At First Northern, we care about your financial wellness. That’s why we’ve partnered with industry-leading BALANCE to provide you with free access to expertly-crafted financial education and resources to help with your fiscal matters.
And should you need, BALANCE can assist with confidential, no-cost financial counseling services to help you develop a sensible budget managing spending and debt. For all your financial life stage changes and more, we—in partnership with BALANCE—are here to help.
Our members get, free of charge:
Debt Management Planning
While there are hundreds of “debt counseling” organizations across the country, Balance has agreed to quality standards that include accreditation, certification of counselors, audits and core policies that ensure quality service. If you choose, they offer a Debt Management Plan (costs are incurred), In which they work directly with your creditors on your behalf.
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Free Budget Counseling
Balance's counselors can review your current spending patterns, create a spending plan that allows you to take charge of your financial situation both month to-month basis and in the long term. They also discuss your financial goals and develop an action plan for overcoming challenges so you can achieve those goals.
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Free Credit Report Review
Balance can review your credit report and answer questions about credit scoring, building a strong credit history and correcting any inaccuracies that appear. After the call, their counselors can provide additional education materials on an array of topics tailored to meet your needs. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each credit reporting company. You can request your your free credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com.
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Free Student Loan Coaching
Borrowing to pay for college is the easy part. Repaying the debt is much harder. To know which options are best for you, your career prospects and your budget, it helps to have access to an expert who can guide you through the complexity of the various programs, explain your options under each, and take into account the context of your financial circumstances.
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Free Homeownership Coaching
Housing can be an overwhelming subject to tackle on your own, whether you are dreaming of owning your first home, or struggling to make mortgage payments on your current home. Balance's counselors are readily available to help you make sense of it all, including Pre-Purchase Counseling, Foreclosure Prevention, and Reverse Mortgage Counseling.
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Free Rental Coaching
Balance offers free education on building credit and becoming a desirable tenant. Their specialized rental counselors will help you develop a personalized spending plan and provide advice for saving money, increasing income, and reducing debt and will review common landlord requirements, lease agreements, basic tenant rights and affordable housing options, and more.
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Free: Build a Budget Online
You can take control of your money. By creating a spending plan, you’ll break the debt cycle and use your money for what’s most important to you – retirement, a dream vacation, a down payment for a house…Whatever your goal, a strong spending plan is the foundation for reaching it.
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Free Educational Modules
Learn the basics of personal finance with the BalanceTrack educational modules. Register for a free account to access helpful resources.
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