Credit Unions Help Consumers Stretch Their Dollars

LANSING, Mich. - Consumers everywhere are thinking about how to make their dollars stretch farther while paying down debt and saving for the future and Michigan's Credit Unions hope to help by launching the It's Time to Own Your Money mobile tour.� Designed to connect with Michigan residents face to face in a fun and engaging manner, the tour is part of the ongoing CU Link cooperative marketing campaign designed to increase consumer awareness of the benefits of credit union membership. The tour will hit the road next month with its first tour stop planned for the finish line of the 24^th Annual IceMan Cometh Challenge Bike Race on November 2,2013 in Traverse City.� Other tour stops for 2013 include the MHSAA Football Championship Weekend at Ford Field in Detroit on November 29-30 and Detroit's Noel Night on December 7, as well as other planned events. While the tour elements won't be fully revealed until the tour launches, guests will be able to participate in interactive activities, including the "I'm Saving For..." wall, which will provide a visual snapshot of purchases Michiganders are saving for.� Everyone who contributes to the I'm Saving For...wall through the course of the tour will be entered into a contest to win $2,500 to help give one lucky winner a jump start on their savings. For those people who are unable to visit a tour stop, they can also contribute to the I'm Saving For...wall through the CU Link Facebook page, facebook.com/CreditUnionLink and also be entered to win $2,500.� Entrants must be 18 to enter. "The one message we want people to hear is that it's time to own your money, and only credit unions allow you to do that," said MCUL and Affiliates CEO David Adams.� "Michiganders work hard for their money and they should be able to keep more of it to spend or save on the things they want and need. This tour is designed to take us outside of our offices and credit union branches to meet people out in their communities and brighten their day. This tour really is a chance for us to connect with people and emphasize our roots as the hometown relationship banking option." ABOUT CU LINK CU Link and www.culinkmichigan.com are a collaborative effort among Michigan credit unions and their trade association, the Michigan Credit Union League, to showcase the power of the credit union network. Credit unions offer more surcharge-free ATMs 30,000; charge lower interest rates on loans and credit cards; have been approving 61,000 loans every day; and have increased small business loans by more than 17% each year for the past three years. We think it's time you learned how credit unions can help you get into more savings, better rates and a better financial relationship.