On Tuesday, July 1, RBCU is proud to announce that it has begun a partnership with LSS Financial Counseling Service. All members, household family members, and dependent children of members are eligible to take advantage of the financial counseling benefits provided by this service. A dedicated “800” number has been set up especially for RBCU members to assure expedited service from LSS counselors. That number is 1-800-528-2926.

About LSS Financial Counseling

Over the last 20 years, LSS Financial Counseling has helped more than 75,000 households in Minnesota and around the nation. These counseling professionals are dedicated to financial wellness as indicated by their mission statement which reads:

“LSS Financial helps people achieve financial peace of mind through full-service, thoughtful, and trustworthy counseling and education. We accomplish this through a commitment to ongoing financial counseling, education, public advocacy, and client service excellence.”

Each eligible RBCU member is allowed up to four (4) financial counseling sessions (each lasting typically 60-90 minutes) annually at no charge. The majority of these sessions (roughly 65%) take place in-person, with the remainder done over the phone or via the internet. These are completely confidential sessions between members and LSS Financial Counseling Services. The details of these sessions are not shared with RBCU.

Financial counseling may include the following services:

• Budget counseling
• Credit report review
• Housing counseling (including foreclosure prevention and
  reverse mortgage counseling)

Some of the specific financial problems that might be explored during these sessions include:

• Personal and family money management and budgeting
• Understanding credit reports and improving credit scores
• Debt repayment options including debt management plans (DMP)
• Consumer protection and preventing and resolving identity theft
• Mortgage default, foreclosure prevention, and predatory lending
• Home buying readiness, mortgage financing, and reverse mortgages
• Bankruptcy consequences and alternatives
• Student loan issues including borrowing, repayment, default, and repossession
• Vehicle loans including borrowing, repayment, default, and repossession
• Gambling, alcohol, and drug abuse addictive behaviors as related to financial problems
• Mental health, disability, family and marital stresses as related to financial problems

Members undergoing financial counseling will receive an objective assessment of their situation including a detailed budget exploring income/spending/assets/debts and an individualized Case Action Plan with resources and coaching about options to resolve the financial problems.

It is important to note that this counseling service is not only for those members experiencing financial difficulty. The information provided by this service is useful to anyone and everyone – both those needing help and those looking for proactive financial educational tools.

LSS Financial Counseling has three offices in the metro area – St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Hopkins. Normal hours of operation are M-F from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CST, with some evening counseling appointments available.

RBCU's general LSS Financial Counseling Services webpage provides a link off of our site to the main LSS Financial Counseling Services page. If you have questions about this exciting new RBCU partnership, and would like to ask

them directly to RBCU staff, please don’t hesitate to call the credit union at 612-798-7100.