BECU Blog

Your source for stories and information to help you reach your financial health goals.

A couple are shopping and smiling as they look into a window together. The two are wearing winter clothes. Both are wearing scarves and are shopping indoors in a mall-like setting.

Holiday Budget Tips

Learn ways to save during the holidays.

Read This Post

Advancing Equity | Budgeting | Credit & Debt | Spending & Shopping | Mortgages & Home | Security, Scams & Fraud | Hear From Our CEO | Taxes | BECU Spotlight | Jobs & Income

Featured

Holiday Fun in Washington

A group of BECU employees pose gather in front of a love sign in a festive mall setting. They are all wearing red sweatshirts that say "purpose."

Discover budget-friendly winter activities that spark the holiday spirit.

How Much Car Can I Afford?

A woman poses next to a black car, showcasing the car and her excitement. She is holding the door open and smiling. She's wearing a striped white and red shirt and blue jeans. In the background are trees and grass.

Learn how to budget for a car purchase.

10 Tricks Stores Use To Get You To Spend More

Image shows a bustling crowd with sale signs in the background.

Learn the sales tricks that make you think you're getting a bargain.

Most Recent

View All | Back to Top

How To Maximize Your Charitable Donations

A woman stands in a warehouse, holding a bag filled with clothes, ready to sort or donate the items inside.

Get tips for making the most of your donation dollars and time.

8 Business Checking Account Benefits

Two men in a warehouse inspecting a wooden plank, with various wood materials around them. The man on the right is wearing a hard hat and is holding a clip board. The other is wear a button up tee and pointing to the stack of wood.

Business checking accounts can benefit small business owners.

Protecting Elders From Fraud

An elderly couple looks out of a window, holding each other with a red blanked draped over their shoulders.

Learn about risks and what's being done to help Native and Indigenous elders.

Advancing Equity

View All | Back to Top

Military Veterans Reflect on Money Matters

A group of BECU members participating in the Spokane Lilac Parade. They are holding a red BECU banner, wearing blue Veterans t-shirts and smiling proudly.

BECU military veterans discuss financial challenges and opportunities.

Mind and Money

A woman is seated on a couch as she counsels a person who is also seated in a therapy looking setting. She has both her hands raised a bit lower than shoulder length as if she's explaining something. She is wearing a black lanyard, a gray blazer and has long brownish black hair with a side pony tail. The man, who is facing away from the camera has black hair and is wearing a light blue button up. In the background are large windows showing bright light and trees.

Learn self-care steps to improve your mental and financial health.

How To Control Costs of Assistive Devices

A young boy is sitting on an adaptive bike, while three individuals help to make sure the bike fits correctly. All three women are looking at the bike. Two are wearing gray shirts and one is wearing a tie dye shirt. In the background is other assistive devices such as wheelchairs, walkers and other equipment. They are outside under a red canopy tent. Behind the group are trees and a couple parked cars.

Learn about resources and payment options for assistive technology and devices.

Budgeting

View All | Back to Top

Are CDs Worth It Right Now?

This is an image of a father and son in an airport. They are sitting down in chairs and looking out a window and pointing outside. In the photo in a red suitcase. The son is wearing a gray stripped shirt and has blonde hair. The father is wearing a gray shirt and has brown hair.

If you don’t need access to your money soon, a CD might be good for you in 2024.

Joint Accounts: Pros and Cons for Couples

A couple is looking at paperwork in their kitchen. A woman is holding paperwork in her hand while her other hand is rested on her chin in a thinking posture. The man is behind her and is also looking at the paper with one of his hands on his hip. They are in a indoor kitchen setting. The woman appears to be sitting at a kitchen counter, while the man is standing. There are two mugs on the countertop and a computer is open as well.

Learn about co-managing finances with your partner using a joint account.

Emergency Funds: Your Financial Safety Net

Emergency Funds - Your Financial Bestie

Learn what an emergency fund is, why you need one and how much you should save.

Credit & Debt

View All | Back to Top

How To Pay off Credit Card Debt

Two smiling men sit shoulder-to-shoulder in front of a laptop and look over a paper document together.

Get tips for paying off debt and saving for the future.

How To Use a Secured Card To Build Credit

A woman is smiling and handing her card to pay her bill at a restaurant. In front of her is a card reader and a figure's hand reaching for her card. In the background are two women talking. The background is a restaurant setting with a bar in the back.

Learn how you can use a secured credit card to help improve your credit.

Why Did My Credit Score Drop? 11 Reasons

Illustration of a credit score gauge. A person is sweating from the effort of pulling on the indicator needle, like it's a lever, to move their credit score up.

Learn about these common credit-score setbacks and how to improve your score.

Spending & Shopping

View All | Back to Top

How To Finance a Car From a Private Seller

Four people gathered around an open vehicle trunk. They are chatting in a parking lot setting, having a conversation together.

Learn the process for financing a car from a private seller.

Do You Need Travel Insurance?

A smiling woman wearing sunglasses and a green top lies in a hammock while looking at her phone. A sandy beach, blue ocean and bright blue sky are in the background. The Consumers' Checkbook logo is in the upper right corner.

Get tips to help you decide if insurance makes sense for your trip.

How To Get a Fair Deal on Auto Repair

A woman happily driving a car. White text says Consumers' Checkbook in the lower right corner.

Tips for shopping for an auto mechanic.

Mortgages & Home

View All | Back to Top

How a Home Equity Line of Credit Works

A man and woman engage in a flooring project. The man is kneeled over and is measuring flooring on the ground and the woman is sitting behind him on steps. There's a paint can on the steps next to the woman, She has a paint brush in her hand. Both of them are smiling.

Learn how you can use your equity for home improvement projects.

First-Time Homebuyer Guide

Two women sitting on the steps of a house. The woman on the right has one arm wrapped around the other. She has red long curly hair and is wearing a blue long sleeve cardigan and jeans. The woman on the left has black curly hair. She is wearing a periwinkle-colored long sleeve and black shorts. The home is blue with white trim around the windows and the steps are wooden. On the left are bushes with yellow flowers.

From credit score to the front door, navigate homebuying with these steps.

Homebuying as an Unmarried Couple

Three people standing in front of a brick house, one person is holding and showing a document to the other two. The woman holding the document has curly black hair and glasses. She's wearing a green top and beige pants. The couple, are standing next to each other, looking at the document. A man, in the middle, is wearing a beige top and brown pants. He has dark hair. The woman, to the right, is wearing a white top and light jeans. She has blonde hair. To the left are some plants.

Learn about legal agreements and title options to protect both of you.

Security, Scams & Fraud

View All | Back to Top

Overcoming Data-Breach Fatigue

A man is seated at a desk, in a home office setting, focused on his laptop while working. He is wearing glasses and a button up shirt. In the background is a bookshelf with books and other home decor. The window next to him makes the setting bright.

How to avoid weariness while also avoiding worry about data leaks and breaches.

​How To Spot a Text Scam

This is an illustration of three hands holding up smart phones. Each phone is displaying text message threads with potential text scams. The phone on the left appears to have an alert message. The phone in the middle has question mark icons and a red security flag. The phone on the left has several dollar sign symbols and a red security flag. Each hand has a diverse skin tone color. The background of the illustration is blue.

​​Is that text real? We identify common scams and ways to spot fake texts.​

Voice Cloning AI Scams Are on the Rise

A woman in a yellow hoodie sits on the floor in a living room setting, holding a credit card and a smartphone, likely making an online purchase. There is a wooden bookshelf and gray couch in the background.

Protect yourself from scams that sound like calls from loved ones.

Taxes

View All | Back to Top

2024 Tax Extension: Deadline, Rules, How To File

A man sits in his kitchen looking at papers he's holding in his right hand and punching buttons on a calculator with his left hand. A laptop is open on the table in front of him.

Need more time for your taxes? Learn about tax extensions.

2023 Income Taxes: What You Need To Know

An image of a person on a computer while filing their taxes. They are looking at what appears to be a W-2 Form. The form is in their left hand. The person is using their right hand to calculate numbers on a calculator. The Consumers' Checkbook logo is in the bottom left-hand side of the image. There is a pen on a white surfaced desk top and a plant. In the image you can see the back of the person's head and she is wearing blue glasses.

Learn what to expect as you prepare to file your 2023 income taxes.

5 Common Tax Filing Mistakes To Avoid

Calculator paper clip and pen on a table

Be sure to avoid these mistakes during tax season.