ithinkfi Beginners Guide

What a credit union actually is

A credit union is a not-for-profit cooperative where every account holder owns a share and profits return to members as better rates.

Banks answer to shareholders; credit unions answer to members. That structure, not goodwill, explains why credit union fees and rates typically beat bank offers.

This guide does NOT cover investment products like stocks or mutual funds, which fall under wealth services and work differently.

How membership works

Membership requires meeting a field-of-membership rule and holding a $5 share in a savings account.

Ithinkfi serves employees of partner companies, their immediate family, and residents of select Florida counties. The $5 share deposit opens your membership and stays in your savings account for as long as you belong.

Your first accounts

Start with the pair most members keep for decades: a free checking account for daily money and a savings account that holds your $5 share.

Most beginners add a certificate only after the emergency fund holds three months of expenses.

Insurance and safety for beginners

Your deposits are federally insured up to $250,000 by the NCUA, and joint accounts extend coverage to $500,000.

The $250,000 limit applies per account holder per ownership category, not per household. A couple with a joint account plus individual accounts can protect far more, a detail first-time members routinely miss.

The first-30-days plan

Members who automate savings within their first 30 days save 3.2 times more in year one than members who save manually.

The pattern holds across income levels in our 2024 member data. Automatic transfers remove the decision, and the decision is where most saving plans fail.

Initially we recommended starting with 10% of income but found many members quit within months; the revised guidance starts at 2% and adds 1% per quarter. The data does not cover members with irregular freelance income, who should use percentage-based transfers instead.

Your first 30 days

1. Week 1: join and open accounts

   Pay the $5 share and open checking plus savings.

2. Week 2: move direct deposit

   Update your employer and any income sources.

3. Week 3: automate savings

   Set a 2% automatic transfer to savings and add 1% per quarter.

4. Week 4: review and adjust

   Check your first statement and tune the plan.