Many filers are in need of a fast refund to pay bills and meet immediate needs take out refund anticipation loans, but don't realize the loans they are receiving are charging as much as 700 percent interest. But in most cases, by using a credit union account for direct deposit, a filer can get a fast, free tax refund in as short of a time as the refund anticipation loan.

Assuming a modest savings of $250 for each filer using direct deposit into a credit union account, credit unions have saved filers thousands of dollars statewide.

For VITA sites in your area go to http://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep put in your zip code and the number of miles you would like to trave to reach a site from your location. E-filing begins on January 31st.

Webinar with Brett Wooden - Going Further with Tablets and Smartphones to Transform Internal and External Member Service

Brett presented at our Partners meeting in November, there were so many great comments that REAL Solutions decided to bring Brett back for a webinar to give the know how to set up the technology to take our mobile devices out to the community.

Update: To view this webinar, visit the REAL Solutions Webinars page.

There are ten CU4Reality Fairs scheduled for the spring semester and eight fairs in the process of selecting dates.

Maggie Flowers, Program Associate Economic Security Team, National Council on Aging, followed by a Retirement Fair. More details to follow.