Economic Freedom

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Welcome and thank you, Officer Culianos! Stay safe!

Welcome and thank you, Officer Culianos! Stay safe!Join us in welcoming Officer Anthony Culianos to Nanuet! Officer Culianos is the new School Resource Officer (SRO) at A. MacArthur Barr Middle School. He has been with the Clarkstown Police Department since 2014 and is now part of the #NUFSD family! #newtonanuet ... See MoreSee Less

10 hours ago

4 CommentsComment on Facebook

Thanks prayers stay safe and well in Jesus name

💙👮‍♀️💙👮‍♀️💙👮‍♀️💙👮‍♀️🙏🙏🙏💙💙💙

Congratulations Lord PLZ keep him safe in this cruel world💙🫡🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💙💙💙🫡🙏🙏🙏🙏

Welcome,be safe

Thank you!
#PinkPatchProjectImage attachmentImage attachment+3Image attachment

Thank you!
#pinkpatchproject
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11 hours ago

1 CommentComment on Facebook

Thank you from a Breast Cancer survivor...God survivor...God Bless you all......

Thank you!
#PinkPatchProjectImage attachment

Thank you!
#pinkpatchproject
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11 hours ago
Thank you!
#PinkPatchProjectImage attachmentImage attachment

Thank you!
#pinkpatchproject
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11 hours ago

Thank you!
#pinkpatchproject
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11 hours ago
Hello and thank you, K-9 Vita! Stay safe!

Hello and thank you, K-9 Vita! Stay safe!We are excited to introduce our newest partner in crime-fighting: Meet K-9 "Vita" from the Czech Republic, who specializes in drug detection. Let's give her a warm welcome! #toledopolice ... See MoreSee Less

11 hours ago

3 CommentsComment on Facebook

💙💙💙💙💙💙🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💙💙💙

Hi there Gorgeous ! Stay Safe and watch over Your Partner / Handler.🐶🖤💙🖤💙

💙💙💙👮‍♀️👮‍♀️🐺🐺💙💙👮‍♀️👮‍♀️🐺💙👮‍♀️👍👍👍👍💙💙💙💙💙🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

This is so precious!!!!
Stay safe, K9 Jocko! and K9 Officer Prichard!

This is so precious!!!!
Stay safe, K9 Jocko! and K9 Officer Prichard!🐾👮‍♂️ Exciting Adventures with K9 Jocko! 📝💪

Check out this pawsome pic of K9 Officer Prichard with our incredible K9 Jocko! 🐶⚡️ This dynamic duo just proved that Jocko is more than just an amazing apprehension and narcotics detection K9, he's also an emotional support pup for his handler! 🥰

In this photo, you can see K9 Officer Prichard holding Jocko's paw while typing up a police report. Jocko knows that writing reports can be tough, so he's right there by his handler's side, providing that much-needed support. Talk about teamwork! 👏🙌

We're incredibly grateful to have such a talented and caring K9 like Jocko on our force. He's always ready to lend a helping paw and make a positive impact in our community. Together, K9 Jocko and Officer Prichard continue to keep our streets safe and bring smiles to our faces. Good boy, Jocko! 🐾💙

#k9handler #k9jocko #teamworkmakesthedreamwork #emotionalsupportpup #plainfieldpd #havingfun
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11 hours ago

3 CommentsComment on Facebook

💙🫡🫡🫡🙏🙏🙏🙏💙💙💙💙💙🫡🙏🙏🙏

Beautiful Thank You

Awwww

What a beautiful picture of a very special moment! Congratulations and thank you both!! Stay safe!

What a beautiful picture of a very special moment! Congratulations and thank you both!! Stay safe!From the New Port Richey Police Department. Like father, like daughter! Officer Negersmith is following the footsteps of her dad, who has spent his entire career in law enforcement. An affinity for policing seems to run in the family. ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago

8 CommentsComment on Facebook

Thanks prayers stay safe and well in Jesus name

Salute💙🫡🫡🫡🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💙💙💙

Awesome stat safe 💙

👏🇱🇷

Be safe and thank you 🙏🙏🙏

Be safe and thank you 🙏🙏🙏

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Thank you, #Hero!

Thank you, #Hero!Night side Officer Roman was happy to reunite an important family member with their family tonight ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago

3 CommentsComment on Facebook

Awesome👏👏👏👏👏👍😊

Good Bless you

Congratulations!

Congratulations!Congratulations to the South Suburban Association Chiefs of Police 2023-2024 Executive Board Members! #NOBLEProud ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago
Congratulations! Thank you! Stay safe!

Congratulations! Thank you! Stay safe!Last year these three chose to fill out an application and toss their name into our candidate pool. Jump forward to today, they have completed their Field Training Program and start solo patrol, serving our awesome community. Congratulations to Officer Talg, Officer Frick and Officer Shoemaker. Thank you for choosing #Wausau! ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago

1 CommentComment on Facebook

Congratulations 🎊

Welcome and thank you, K9 Batman and Officer Dillard! Stay safe!

Welcome and thank you, K9 Batman and Officer Dillard! Stay safe!Meet K9 Batman! K9 Batman is a German Shepard mix and is approximately 2 years old. His handler is Officer Dillard and he is one of our new Greene County Jail K9s.

K9 Batman is also featured on our newest Greene County Jail K9 Swag! This apparel can be purchased from The CrackerJack Shack using the link below!

www.crackerjackshack.com/gcsok9

This is a pre-sale. Orders will be produced and shipped after the selling period ends. A portion of every sale goes to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit.
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2 days ago

5 CommentsComment on Facebook

Salute💙🫡🫡🫡🙏🙏🙏🙏💙🫡🙏🙏

❤️

Ty

Looking Good. Now, Go get the Bad Guys and find all those Drugs.

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Welcome, K-9 Havik Officer Stockdale! Thank you! Stay safe!Image attachment

Welcome, K-9 Havik Officer Stockdale! Thank you! Stay safe! ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago

5 CommentsComment on Facebook

Welcome! Congratulations on your new job! Stay safe!

Salute💙🫡🫡🫡🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Awesome duo 💙

Awesome

Beautiful 😍

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Rest in Peace, K-9 Rico. Thank you for your service, #Hero 
💙🐾Image attachment

Rest in Peace, K-9 Rico. Thank you for your service, #Hero
💙🐾
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2 days ago

4 CommentsComment on Facebook

So very sorry for ur loss💔may he rest in eternal peace over the rainbow bridge🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💔💔💔

😢🙏🇱🇷

Thank you for your service. Rest in peace.

RIP Rico

Congratulations! Thank you! Stay safe!Image attachmentImage attachment+7Image attachment

Congratulations! Thank you! Stay safe! ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago
Congratulations! Thank you! Stay safe!

Congratulations! Thank you! Stay safe!The Lovington Police Department would like to extend a warm welcome and introduce Officer Berenice Vega to our community.

Officer Vega was born in Jerecuaro Guanajuato, Mexico and came to the United States when she was 9 years old. Officer Vega graduated from Lovington High School in 2017 and was granted citizenship in 2018. Officer Vega will begin our Field Training Program and attend the Southeastern New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy at a later date.

We are delighted to have Officer Vega join our ranks at the Lovington Police Department!
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2 days ago
Thank you for 33 years of service!!Image attachmentImage attachment+5Image attachment

Thank you for 33 years of service!! ... See MoreSee Less

5 days ago

6 CommentsComment on Facebook

Thank you Sir for your service to your community..... Enjoy your retirement... God Bless you and your family.....

Congratulations

👏🇱🇷

Salute💙🫡💙🫡🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💙💙💙💙💙🫡🫡🫡

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Thank you, SRO, Private Chestnut! Stay safe!

Thank you, SRO, Private Chestnut! Stay safe!Congratulations to our newly promoted School Resource Officer, Private Chestnut. Thank you for keeping us safe and mentoring our students. We appreciate you!
#schoolrescourceofficers #eastpointsc
West Columbia Police Department
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6 days ago

8 CommentsComment on Facebook

👏🇱🇷

Salute and Honor

Congratulations

Thanks prayers stay safe and well in Jesus name

Congratulations 🎊

Congratulations!!!👮🏿‍♀️👍

Congratulations lord keep her n r kids safe in this cruel world🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💙🫡🫡🫡🫡💙💙

View more comments

Way to go, K9 Freddie!! Thank you!

Way to go, K9 Freddie!! Thank you!🎵"Another One Bites the Dust," 🎶by Freddie Mercury. Dog of the month, Madison, WI Police K9 Freddie is still in his rookie year. Of course the old veterans can be counted on...but with a new pup (and a new handler!), there is always a bit of doubt until they prove themselves in the field.
On K9 Freddie's first search warrant assignment - his SECOND call ever in his young career - he was asked to bring his nose to search a house & garage.
He immediately indicated on an old can of paint in a very messy garage. Officers were skeptical; the weight of the can didn't seem to match his response. But, "Trust Your Dog" is a maxim to live by. When they opened the can, they found a kilo of cocaine, wrapped tightly in plastic bags!
Hiding drugs in old paint cans is intended to mask the smell of the drug. Ha! Rookie Freddie was not fooled for a second. Home run first time at bat. Welcome to the team Freddie!

Madison Police Department Keeping K-9s in Kevlar #k9freddie #freddiemercury #whatanose #rookieyear #anotheronebitesthedust #berbeewalsh #trainhardworkhard #fieldtested #passedthetest #teammember
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6 days ago

4 CommentsComment on Facebook

Beautiful dog

job well done Freddie....stay safe and long prormising life for you and your partner

Great job,K-9 Freddie! ❤️❤️

Besutiful salute💙🫡🫡🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💙💙💙💙

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Economic Freedom

Arguably, the greatest freedom of all is the freedom of choice, the power to make your own decisions and command your own destiny.

Amongst all of the decisions that you can make in your life, your financial decisions typically have some of the largest impacts, positive or negative, on the quality of your life and the options that you will have available to you.

We recently faced an unprecedented convergence of economic challenges…depreciating home values, a plunging stock market, record levels of consumer debt, unemployment, a rise in inflation, high fuel prices, and restricted access to credit at the consumer and institutional levels.

While there are still issues and concerns that must be addressed, many economic indicators have fortunately stabilized.  Rest assured, however, that we will face further uncertainty and economic turmoil in years to come.

When challenges arise and economic uncertainty looms, virtually all of the volatility that is created in the financial marketplace is driven by two factors, fear and rampant speculation.

If you are somebody who is fearful and full of anxiety about your finances, do you also feel helpless and lost about what to do?  Can you imagine how great it would feel to be free of your fear and to experience peace of mind relative to your finances?

It is more important now than at any time in the last 75 years to make good financial decisions that will help you to achieve your own economic freedom and minimize any restrictions that will keep you from realizing your financial goals.

Make no mistake about it.  You can enjoy economic freedom no matter how much money you make and regardless of what your financial situation has been in the past.  You and your own actions will be the sole determinants of whether or not you achieve financial strength and soundness.   Conversely, if you do not set financial goals for yourself and get on the path that leads to the achievement of those goals, it will be your fault and your fault alone.

The peace of mind that comes with not having to worry about your finances during difficult times can be yours and the tools that will help you obtain it already exist.

When I was researching information for this article and trying to determine how best to summarize the steps you need to take to achieve personal economic freedom, I realized that we had already discussed the ten most important things that you can do to realize your life’s goals and to best prepare for uncertain and challenging economic times.  Because of this, much of what I will highlight in this article will be a summary or a reference to information in previous articles.

If you have been following along and have taken the steps that we have previously outlined, this will be a great time to check your work and fine-tune your plan if necessary.  If you have not taken the steps that you should have to prepare for what you may currently be facing or will possibly face sometime in the future, it is not too late to take the sting out of your current situation and better prepare for the next time.

 

1.   Create a Plan

Begin by honestly assessing your financial situation and determine what you have been doing and what you have not been doing.  Figure out what you know and what you don’t know and then devise a plan that builds on your strengths and addresses your weaknesses.  As an example, if you have not been as organized as you should have been and as a result have not balanced your checkbook regularly, make sure that part of your plan includes a regular review and balancing of your checkbook.  Then,  commit to that plan.  A successful financial plan must contain realistic, attainable action steps as well as measurements and checkpoints to ensure you stay on track.

 

2.   Develop and Follow a Budget

Clearly define your income and your expenses.  For the purposes of your budget, your income is not your gross salary, it is your actual take home pay. For this exercise to be of value, being specific and precise is a must especially as it relates to your expenses.  The more detailed that you can be about your exact expenses, the more confident  you will be about your numbers and what you will have left to save.  Once you have developed a budget, follow it.  It will take discipline on your part, but the reward is great, namely that you will be taking a big step toward commanding your own financial destiny.

 

3.   Become Credit Wise

The single biggest factor in determining your ability to borrow money and qualify for the best borrowing rates is your credit rating, specifically your credit score as reported by the three main credit bureaus.  The credit rating system is notoriously difficult to understand and susceptible to errors and inaccuracies so you will be way ahead of the game if you take the time to understand your credit report, the components of your credit score, and what you can do to ensure that your rating is as accurate and as strong as possible.

 

4.   Perform Credit CPR

To the extent that you identify inaccuracies or legitimate weaknesses in your financial standing, perform the necessary tasks to take corrective action.  In this case, CPR can be defined as strong Communication with relevant parties, sound Planning, and a commitment to Resolve any and all matters.

 

5.   Set Your Financial Priorities

Now that you have taken the steps that form the foundation of your future financial strength and your in-depth financial knowledge, it is time to determine exactly what your priorities should be.  If you have more debt than you are comfortable with, then the first order of business should be to pay off that debt or bring it down to a more reasonable level.  If your debt and expenses are in order, your priority should be to maximize your savings.

 

6.   Establish Goals and Incentives

Once your plan is in place and your priorities are in order, the next step is to establish your goals and the rewards you will reap when those goals are achieved.  As is the case with each of these steps, the goals that you set will be personal to you and will only be helpful if they are meaningful to you and attainable.  Setting the incentives is just as important because they will play a key role in your level of motivation to achieve your goals.

 

7.   Create Reinforcing Habits

Particularly when it comes to saving, but certainly in every aspect of your own financial management, you will benefit from making habits out of the actions you are taking and repeating.  Your plan is in place and it is based on accurate information.  You have set your priorities and established your goals.  The best way to reinforce this behavior is to make it second nature.

 

8.   Build Wealth

When you have realized the importance of saving, the next logical step is to go out and actually build wealth and there remains only two legitimate ways to do it.  You must either obtain ownership of something (i.e., real estate, stock, business, etc.) and/or build passive income; that is income that you generate that is not directly reliant on your labor or task completion (i.e., interest, dividends, appreciation).

 

9.   Insulate Yourself From Recessions

There are several things that you can do to lessen the impact a downturn in the economy can have on your finances in terms of preemptive measures and preparation.  If you have not completed the previous steps then these measures will be a lot less effective.  Once you have prepared for these times, you have essentially completed your path to economic freedom and you will find a peace of mind relative to your personal financial situation that will be both inspiring and liberating.

 

10. Trust Your Instincts and Stay Curious

At this point, you have completed all of the steps and have clearly learned how to make good, sound financial decisions.  You are following your own path and realizing power and command that previously seemed unreachable. You have all of your financial matters in order.  Enjoy the benefits of your commitment to this process by sticking with the decisions and choices that you have made, but do not rest on what you have already accomplished.  Stay curious, keep asking questions and answering your own challenges, and remain open-minded so that you are able to make adjustments to your plans and objectives as necessary.

So, follow these steps and keep the faith. Your Economic Freedom is at hand.

And, don’t forget, members of the Credit Union enjoy free and confidential Credit Counseling and Financial Planning through our Financial Planning and Education Center. We are here to assist you every step of the way.

Scott Arney
Chief Executive Officer
Chicago Patrolmen’s Federal Credit Union

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