Learning Lab+

The best way to establish good credit is to make your payments and to make them on time. To establish good credit, you need a steady work record and continued residence at the same address. If you do not have a checking account, open one, and be careful not to bounce checks.

If you have low or no credit or are looking at improving your credit but are having trouble getting approved for a loan, but have a small amount of money saved, you can improve your credit by opening a share secured loan or a share secured VISA credit card and making consistent payments. This is where your own funds are used as collateral in order to obtain the loan or credit card. The interest rates for these are often much lower than a personal loan. If interested in this, feel free to contact us or apply here.

Maintaining low balances as well as paying more than the minimum on your payments, especially on credit cards, will also help.

Additionally, we've partnered with Greenpath which can also assist you with building credit and removing debt. As a member of CommunityWide you can  contact them for a free consultation at 1-877-337-3399.

 Click here for more information on how to improve your credit score.

Our partnership with Greenpath Financial Wellness offers a variety of services including budgeting assistance. As a member of CommunityWide you are able to contact them for a free consultation by calling 800-550-1961. They will provide you advice on improving your financial health and help you improve your budget. If your not quite ready to take that next step, this resource will give you more information about budgeting to point you in the right direction.

Teaching your child financial literacy is a great way to help them gather the knowledge they will need to make smart financial decisions in the future. CommunityWide FCU has partnered up with GreenPath Learning Lab+! GreenPath’s LearningLab+ is a powerful, free tool to help your child explore financial concepts in interactive ways. Pair it with real-life practice—allowance, shopping decisions, games—and intentional family conversations. Over time, these combined lessons create habits that transform financial literacy into confidence and capability. Register for free access at greenpath.com/ComWide 

Yes! They are all available in Spanish.