points to explain the "credit union difference" when recruiting others to the cause:

1. We’re member-owned. One account = one share = one vote at the annual meeting = having a voice. We have a volunteer board of directors, elected by the membership.

2. We’re not-for-profit. Instead of paying stock dividends to shareholders, our structure returns benefits right back to our member-owners in the form of great rates and more convenient services.

3. We’re one-stop shops. We offer everything from the banking basics like loans and deposits to mobile banking, a 37,000-surcharge-free ATM network, home loans and much more.

4. We're safe and sound. TDECU is financially sound, an industry leader, and we've been a local financial institution of choice for half a century. 5. We're active in our communities. From our participation in financial education in local schools through the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) to our support of local charitable organizations including Relay for Life, we strive to make our communities a better place.

For 50-plus years, we’ve proven our worth, and continue to grow because of these principles. Next time someone asks where you bank, tell them you put your money in a place that’s better than a bank.

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As a reminder, don't forget that Monday is Labor Day, and all TDECU branches and offices will be closed in observance of the holiday. If you need to call us, Member Care will still be available, and Online Banking and Mobile Banking are always just clicks away.

We hope you enjoy the long weekend!

Since the Hebrews struck the first coins or "shekels" in 3000 BC, currency has changed hands time and time again as goods are brought and sold. From pocket to pocket, tracking the places a paper note has seen hasn't been feasible for the masses...that is, until now. Check out an interesting website called Where's George?

Take a paper bill, enter its denomination, Bill Series, Serial Number, current zip code, and if you'd like, a short note about your bill. (I always like saying the famous "yeehaw! welcome to Texas" but this is completely up to you.)

After submitting the bill you'll see the travelogue of all of your notes. (Unfortunately, if there has been no previous history of Where's George tracking your bill there is no way of you knowing where it has been before getting into your wallet. Gotta start somewhere, right?)

More features on the site includes a Real Time Hit feed where you can see people entering in the bill they have. It gives their location, if it's the first hit, what denomination the bill is, the serial number and the description the person has entered to date, the total amount and how many entries have been entered today.

There's also a George's Top 10 that tells you information like where the most bills have been entered and in what state - for example, to date there have been over 16,000,000 bills entered in the state of California.

Hope you enjoy discovering where your money's been - and here's to holding on to it as long as you can!

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