Tag: scam quiz

Your Paycheck Went Up. So Why Doesn’t It Feel Like It?

Getting a raise should feel like a financial win. Maybe you earned a promotion. Changed jobs. Picked up additional hours. Or you’re simply making more today than you were a few years ago. But somehow, there still isn’t much left at the end of the month. Sound familiar? Part of the problem is that as income increases, spending often increases right along with it. Some of that is intentional—you can finally afford a few things you used to say no to. Some of it happens without you realizing it. And some expenses simply cost more than they used to. The result? You’re earning more without necessarily feeling like you have more. The good news is you don’t need to go back to living on your old salary or eliminate everything you enjoy. You just need to make sure you’re deciding where your additional income goes instead of letting it disappear. Here are a few ways to find your raise again. 1. Start With the Last 60 Days Before cutting anything, figure out where your money is actually going. Pull up your checking and credit card transactions from the past two months and sort your spending into a few basic categories: Needs: Housing, utilities, groceries, insurance, transportation and minimum debt payments. Wants: Restaurants, entertainment, shopping, subscriptions, hobbies and other discretionary spending. Goals: Savings, additional debt payments, retirement contributions and other money you’re intentionally setting aside for the future. Don’t worry about creating the world’s most detailed spreadsheet. You’re looking for patterns. Vicinity Credit Union members can review transactions through Online and Mobile Banking, and the free Enrich Financial Wellness platform includes an interactive budget builder that can help you track expenses and see where your money is going. Try this: Pick one evening this week and spend 20 minutes reviewing your last 60 days of spending. Highlight anything that surprises you. 2. Look for the Expenses That Quietly Grew Lifestyle creep doesn’t usually arrive as one enormous purchase. It’s more likely to look like: $12 more for a streaming service.An extra takeout order each week.A more expensive phone plan.A few additional Amazon orders.Upgrading something because “it’s only another $20 a month.” Individually, none of those decisions may seem significant. Together, they can consume a large portion of a raise. Suppose your take-home pay increased by $300 per month, but you also started spending an additional $50 on subscriptions, $100 on restaurants and takeout, and $75 on shopping. Three relatively small changes have already claimed $225 of your $300 raise. Try this: Compare your current monthly expenses with what you were spending six months or a year ago. Identify three categories where your spending has noticeably increased. Then ask yourself: Did I intentionally choose to spend more here, or did it just happen? That’s an important distinction. 3. Do a $100 Reset You don’t necessarily need to overhaul your entire budget. Start by finding $100 a month. That might mean canceling two subscriptions you rarely use, swapping one restaurant meal each week for dinner at home, setting a monthly online-shopping limit or renegotiating a recurring bill. Then—and this is the important part—don’t leave that $100 sitting in checking. Give it another job. For example: $50 → emergency savings$25 → additional credit card payment$25 → vacation, holiday or another savings goal That’s $1,200 redirected over the course of a year without requiring a dramatic lifestyle change. 4. Decide What Deserves the Raise Here’s where we would avoid the usual financial advice about giving up everything fun. You worked for the raise. You should be able to enjoy some of it. The goal isn’t to make your lifestyle stay exactly the same every time your income increases. It’s to make the increase intentional. Let’s say your take-home pay goes up $400 a month. Instead of allowing the entire $400 to gradually become part of your everyday spending, you could decide upfront: $150 → Enjoy nowRestaurants, activities, hobbies or whatever makes life better. $150 → Build savingsEmergency fund, vacation, future home purchase or another goal. $100 → Pay down debtExtra payment toward a credit card, auto loan or other balance. There’s nothing magical about those percentages. The important part is deciding before the money disappears. 5. Automate the Part You Want to Keep One of the easiest ways to prevent lifestyle creep is to make saving happen before you have the opportunity to spend the money. If your paycheck increased by $200, consider automatically moving $50, $100 or whatever amount works for your budget into savings each payday. That changes the question from: “How much can I save at the end of the month?” to: “How do I want to spend what’s left after I’ve saved?” Vicinity CU’s Online Banking allows members to transfer funds, set savings goals and monitor progress, making it easier to turn saving into a regular habit rather than a decision you have to make every month. 6. Give Extra Money the Right Job Once you’ve found some breathing room, where should it go? There’s no single answer for everyone, but this order can help you decide: If you have little or no emergency savings: Start there. Even a smaller cushion can help prevent an unexpected expense from immediately becoming credit card debt. If you’re carrying high-interest debt: Consider directing extra money toward the balance charging you the most interest while continuing to make required payments on your other debts. If your emergency savings is in good shape and expensive debt is under control: Start putting more toward longer-term goals—retirement, a future home, education, travel or whatever matters most to you. And remember that your money doesn’t necessarily have to sit in the same account forever. Depending on when you’ll need it, different savings options may make sense. 7. Try the “Next Raise” Rule Here’s one habit worth starting before your next pay increase arrives. Decide now what you’ll do the next time your income increases. For example: Every time my take-home pay increases, I’ll automatically save 50% of the

Would You Fall for This Scam? Test Yourself

Your phone buzzes. “Illinois Tollway Alert: You have an unpaid toll. Pay immediately to avoid additional penalties.” There’s a link underneath. You drive on Illinois toll roads. The message looks official. And you definitely don’t want another fee. What do you do? Click the link and check the amount.B. Reply and ask for more information.C. Ignore the link and verify the issue through an official source.D. Forward it to someone else and ask if they think it’s real.   Answer: C. If this one almost got you, that’s exactly the point. Scams aren’t always obvious anymore. They can look like messages from financial institutions, government agencies, delivery services and companies you recognize. They may even reference situations that feel completely believable. And scammers are getting expensive. According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported losing approximately $15.9 billion to fraud in 2025. Imposter scams alone accounted for more than $3.5 billion in reported losses. So, how scam-proof are you? Let’s find out. Scenario #1: The Unpaid Illinois Toll That first example isn’t random. Illinois consumers have been warned about scam texts claiming the recipient has an unpaid traffic or tollway violation and needs to make an immediate payment. The urgency is part of the trick. The goal is to get you to click before you stop and question whether the message is legitimate. The safer move: Don’t click the link or respond to the message. Instead, go directly to the official website or contact the agency using contact information you’ve independently verified. And don’t assume a message is legitimate simply because it appears to come from a local number. Scenario #2: “There’s Suspicious Activity on Your Account” You receive a text: “Fraud Alert: A $487.23 transaction was attempted on your account. Was this you?” You definitely didn’t make that purchase. What should you do? Reply “NO.”B. Click the link to lock your account.C. Call the financial institution using a number you know is legitimate.D. Provide your account information so the transaction can be canceled.   Answer: C. Fake financial institution alerts are a common form of impersonation scam. The message creates an urgent problem—and then conveniently gives you a way to “fix” it. Instead of interacting with the message, independently contact your financial institution. If a message claims to be from Vicinity Credit Union and something doesn’t feel right, contact us directly using the number on the back of your card or the contact information on our official website. Scenario #3: Your Package Can’t Be Delivered You’re expecting a package when this arrives: “Delivery unsuccessful. Please confirm your address and pay a small redelivery fee.” Perfect timing. Or is it? Pay the fee. It’s only a couple dollars.B. Click the link to check the tracking number.C. Go directly to the delivery company’s website or app and check your shipment there.D. Reply with your address.   Answer: C. Package-delivery scams were among the most commonly reported text scams in recent FTC data. And that tiny “redelivery fee” may not be the real objective. The fake website could be designed to capture your card number or other personal information. When you’re expecting a package, that coincidence can make the scam particularly convincing. Skip the link and check your shipment independently. Scenario #4: Someone From Vicinity Credit Union Calls You Your phone rings and the caller ID says Vicinity Credit Union. The caller says there’s suspicious activity on your account and needs you to confirm your online banking credentials or provide sensitive information. The caller ID says Vicinity Credit Union, so it’s safe…right? What should you do? Provide the information since the caller ID says Vicinity Credit Union.B. Ask the caller to prove they work for Vicinity before continuing.C. Hang up and contact Vicinity CU directly using a number you know is legitimate.D. Stay on the line but refuse to provide your password.   Answer: C. Caller ID can be spoofed, meaning scammers can make a call appear to come from a legitimate organization. If someone unexpectedly contacts you claiming to be from Vicinity CU and asks for sensitive information, hang up. Then contact Vicinity CU directly using a number you know is legitimate. Never let the urgency of a call pressure you into providing information you normally wouldn’t share. Scenario #5: “Can You Send Me the Code?” You receive a verification code on your phone. A moment later, someone claiming to be helping with your account asks you to read the code back to them. What do you do? Give them the code since they’re already helping with your account.B. Ask them why they need it before deciding.C. Give them the code, then immediately change your password.D. Keep the code to yourself and end the conversation.   Answer: D. Verification codes are designed to prove you are the person accessing your account. Someone asking you to provide one may be attempting to get past an account’s security protections. Treat verification codes like passwords: don’t give them to someone who unexpectedly contacts you. How Did You Do? 5 correct: Scam spotter. Keep it up.3–4 correct: Pretty sharp—but remember, scammers only need you to act quickly once.0–2 correct: Time for a fraud-defense refresh. The good news? Knowing what to look for is one of your best defenses. Whatever your score, remember one simple rule: Stop. Verify. Then act. Scammers want urgency. They want you worried about the strange transaction, unpaid toll, locked account or missing package. Taking even a moment to independently verify what’s happening can make all the difference. Think Something’s Not Right? If you notice suspicious activity on your Vicinity Credit Union account or receive a communication claiming to be from Vicinity CU that doesn’t seem right, contact us directly. You can also visit our Fraud Awareness resources for more information about phishing, text scams, card fraud, identity theft and impersonation scams. Stay alert. Stay informed. And when in doubt, verify before you act.