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The Credit Union Perspective
By: John Normandeau, President/CEO
BestSource Credit Union
best source credit union
It's Time to Make Your Financial Resolutions
for the New Year!
She's
Flipped!
111
. 1r
John Normandeau, CFO
A Novi mom
has created an
educational tool
that will helps kids
and parents alike.
Lynne Konstantin
Contributing Writer
ackie Scher Stassinopoulos
prides herself on being a
hands-on mom. So when her
oldest son, with husband, John, entered
kindergarten, the Novi entrepreneur and
Detroit College of Business graduate,
45 — who attends Temple Shir Shalom
in West Bloomfield with her family —
closed her chocolate shop to devote
herself to volunteering at school and
involving herself with his homework,
even in that early stage.
But she found that she couldn't keep
up. "The assignments were filled with
terms I had never heard of' she says.
"Word families, blends and skip count-
ing — it was over my head:'
Over time, she sought help from her
two sons' teachers and tutors, and not
finding any study aids to suit Michigan's
specific curriculum needs, she eventu-
ally began to make her own flashcards
of the subjects her boys were learning in
school.
"We practiced with them, we played
games with them and we learned. We
brought them everywhere we went:" she
says. "And in the back of my mind, I was
always thinking about those families
with two working parents. I could barely
keep up, and I am a stay-at-home mom."
She realized that she could not be
the only parent out there who needed
to educate herself before she could help
educate her kids, even more so if they
benefit from alternatives to traditional
learning methods.
"One of my sons is a visual learner so
study aids really need to appeal to him:'
says Stassinopoulos. "And the other one
just loves to pick up a book and read. So
I needed something that would appeal
to all types of learning styles."
What she came up with is a new busi-
ness. You'll Flip, an innovative series
of flashcards, is so simple a concept
— which is precisely what makes them
user-friendly for both parents and kids.
Portable, durable and interchangeable,
the color-coded laminated cards bound
with metal rings (so they can be taken
apart for games and activities) are both
j
i
It's the beginning of a new year, which is a great time
to make resolutions regarding your financial life. The
mission at BestSource Credit Union is to improve our
members' financial lives. Here are some financial ideas
for you to consider as we start the New Year.
It's a great time to be a borrower! Interest rates have never been lower. Take a look at
the interest rate on your monthly credit card statements. If you are only making the
minimum payments on your credit cards, the credit union can likely save you hundreds
of dollars in interest by refinancing these balances into a debt consolidation loan.
Look at the interest rate on your auto loan. Did you know that you can refinance your
auto loan? If you're paying more than 5% on your auto loan than you have an opportuni-
ty to save money on your monthly payment by financing your loan. We have great auto
loan rates and would be happy to take a look at your current loan.
Jackie Stassinopoulos and her sons,
Peter and Jonathan
fun and educational, presenting vari-
ous ways for children to learn a single
concept.
Working with a team of teachers and
educational consultants, Stassinopoulos
developed You'll Flip with content
based on Michigan's education bench-
marks for each grade level from kin-
dergarten through fourth grade, and
is in the process of creating cards for
fifth-eighth grades.
Grade-level "Lunch Totes" range
in areas of study from number and
color recognition for young children to
contractions and subtraction facts for
second-graders to homophones, multi-
plication and division facts and geom-
etry for fourth-graders; each book
has an activity card for practice and
enrichment. The system makes it easy
for parents to understand precisely
what their child is expected to know at
each grade level, or if they should start
with a lower or higher grade according
to his or her own strengths and weak-
nesses. "They're flashcards with a pur-
pose she says.
Parents can also supplement with
subject-specific "Snack Packs" within
each grade level according to where
their child requires emphasis or dis-
plays an interest. These subjects range
from a pre-primer in Dolch Sight
Words and Short Vowel Word Families
for kindergartners to Skip Counting by
6s, 7s, 8s and 9s for third-graders.
Richard Njus, a retired Novi elemen-
tary principal and educational consul-
And let's not forget about growing your savings. With interest rates low and financial
markets so volatile, it has become a challenge for depositors to grow their savings.
Talking with a financial planner can help you leverage the options available to you.
Everyone needs to have the peace of mind that they have enough money to retire when
you are ready.
Starting a savings plan to save money can be a big stretch for some people, particularly
if you're living paycheck to paycheck. You have to start somewhere. I recommend set-
ting up an allocation to a special savings account where you commit to not touching the
money.
At BestSource Credit Union our mission is to improve our members' financial lives.
Stop by a branch or give us a call at 800.666.4500 to see how we can help you achieve
your goals. For more information, visit www.bestsourcecu.org .
IBEr SOURCE
CREDIT
OPEN
This Sunday
January ISth
Only!
One Day 2 fi m•
from 10 axn't°
oving Members' Financial
UNION
Beat the Clock
Sal e!
•
ONE DAY ONLY.. •
20'
ALL NON SALE
MERCHANDISE!
Sunday January 15th only
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. 60% off
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All Fall & Winter Merchandise
TODAY ONLY
—
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ON THE BOARDWALK
The first Grade Starter Tote includes
four grade-appropriate Flip Books.
• Previous purchases excluded • ,W
Sale; Arr Fool • Suit- of
tric1C11(111d1., unit'
She's Flipped on page 22
January 12 2012
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