The majority of the working people in the world use a financial institution such as a bank on a regular basis for their financial needs. Paychecks have to be cashed, bills have to be paid, money has to be borrowed, and checks have to be written. These tasks require the use of a financial institution of some sort.

While many depend on banks to perform these functions, the credit unions are the financial institutions with the real perks. When a person deals with a bank, that person is a customer. Customers are often charged fees for the bank's services. When a person belongs to a credit union, though, that person is a member, not just a customer.

As a member, one of the greatest perks is that credit unions are non-profit organizations and profits are returned to its members. That is, you deposit or invest your money with the credit union and as profits are earned, those profits are returned to the members as opposed to the typical bank where those profits are often used to pay the high overhead or the inflated salaries of the bankers.

Credit unions are unique organizations. They basic idea has been around since the Middle Ages. During this era, the general design was for members of a guild to band together for financial benefit, offering special quality, prices, and availability on services and products to those who were part of the guild. Money was also loaned within the guild.

As civilizations progressed and became more advanced, enhancements were made to this rudimentary concept. In other parts of the world, credit unions were formed. It wasn't until 1900 that the first credit union came to North America. This credit union was in Canada. By the 1920's, America had finally gained interest in the credit union concept.

Today, credit unions still operate with a design similar to that of the guild system. Groups of people with similar occupations, addresses, or other identifying factors come together collectively to deposit, save, or borrow money. Since these individuals are part of non-profit institutions, rates on moneys borrowed are often significantly lower than rates available elsewhere.

The idea of the credit union, though slightly tweaked over the centuries, has basically remained unchanged. It's quite uncommon for a concept to be so solid upon inception that it is hardly revamped for a period of several hundred years.

If you're looking to borrow money in the near future for a mortgage or an auto loan, you should consider becoming a member of a credit union that is conveniently available to you. Consider depositing the money you'll save in fees and interest rates into a savings account at the credit union.

When the money in the credit union earns profit, that profit is returned to the members. In the end, it's almost like the credit union is paying you. That sure beats paying bankers to use your money as a means to earn them money.

Credit unions just make sense. They've made sense since the Middle Ages. They still make sense today.