When Does a Personal Loan Make Sense?

Posted on September 29, 2026 by Business Development Rep Samantha

A personal loan can be a valuable tool for meeting your financial needs when used wisely. Keep reading to learn what a personal loan is, the advantages of using one, and when it could make sense to use as a financing option.

What is a Personal Loan?

A personal loan is a fixed-rate installment loan, which provides quick access to funds for various purposes. You’re often approved based on your creditworthiness, income, and overall debt levels. Since borrowers often apply for personal loans because of urgent needs, many lenders offer quick access to the funds once approved. The funds are usually disbursed in one lump sum.

Advantages of Personal Loans

Fixed Interest Rates: Fixed interest rates give you a fixed monthly payment and offer protection against variable interest rates (rates that are subject to change based on market conditions).
Fixed Monthly Payments: Personal loans usually come with fixed monthly payments, which makes them predictable and easy to budget for.
Flexible Terms: Depending on the lender, loan terms can be as short as 1 year or as long as 5 years or more. This gives borrowers the flexibility to choose a term that won’t strain their budget and fits their priorities.
No Collateral Required: Personal loans usually have no collateral requirement, meaning you aren’t risking your home or car if you are unable to repay the loan. However, be aware that without collateral – you typically face higher interest than a loan type with collateral backing it.
Flexibility for Using Funds: Personal loans don’t have as many restrictions as some other loan types. They’re versatile and can be used for many purposes, such as consolidating multiple types of debt or funding a home renovation project.

When to Use a Personal Loan

Debt Consolidation and Streamlining Payments: A personal loan makes it easy to take multiple payments and turn them into a single streamlined payment. This ultimately reduces the number of monthly payments you must make each month on other loans, making it less likely that you’ll miss payments. Additionally, consolidating multiple debt sources can lower the overall interest you’re paying – especially if your credit score has improved.
Credit Card Payoff: The interest rate on a personal loan is usually lower than that of a credit card. Although the interest rate you secure on a personal loan will depend on your creditworthiness, the average national personal loan rate currently stands at 12.44% while credit cards stand around 19.61%. Additionally, interest rates on credit cards are usually variable. A personal loan with a fixed interest rate that’s lower than that of a credit card can help you pay down your credit card balances faster and save money on interest over time. If you’re consolidating credit card debt, commit to also changing your spending habits so you don’t go deeper into debt.
Emergency Expenses: Sometimes the money just isn’t there when an emergency arises – such as an unexpected hospital stay, medical bill, or car repair. Personal loans tend to have quick approval and funding decisions, which makes them a helpful choice in an urgent situation. A personal loan can be a useful option in these situations, especially if the alternative is financing the expense with a credit card.
Relocation Expenses: There are times when you can’t plan for a move, such as in the case of a job loss, family emergency, or a major life change. Moving can also come with unexpected costs. You may decide to use a personal loan to finance moving-related expenses such as hiring movers, renting a moving truck, or paying a security deposit or first month’s rent. A personal loan can help you cover these upfront expenses and pay them back with a predictable monthly payment.

A personal loan can offer predictability, structure, and flexibility when used appropriately. It can give you the confidence to meet your financial needs with a fixed interest rate and a predictable monthly payment.

If you’re in Monmouth or Ocean Counties in New Jersey and believe that a personal loan may be the right option for your financing needs, First Financial is here to help. With fixed rates, flexible terms up to 60 months, and no pre-payment penalties – our Personal Loans may be able to help you affordably cover the cost of life’s necessary expenses.* You can apply online 24/7 or call our Loan Department at 732.312.1500, Option 4 if you have any questions before applying.

*APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Actual rate will vary based on creditworthiness and loan term. Subject to credit approval. Personal Loan repayment terms range from 12 to 60 months, and APRs range from 10.24% APR to 18% APR. Loan payment example: A $2,000 Personal Loan financed at 10.24% APR for 24 months, would have a monthly payment amount of $92.51. A First Financial Federal Credit Union membership is required to obtain a Personal Loan or Line of Credit, and is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, volunteers or attends school in Monmouth or Ocean Counties. A $5 deposit in a base savings account is required for credit union membership prior to opening any other account/loan.

Protect Your Business from an Email Compromise Scam

Posted on September 25, 2026 by Chief Marketing Officer Jessica

Email keeps your business moving. You use it to talk with employees, work with vendors, approve purchases and manage payments. Scammers know it too, and they build their scams around that trust.

Business email compromise or BEC, is a scam where criminals send messages that appear to come from a trusted source, then use that trust to get you to send money or share sensitive information.

According to the FBI, these scams take on many forms. You might receive what looks like an updated invoice from a longtime vendor. An employee might get an urgent request that seems to come from a company executive. A scammer might even insert themselves into an existing conversation about a payment or invoice.

The message may seem legitimate initially. Knowing the warning signs can help safeguard your business.

Understand How Business Email Compromise Works

Business email compromise succeeds because scammers make their messages look familiar. They may create an email address or website that closely resembles a legitimate one, sometimes changing only a letter or two. They may also use phishing emails to gain access to company accounts, calendars, or other information that makes a future scam more convincing.

The FBI also warns that criminals can use malicious software to access legitimate email conversations about billing and invoices. That access lets them time fraudulent payment requests to fit naturally into an existing conversation.

A suspicious email will not always come from someone you have never heard of. It may appear to come from someone or a company you work with regularly.

Look Closely Before You Click or Pay

Small details can reveal a fraudulent message. Before responding to an unexpected email, look closely at the sender’s full email address, any URLs in the message, and the spelling throughout. Scammers often utilize small changes that are easy to miss when you are moving quickly.

Be especially cautious with messages asking you to:

Change an account number or payment method
Send a wire transfer or other payment
Purchase gift cards
Update or verify account information
Open an unexpected attachment
Act immediately or keep the request confidential

Urgency should slow you down, not speed you up. The FBI advises extra caution whenever someone pressures you to act quickly.

Verify Payment Changes Another Way

One of the most important steps your business can take is verifying changes involving money independently.

If a vendor emails new payment instructions, or someone requests an unusual purchase or transfer, do not rely on the email alone. Contact the person or business using a phone number you already have on file, not one included in the message.

Make that extra verification step part of your normal process. It helps employees feel comfortable slowing down, even when a request appears to come from a manager, executive, or longtime business partner.

Protect Your Business Accounts

Good account security adds another layer of protection. Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all accounts that support it. This adds an extra verification step during login, rather than relying only on a password.

Be careful about the information you and your employees share publicly too. Personal details posted online or on social media can give scammers what they need to guess passwords, answer security questions, or make a fraudulent message look more convincing.

When an unsolicited email or text asks you to update or verify your account information, do not click the link. Go directly to the company’s website or contact the company using information you already trust.

Be Careful with Attachments

Treat an unexpected attachment with the same scrutiny as an unexpected payment request. Avoid opening attachments from people you don’t know, and stay cautious even when a familiar contact forwards one. If something feels off, confirm with the sender before opening it.

A quick check takes a few minutes. Recovering from a fraudulent payment or a compromised business account can take much longer.

If You Think Your Business Has Been Targeted, Act Quickly

If you believe your business sent money because of a business email compromise scam, contact your financial institution right away.

Report business email compromise scams to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov as well.

Even if a suspicious email does not lead to a payment, use it as a chance to review what happened and make sure everyone involved knows what to watch for next time.

If you believe your First Financial business account has been targeted in a BEC scam, contact us directly at 732-312-1500.

A Few Extra Minutes Can Protect Your Business

Email is an essential business tool, but convenience should not replace verification. Take a closer look whenever a request involves money, account information, or an unexpected change in procedure. Verify unusual requests through a separate communication method, protect your accounts with multi-factor authentication, and stay cautious when someone pressures you to act immediately.

When something doesn’t look or feel right, slowing down and confirming the request is one of the simplest ways to protect your business. For more on the tactics scammers are using right now, visit the Important Alerts & Scams page of our First Scoop Blog.

How to Avoid Lifestyle Creep After Your Income Increases

Posted on September 23, 2026 by Business Development Rep Samantha

Congratulations – maybe you got a raise at work or started a new job where you’re making more money. You’re not alone if you already feel more breathing room in your finances, or if you’re thinking of finally treating yourself to a luxury item you’ve always wanted. An increase in your salary can mean you’ll have more money in your checking account, but it can also mean that you’re spending more to keep up with it. Let’s talk about what lifestyle creep means, the signs that you might be experiencing it, and how to avoid it.

What’s Lifestyle Creep?

Lifestyle creep occurs when you spend more as your income rises, often on non-essential items. This can make it feel like the increase to your income never happened – even though your paycheck went up, your wiggle room didn’t. It can also occur after paying off a loan or credit card – which frees up money that would usually go toward a monthly payment. Rather than redirecting that money to savings, you spend it.

It usually happens little by little, and creeps up on you. At first, it might look like ordering takeout more often or buying pricier gifts because you can afford it. You might start upgrading existing subscription services or adding new ones to your recurring monthly expenses. Eventually, it might be that your spending has increased so much that your savings either looks the same or has dwindled, while your credit card balance grew.

Signs of Lifestyle Creep

Here are some signs that you might be experiencing lifestyle creep:

Living paycheck to paycheck.
Not knowing where your money goes every month.
Little luxuries like going out to eat or going shopping don’t feel special anymore.
The balance of your savings is stagnant or dwindling.
Relying on credit cards to make ends meet between paychecks.
Extra items that are wants, are now seen as
Consistently justifying expensive purchases as “deserved.”
Prioritizing luxury over practicality.
Unable to cover an emergency expense.

How to Avoid Lifestyle Creep

1. Decide on a Purpose for the Increase

As soon as your income increases, decide on a purpose for the extra money before you get used to seeing it in your account. Let’s say each paycheck goes up by $100.

75% or $75 of the increase would go to your emergency savings, to pay down debt, or save for a financial goal.
25% or $25 of the increase would go toward a valuable upgrade you want to make to your lifestyle.

You don’t have to follow these percentages exactly – the point is deciding before your spending habits decide for you. It is perfectly normal and expected to spend money on things that make you happy, but make sure you’re making future you a priority, too!

2. Automate Savings

When you receive a raise, consider increasing your automated savings at the same time (or begin automating your savings if you haven’t already). That extra income hasn’t been in your budget before, which makes it a good time to redirect some of it to savings before you adjust your spending habits around it.

First Financial members can setup automatic transfers to any of their First Financial Savings Accounts. It’s easy to set up automatic transfers between a First Financial Checking Account or an external account, as well as increase those transfers when you get a pay raise.*

3. Set Clear Financial Goals

Having clear, meaningful financial goals can make it easier to direct extra income. Whether you’re building an emergency fund, saving for your child’s college education, or for a family vacation – giving your extra income a purpose makes you less likely to spend it. Additionally, it can remind you to reconsider impulse purchases because that money can help get you closer to achieving a goal.

4. Sleep on New Monthly Payments

Before taking out an installment plan on a new furniture set or applying for a new car loan, sleep on it to decide if you really need it. Lifestyle creep isn’t only caused by single, large payments – it can be caused by taking on new monthly payments because they become permanent in your budget for 1 year, 5 years, or more. If after sleeping on it, you decide that you still want the item in question – consider pairing it with a downgrade that either saves you money, or increase the amount you put into your savings account.

Increasing your income can be a great feeling – don’t let lifestyle creep change that. By making a plan for extra funds and being aware of your spending, you can ensure that you’re enjoying your pay bump today, tomorrow, and in the future.

For more financial advice and money management tips, subscribe to our First Scoop Blog.

*A First Financial membership is available to anyone who lives, works, worships, volunteers or attends school in Monmouth or Ocean Counties. A $5 deposit in a base savings account is required for credit union membership prior to opening any other account. All personal memberships are part of the Rewards First program and a $5 per month non-participation fee is charged to the base savings account for memberships not meeting the minimum requirements of the program. View full Rewards First program details at firstffcu.com. Some restrictions apply, contact the Credit Union for more information.

The Risk of Putting Your Finances on Autopilot

Posted on September 18, 2026 by Chief Marketing Officer Jessica

Automation makes it easy to manage your finances. Direct deposit, autopay and automatic transfers into your savings takes tasks off your plate, and for many – that hands-off approach is exactly what keeps their money on track.

However, when everything runs completely on its own – it’s easy to stop paying attention altogether. Keep reading to find out what to watch for, and how to stay in the loop with your finances without giving up the convenience.

You Can Lose Touch with Your Spending

When your bills pay themselves and your paycheck splits itself into savings, it’s easy to stop looking at where your money actually goes. You can miss patterns you would otherwise catch, like a forgotten subscription or a spending category creeping up month over month.

Automated savings can fall behind too. If you set a transfer amount once and never revisit it, it won’t grow when your income does. Say you set up a $50 automatic transfer into savings two years ago. After a raise, that same $50 is a smaller share of your paycheck than it used to be, even though the transfer still shows up every payday.

Set a recurring reminder monthly or quarterly, to review your accounts and see where your money is really going. Our Home Budget Calculator is a good place to start.

Overdrafts and Fees Can Sneak Up on You

Automation removes some of the manual work, but not the responsibility of knowing your account balances. If a payment goes out before your paycheck lands, or if you have more automatic payments scheduled than your account can cover that week – you could end up with an overdraft plus a late fee or returned payment fee from the biller.

This often happens right after a change in pay schedule or a new autopay you set up for a service. Checking your account balance, upcoming transactions, and payment timing regularly helps you catch these mismatches before they turn into fees.

Errors and Fraud are Easier to Miss

A missed decimal point, a duplicate charge or an extra zero can happen, and automated systems do not always catch these mistakes on their own. Fraud can be even harder to spot, since scammers often start with small charges that don’t raise a red flag – hoping you won’t notice before they move on to bigger ones. When your bills still get paid, and your balance still looks roughly right at a glance, nothing prompts you to look closer unless you already are.

A quick weekly glance at your transaction history is one of the simplest ways to catch something before it grows. Visit our blog’s Important Alerts & Scams page to stay up to date on the tactics scammers are using right now.

Your Plan Can Get Outdated Without You Noticing

Automation is built to run the same way every time, but your finances are not static. A new job, a move, a new family member or a paid-off loan can all change what your money should be doing, and none of those changes will update your automatic transfers on their own.

When you pay off a loan, automation will not redirect that freed-up money into savings, another debt or another goal for you. Treat every major life change as a cue to revisit your automatic settings, not just your budget.

Automation and Oversight Work Better Together

Automating your finances is still one of the best tools available for building good money habits, especially when you pair it with a regular check-in.

If you have been hands-off for awhile, start small. Review your accounts at least once a week for the first month, then shift to once a month. A short check-in does not need to take long. Each time, look for:

Charges you don’t recognize or can’t place.
Subscriptions or automatic payments you no longer use or need.
Savings transfers that have not kept pace with your income.
Life changes that may update your automatic settings.

Automation and oversight are not opposites. Together, they give you the convenience without losing sight of your money.

For more financial tips like these, subscribe to our First Scoop Blog.

Insurance Needs Assessment for Empty Nesters and Retirees

Posted on September 15, 2026 by Chief Marketing Officer Jessica

With children out of the house, financial priorities become more focused on preparing for retirement. At this stage, you may very likely be at the height of your earning power and fast approaching peak savings as you lay the groundwork for retirement. During this final leg to retirement, and throughout your retirement period – wealth protection is critical.

The preservation of your assets may not be solely a function of your investment strategy, but may include a comprehensive insurance approach to protect you against an array of financial risks – most especially health care.

In addition to wealth protection, you can also now be seriously contemplating a number of important estate and legacy objectives.

Home

Even though your mortgage may be paid off, and thus released of the lender’s requirement to have homeowner’s insurance – it remains important to consider coverage against property loss and exposure to personal liability. Now is an ideal time to review your policy as the cost of replacing your home and the belongings contained therein, may have grown over the years.

Also, consider an umbrella policy, which is designed to help protect against the financial risk of personal liability.

Health

There are several key health insurance issues facing empty nesters and retirees.

If you retire prior to age 65 when Medicare coverage is set to begin, you will need coverage to bridge the gap between when you retire and when you turn 65. If your spouse continues to work, you may want to consider getting yourself added to his or her plan, though you may need to wait until the employer’s annual enrollment period.

Alternatively, you also may purchase coverage through a private insurer or through HealthCare.gov (or your state’s program, if available).

Once you enroll in Medicare, you should consider purchasing Part D of Medicare, the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan – which can help you save money on prescriptions.

Additionally, you may want to consider other Medigap insurance, which is designed to pay for medical care not covered by Medicare. Medigap plans are bought through private insurance companies and best purchased within the first six months of turning age 65, in an effort to get the best price and the most choices.

Disability

This coverage may continue until you retire. When you stop working, you should consider canceling your disability insurance as the need for it has expired.

Life

The financial obligations that drove your life insurance needs while you were raising a family may have evaporated. However, you may find new needs arising from estate issues, such as liquidity, creating a legacy, etc.

Several factors will affect the cost and availability of life insurance – including age, health and the type and amount of insurance purchased. Life insurance policies have expenses, including mortality and other charges. If a policy is surrendered prematurely, the policyholder also may pay surrender charges and have income tax implications. You should consider determining whether you are insurable before implementing a strategy involving life insurance. Any guarantees associated with a policy are dependent on the ability of the issuing insurance company to continue making claim payments.

Extended Care

For some, extended care insurance is a priority in this stage of life. With the expense of children in the rearview mirror, you can now turn your focus to buying protection against potentially the most significant healthcare expense you are likely to face in retirement.

Designed to pay for chronic, long-lasting illnesses and regular care, whether in home or at a nursing home – extended care insurance coverage is critically important since most of these costs are not covered by Medicare.

Questions about this topic or interested in setting up a time to talk? Contact First Financial’s Investment & Retirement Center by calling 732.312.1534. You can also email maureen.mcgreevy@lpl.com

Securities and advisory services are offered through LPL Financial (LPL), a registered investment advisor and broker/dealer (member FINRA/SIPC). Insurance products are offered through LPL or its licensed affiliates. First Financial Federal Credit Union (FFFCU) and First Financial Investment & Retirement Center are not registered as a broker/dealer or investment advisor. Registered representatives of LPL offer products and services using First Financial Investment & Retirement Center, and may also be employees of FFFCU. These products and services are being offered through LPL or its affiliates, which are separate entities from and not affiliates of FFFCU or First Financial Investment & Retirement Center.

Securities and insurance offered through LPL or its affiliates are:

The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. This material was developed and produced by FMG Suite to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. FMG Suite is not affiliated with the named broker-dealer, state- or SEC-registered investment advisory firm. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Copyright FMG Suite.

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