Stop by any of Tech CU’s 10 Financial Centers between Monday, November 16 and Friday, December 4 to take a wish card with a child’s holiday wish. Once you have purchased the gift please securely attach the wish card to it and drop it off at any Tech CU branch location. We will see that your gift is delivered.

What is solar leasing?

Solar service providers like SolarCity headquartered right here in the Bay Area, and Sun Edison now offer solar leases whereby the company installs the solar equipment on a home, university, business, or other organization (paying the upfront costs of the solar-power project) and the customer agrees to a leasing fee. The cost can be as little as $0 down and around $110 per month. Solar City is said to have an eight-month waiting list for installations.

Keep in mind that a solar lease is not a lease-to-own program. If you want to eventually own your solar system, it’s better to purchase the system upfront and there are loans that can help you do that. Tech CU, for example, offers a Living $mart Home Equity Loan that can be used for making green home improvements such as installing solar panels. Click here for more information.

Solar City has a solar calculator that can be used to figure out how much you can save in one year and five years with a solar lease. Lease rates are based on the size of your solar system, complexity of the installation, local rebates, condition of your home, and more (With a solar lease, local rebates and tax incentives are incorporated into the lease to lower your monthly payment.)

An average homeowner can save 15 percent with a solar lease–financed system (lease payments plus your new electricity bill will be 15 percent less than the electricity bill before a solar system is installed.)

As an example, we used the Solar City calculator to find the savings on an average 3-bedroom home in San Jose, serviced by PG&E with an average monthly electricity bill of $100. According to the calculator, a solar lease could save that homeowner as much as $360 per year and more than $5,600 in 15 years (the savings grow every year as utility rates continue to increase).

In most cities where leasing is offered, the lease length is 15 years. If the homeowner wants to sell the property, they can transfer the lease to the new homeowner or prepay the lease and incorporate it into the sale of the home. Homeowners can also remove or transfer the system to a new home.

For more information on state solar incentives for businesses and homes in California, visit GoSolarCalifornia.org.

For more information on San Francisco’s innovative solar incentives, check out Go Solar SF. San Francisco is leading the Bay Area in municipal solar incentive programs.

1. Find out how much coverage you need. To start, figure out how much coverage you need. This can vary from state to state. It can also vary depending on the kind of car loan or lease you have. Take the time to find out what minimum coverage is required by your state (click here for the California Automobile Insurance guide). Also, contact your lender or leasing agent to find out their requirements. Once you know how much coverage you need, you can decide want you can afford to buy beyond the legal minimum. The idea is to find a balance between having adequate coverage and overpaying. According to Consumer Reports, a general guideline for adequate bodily injury liability limits is $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, plus $100,000 for property damage. These amounts are what your insurer will pay to someone with whom you are in an accident.

2. Review your driving record and current policy. Check the status of your driving record, current coverage and the premiums you are paying. This will give you a figure to try and beat when shopping around. Check how many recent tickets you’ve had. If you can’t remember how long a ticket has been on your record, such as a speeding ticket, check with the state DMV. If you expect that your record will soon improve and the points you have will disappear, wait until that happens before you get a quote — a bad driving record will push up the price of your insurance more than anything else.

3. Get several competitive quotes. Set aside at least an hour to start shopping around for different quotes. When you do this, be sure to have all your records with you, the phone at your elbow and the computer in front of you. Make sure you have the following within reach:

• Current insurance policy
• Driver license number
• Vehicle registration

Begin researching with online services such as InsWeb.com, YouDecide.com and InsureOne.com. These sites allow you to type in your information and get a list of comparative quotes. Each form should take about 15 minutes to complete.

4. Record and compare quotes. During your research of online quotes, take notes in a separate file or on a piece of paper. Also, make sure to keep the coverage limits the same so that you’re comparing apples-to-apples. Your notes should include:

• Annual and monthly rates for different types of coverage
• An 800 number for questions not answered online
• The insurance company’s payment policy (when payments are due and how they can be spaced out over the course of the policy, etc.)
• Discounts that are offered that may pertain to you

5. Hit the phones. Once you’ve narrowed your online options, it’s time to hit the phones. For those companies that don’t offer online quotes, call. At times, their sales people may provide you with all the information you need faster than online quotes, as long as you have your records at hand. Ask them to email or fax a copy of the quote to you.

6. Track down the discounts. Ask about discounts for a good driving record, favorable credit score, safety equipment (ex. antilock brakes), certain occupations, professional affiliations and more. Click here for more information on discounts from Edmunds.com “How to Save Money on Auto Insurance.” 7. Buy your homeowners and auto coverage from the same insurer. Many insurers will give you a discount for buying two or more types of insurance with them. You may also get a reduction by insuring more than one vehicle with them. Though you should still shop around, you can sometimes save money with a multi-policy account, so check into it.

8. Make sure the company you choose is reliable. Once you’re armed with the information you need regarding different policies, you may also want to review the reputation of the company you’re considering.

• Visit the California Department of Insurance and check for consumer complaints.
• Consider contacting an insurance agent for additional information about a company
• Look over J.D. Power and Associates consumer satisfaction surveys that review and rate auto insurance companies.

9. Review the policy carefully before you sign. When you’ve decided on an insurance company, read the policy before you sign and verify that it contains the coverage you want. In addition, Edmunds.com says to look for these two clauses in your contract:

Retain your right to sue. “Find out if you are giving up your right to go to court and will be forced into arbitration if there is a disagreement [between you and the insurance company],” one expert advised. “You’re much better off if you don’t give up this right…. It makes it easier for [insurers] to take advantage of you.” If you find a clause to this effect, all isn’t necessarily lost. “At least in theory, a contract is a mutual agreement, so you should be able to cross out that line in the policy,” he said. If the company won’t agree to the policy sans that clause, you should probably take your business elsewhere. Avoid aftermarket parts requirements. If an insurance company has written in the policy that “new factory,” “like kind and quality” or “aftermarket parts” may be used for body shop repairs, go to another company, advises one expert. If you own a relatively new car that you plan to keep for a while, you will probably be much happier if you spend a little more time researching companies on the front end rather than try to fight the company when you have a claim.

10. Cancel your old policy. Once you sign the contract for your new insurance policy and lock in the coverage you want, remember to cancel coverage with your existing insurance company. Also, in a state like California where drivers are required to carry proof of insurance, be sure to put your new proof of coverage in your wallet or glove compartment.

Mike Luckin, Senior Vice President of Delivery Systems and the head of Tech CU’s disaster recovery plan, says that Tech CU has had an active disaster recovery team for years. They are responsible for monitoring and planning for any kind of threat that might take place — an H1N1 epidemic, earthquake, fire, or even a terrorist attack.

“The team meets regularly to go over every possible scenario,” Mike explains, “and to ensure we have a plan of action so that we (Tech CU) can continue to fully operate no matter what happens.”

Even if something as catastrophic as a major earthquake should hit, and it took out a Tech CU building, the credit union has a plan in place that would allow the staff to run all Tech CU operations from an offsite location.

“We’ve taken the time and money to ensure we have a totally redundant, operational facility that will deliver all services to our members,” explains Mike. This includes shared branching, co-op services, voice response banking, online banking and ATM access, that will allow members to get cash when they need it most.

“Even if the staff isn’t in the building and can’t get there because of road closures or something else,” he continues, “members can use shared branches in all 50 states and in some foreign countries to do their transaction, just as if we were in the physical building.”

During the critical hours and days after a disaster, most people need extra water, food and maybe even emergency shelter. This is why it’s so important for members to be able to get access to their cash or to be able to use their debit or credit cards in lieu of cash.

Mike also represents Tech CU on the Bay Area Response Coalition (BARCFIRST), which is made up credit unions and banks that work in concert with public agencies for purposes of planning, preparing and practicing for disaster recovery.

“We prepare for the possibility of anything that could conceivably happen to any financial institution in the country,” says Mike. “Katrina and 911 are good examples. Those events stressed the disaster plans (that were in place) for businesses and financial institutions, and we’ve learned a lot from what happened.” Mike says the group has taken those lessons to heart, and put them into the context of the Bay Area and how public and private entities will cooperate and take action should similar problems arise.

BARCFIRST is among the regional Financial Sector coalitions that were inspired by ChicagoFIRST. Its goals are to: 1) ensure that current and future disaster threats are continually monitored, 2) put in place a disaster action plan that addresses each of those threats and ensures that the team regularly practices the execution of those plans, 3)  ensure that individuals have access to their money in the case of a catastrophe or disaster, 4) ensure mutual resiliency for all financial institutions in the Bay Area in the wake of a disaster, and 4) share best practices and information with other coalitions throughout the country.

“Whether it’s H1N1, a terrorist attack or an earthquake, Tech CU is prepared,” says Mike. “Whatever happens, our members will be able to get to their money.”

RESOURCES

To read more about BARCFIRST, click here.

Planning for emergencies, from FEMA. Click here.

Audi e–tron

In the last year, automakers have forged ahead with new designs for green cars that are more diverse and innovations that offer better environmental performance than ever before. In fact, the Green Car Journal’s announcement last week of its Top 5 Green Car Finalists for 2010 showcases the growing number of options consumers have for hybrid and electric cars.

The Green Car of the Year award honors environmental leadership in the automobile field and recognizes vehicles that are readily available to consumers. The editors evaluate the most environmentally positive vehicles in the industry and narrow down the list to five. The top five finalists for 2010 are:

1. Audi A3 TDI (EPA rated fuel economy 30/42 mpg)
2. Honda Insight (EPA rated fuel economy 40/43 mpg)
3. Mercury Milan Hybrid (EPA rated fuel economy 41/36 mpg)
4. Toyota Prius (EPA rated fuel economy 51/48 mpg)
5. Volkswagen Golf TDI (EPA rated fuel economy 30/42 mpg)

Each of the vehicles in the Top 5 list range in market price and design from Audi’s A3 TDI, described by the Green Car Journal as “efficiency and luxury at an approachable price” to the low-priced Honda Insight. All of the vehicles achieve high fuel efficiency and substantially reduced CO2 gas emissions.

Audi also just recently announced plans for an electric car called the e-Tron. The vehicle, which debuted in Frankfort as a concept car, will be coming to the U.S. in two to three years, according to Automotive Digest. Other promising electric cars include the Tesla Roadster (of course, made right here in the Bay Area) and the Chevy Volt, which was first announced by at the Detroit Auto Show in 2007 and is expected to go on sale in November 2010.

Though the first mainstream electric cars will hit the market next year, many say they just aren’t feasible for the general public at this time because the vehicles’ ranges aren’t long enough for those who commute and there isn’t yet an infrastructure in place to keep these vehicles charged. To read about the current state of the electric car market and where it’s going, click here.

INTERESTED IN A GREEN CAR? GET A FUEL $MART LOAN

If you’re interested in buying a green vehicle, check with Tech CU. We recently lowered our auto loan rate for new vehicles (currently 5.20%, up to 66 months). You can also get your rate discounted even more with our Fuel $mart program for hybrid cars or those getting 30mpg by using our auto buying service and with a Relationship Rewards discount. Combined, these discounts could bring your loan rate to as low as 4.40*%!

Click here for more information.

RESOURCES

For more details and pricing for each of these vehicles, click here.

YAHOO! also provides a “Top 100 Green Cars” list. Click here.

Phishing is a technique that involves sending an e-mail message that appears to be official correspondence from a person’s bank, credit union or credit card vendor. The individual is then directed to a fake website purporting to be linked to the financial institution. Once there, the person is asked to enter their account number, password and other personal identification information.

Because the website appears with bank logos and legal disclaimers, some people don’t realize that it does not belong to a legitimate financial institution.

Before entering your user name, password or any personal information on any site, you must confirm it is the official website of your financial institution. According to the Antiphishing Work Group (APWG), an industry association focused on eliminating identity theft and fraud, they have detected more than 49,000 unique phishing web sites online. That’s why it’s so important to verify that the website is indeed your institution’s.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Here are APWG’s recommendations to help you avoid becoming a victim of phishing scams.

— Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information—due to the potential for fraud, most banks and credit unions (including Tech CU) will never ask for confidential account information (passwords, user names, etc.) to be input from a link to a website. That kind of request is a definite red flag.

— Don’t use the links in an email, instant message, or chat to get to any web page if you suspect the message might not be authentic or you don’t know the sender or recognize the user’s handle. Instead, call the company on the telephone, or log onto the website directly by typing in the Web address in your browser.

— Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information.

— Always ensure that you’re using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser.

• Phishers are now able to ’spoof,’ or forge BOTH the “https://” that you normally see when you’re on a secure Web server AND a legitimate-looking address. You may even see both in the link of a scam email. Again, make it a habit to enter the address of any banking, shopping, auction, or financial transaction website yourself and not depend on displayed links.
• Phishers may also forge the yellow lock you would normally see near the bottom of your screen on a secure site. The lock has traditionally been considered as an indicator that you are on a ’safe’ site. The lock, when double-clicked, displays the security certificate for the site. If you get any warnings displayed that the address of the site you have displayed does NOT match the certificate, do not continue.

—Remember not all scam sites will try to show the “https://” and/or the security lock. Get in the habit of looking at the address line, too. Were you directed to PayPal? Does the address line display something different like “http://www.gotyouscammed.com/paypal/login.htm?” Be aware of where you are going.

— Consider installing a Web browser tool bar to help protect you from known fraudulent websites. These toolbars match where you are going with lists of known phisher Web sites and will alert you.

— Regularly log into your online accounts at least once a month. Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate.

— Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied.

—Always report “phishing” or “spoofed” e-mails to the following groups:

• Forward the email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org
• Forward the email to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov
• Forward the email to the “abuse” email address at the company that is being spoofed (e.g. “spoof@ebay.com”)
• When forwarding spoofed messages, always include the entire original email with its original header information intact
• Notify The Internet Crime Complaint Center of the FBI by filing a complaint on their website: www.ic3.gov

If you believe you’ve been a victim of a phishing scam or other Internet crime, contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center. You can also contact the Privacy Rights Clearing House, which offers a detailed description of what you should do when identity theft happens to you.

As a final note, beginning this month, Tech CU members can now purchase LifeLock, one of the nation’s top identity theft protection plans, at a discounted price of $99 a year—10% off the regular price. With LifeLock’s $1 Million Service Guarantee, if you become a victim of identity theft, LifeLock will spend up to $1 million on lawyers, investigators, and consultants to restore your name and credit, and to recover the direct losses that resulted from the identity theft. Click here for more information.

RESOURCES

Fighting Back Against Identity Theft
Federal Trade Commission

This website is a one-stop national resource to learn about the crime of identity theft. It provides detailed information to help you deter, detect, and defend against identity theft.

Federal Trade Commission, Protecting Consumers
Offers publications on identity theft, how to avoid scams and what you should do if you’re a victim, from the FTC.

Several finance magazines issue an annual “Best Places to Retire” list, and some even offer tools that allow you to sort through thousands of locations in the U.S. according to criteria that are important to you. U.S. News and Report, for example, has a useful retirement search tool that allows you to input what you’re looking for in a retirement location and then offers suggestions.

CNNMoney.com (the online media entity for CNN, Fortune and Money) recently published its 2009 “25 Best Places to Retire” and “Best Places for a Healthy Retirement.” We’ve pulled out their recommendations for cities west of the Rockies. If you’d like to see the complete list (including areas in the Midwest and on the east coast), click on the links in the “Resources” below.

CNNMoney.com includes these west coast spots in their 25 Best Places to Retire:

• Palm Springs, Calif.
• Surprise, Ariz.
• Boulder City, Nev.
• Lakewood, Colo.

How about the west coast’s healthiest places to retire? You may be surprised to find out that Anaheim, Calif. came in at number 1. As for the others, the Bay Area can boast two of our own locals in the list.

• Los Angeles, Calif.
• San Jose, Calif.
• Seattle, Wash.
• San Mateo, Calif.
• Escondido, Calif.

U.S. News & World Report has its own list of “best” and “healthy” places to retire, which include the following spots in the west:

• Aurora, Ariz.
• Eugene, Ore.
• Green Valley, Ariz.
• Issaquah, Wash.
• Walnut Creek, Calif.

If you’d like to research other great retirement areas in the U.S., Where to Retire, is an excellent resource that offers special reports like “American’s Low-Tax Retirement Towns” as well as in-depth articles on many of the cities we’ve mentioned here.

RESOURCES

CNNMoney 25 Best Places to Retire

CNNMoney Best Places for a Healthy Retirement

U.S. News & World Reports Best Healthy Places to Retire

South Asia and the South Pacific have been hit by back-to-back disasters that have devastated many communities in that part of the world. Flooding caused by typhoons in the Philippines and Vietnam have affected millions of people with more than half a million displaced from their homes and as of last week, nearly 300 dead.

Last Wednesday, a 7.6 magnitude quake hit Indonesia’s island of Sumatra, trapping thousands under collapsed buildings (including two hospitals), triggering landslides and killing at least 75 people. A separate 8.0 magnitude earthquake about 120 miles off the islands of Samoa also triggered a tsunami the same day that killed more than 99 people (and counting) and injured hundreds more and has wiped out entire villages.

Bay Area Filipinos, Vietnamese, Samoans and Indonesians are worried about the safety of their friends and family back home, including many of our own Tech CU members.

Tech CU has launched a donations drive
through its 10 Financial Centers to help raise
money for the Red Cross.
TECH CU WILL MATCH THE AMOUNT OF
DONATIONS UP TO $5,000.

Those who would like to help the victims can drop off their donations at any of Tech CU’s 10 Financial Centers through Saturday, October 17.

For locations, visit Tech CU’s web site (www.techcu.com) or click here.

The American Red Cross International Response Fund provides immediate relief and long–term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. Direct donations to the International Response Fund can be sent to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or made by phone at 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or online at www.redcross.org.

The most pressing concern, of course, is housing. Often, it’s difficult for families to find something quickly that’s affordable or even within the same area. To complicate matters, if the landlord checks into the potential tenant’s credit history, they may get spooked by low credit scores and the foreclosure because they view this as an indicator the person is having financial problems and may not make future rental payments on time. The landlord may choose not to rent to that person or increase (sometimes even double) the required deposit, which can be difficult for someone who is cash-strapped in the first place.

To make matters worse, people who’ve gone through foreclosures typically also experience a sharp rise in their credit card rate. Many cards have a ‘default’ rate, and foreclosed owners could see their interest rate jump as much as 30 percent. For many, it’s very difficult to rebuild that credit score and bring those interest rates back down, and it can take years. In some cases, the foreclosed owner will never recover their good credit score.

Homeowners who have experienced a foreclosure will often buy a home again in the future, but because of new rules passed by Fannie Mae, the time that must lapse between a foreclosure and approval for a new mortgage has been lengthened. Today, foreclosed homeowners must wait four to five years before they can receive a new mortgage.

If the individual can explain extenuating circumstance that were the cause of their foreclosure — such as an illness or job loss — they may be able to apply within three years (the extra year was put in place for those who made reckless choices with regard to their mortgage).

The best bet for applying for a mortgage after foreclosure is through a federally insured FHA loan. The minimum time between the completion of a foreclosure and an application for an FHA-backed loan is 3 years,  and an individual must show they’ve been responsible in paying bills and rebuilding their credit throughout that time. For more information on FHA–backed loans, click here.

It may not seem fair, but even if someone loses their home, they can still be hit with a tax bill for the amount their mortgage lender was unable to recover from the sale of the property. Any time a debt is forgiven it’s taxable, and if a person is not paying back the money they borrowed, that money is considered “income” by the IRS and can be taxed.

Thanks to the “Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007,” there are some exceptions for homeowners who lost their principal residence. For more information, go to the IRS.gov Home Foreclosure and Debt Cancellation page.

Finally, even though the traditional stigma of losing a home is no longer what it used to be, families and children still go through an emotional upheaval due to the loss of a home and being uprooted from their school and neighborhood.  Therefore, families who are facing a foreclosure should seek out emotional support from family and friends and if they can, even seek professional counseling.

Could their success have been in part because people are now more than ever aware of their finances? Regardless, what does this acquisition mean for Mint users?

It’s worth pointing out that Intuit’s Quicken Online was a competitor to Mint, and among the dozens of other personal financial web sites that have sprouted up in the last two years. Quicken Online, a stripped down version of the complete solution, never caught on like Mint did though. In fact, back in February 2009, Intuit sent a threatening letter to Mint demanding they explain their growth claims (Intuit just couldn’t believe they were growing so fast). Click here for the WSJ article.

Perhaps they didn’t realize that Mint was simply more intuitive, easier to use and offered a far better user experience. Part of this came from Mint’s quick response to user requests and suggestions for upgrades, which has been key to how they’ve developed and built their software.

Mint users — a group of very passionate people — flooded Mint’s blog with more than 468 comments about the acquisition, most of them angry, disappointed and skeptical about the future of Mint. Some said they would leave Mint, others that Intuit was just another corporate monster gobbling up a small, innovative company to make more money off consumers and still others said that Quicken would destroy the user experience Mint has created.

Patzer has been quick to reply to user worries that Mint is going to change. He updated the post, letting people know that the Mint team would continue to lead the development of Mint, as well as take on Intuit’s existing personal finance products, Quicken desktop and Quicken Online. And, Mint management has stressed over and over that Mint.com will remain a free service!

This is a very sore point for many of Mint’s customers.

Intuit founder Scott Cook also posted on Mint’s blog, saying he recognizes the power of Mint’s user experience, which is why he won’t change it. In a refreshingly candid post, he admitted that Quicken was outdated: “For many of you, Quicken is a 20th century product in a 21st century world. It’s like the car your parents had growing up. So you turned to Mint.com. Because it wasn’t Quicken.”

He then goes on to say, “ . . . let me set the record straight: Mint.com isn’t changing. It is remaining free. Following the close of the acquisition, Aaron Patzer and the Mint team will remain in charge of Mint.com to continue both its principles and its fast pace of progress.”

Despite these reassurances, only time will be the true indicator of how Mint will evolve under the ownership of Intuit. Will it continue to be the innovative, user-friendly and free financial software that made it so popular among millions of users? Or, will it slowly begin to require mandatory upgrades, start placing more advertisements, see more problems with bugs and lose its edge on providing the best user experience? (These are frequent criticisms of Quicken.)

Plenty of other people are talking about the acquisition. Here are just few interesting posts to check out.

• Mint Sells to Intuit for $170 Million, Will It Wither on the Vine?
  Fast Company magazine always has a good point of view.
• Mint Gets Eaten by the Borg
  Reuters’ blog writer Felix Salmon has by far the best headline.
• The Value of TechCrunch 50: Mint Acquired by Intuit for $170m Two Years After Winning TC40
  Excellent post on the growth of Mint.com, which was started in the apartment of founder Aaron Patzer. It’s just a great Silicon Valley story.
• With Deal, Intuit Adds to Offerings
  Here’s the Wall Street Journal’s take on the acquisition.
• Intuit to Swallow Mint for $170 Million
  And of course, we can’t forget CNET.