Dollars & Sense

Our favorite Fraud Prevention specialist, Jen, joins the podcast again to discuss another hot topic: Online Marketplaces. These marketplaces, like Facebook, eBay, or Craigslist, provide ample opportunities for fraudsters. We go over some methods of helping to keep yourself safe and protected when buying and selling items using these Person-to-Person marketplaces. Methods like public spaces, cash transactions, and the buddy system.

In honor of January being Human Trafficking Awareness Month, we got Tricia MacFarlan into the studio to discuss Human Trafficking and the impact that has on individuals, psychologically, financially, and otherwise.

Resource Blog: https://hapo.org/services/tools-resources/blog/Post?postID=cd5d5bbe-c3ff-68be-bdb6-ff0000eccc20

We continue our conversation with Jana Kay and Ricky from Washington State University Tri-Cities Financial Aid department. We continue the discussion with topics like 529 Savings accounts, Non-Resident Programs, FAFSA, Loans vs Grants, and Motivations to get those applications in for those potential support programs.

Read the companion Blog post with resource links here: HAPO Community Credit Union - Blog - Financial Education

Jana Kay and Ricky from Washington State University Tri-Cities Financial Aid Department join us to talk in depth about the value of a degree, and more importantly how to pay for it.  We talk about Federal, State, and Private assistance programs, Grants vs Loans, and all the other factors you probably didn't consider when it comes to funding you or your child's higher education.

Read the companion Blog post with resource links here: HAPO Community Credit Union - Blog - Financial Education

Tawney and Susie from HAPO's Asset Recovery team join Scott in the studio to demystify the topic of Collections. We discuss some real-life stories of how people can end up in collections, the best practices for anyone who finds themselves in that situation, and some preventative tools you should consider if you'd like to stay out of collections.

Part 2 of our episode about Budgeting and Account Types and Structures. We talk more about how you can utilize accounts and other tools, like direct deposit, to help support your budgeting plans.

Sebrina and Stephanie join us on the Podcast in the first part of a two-part episode.  We talk about budgeting and the purpose behind budgeting, and also account types and account structures that can assist you in maintaining your budget, and helping to facilitate the lifestyle you want!

Our fraud expert, Jen Kasparek, returns to the podcast with new information about how scams are evolving. We discuss one scam in particular that has been around for ages: The Grandparent Scam. We talk about how this scam works, and how it has changed with advances in technology, and how it is still evolving. Then we discuss how you can protect yourself and your loved ones from scams like these.

On this episode of Dollars & Sense we talk with Temple, Angelique, and Jen about the do's and don'ts of hiring. We discuss the structured process of what an applicant or jobseeker should be expecting as they work through the hiring process, and then we talk about some red flags that people need to be aware of, so they don't fall victim to hiring scams.

Scott Mitchell joins us in the studio to discuss some of the basic foundational differences between Banks and Credit Unions, as well as to discuss the recent news about financial institution failures, and what exactly is a "Run on a bank."