Free Financial Counseling Draws Rave Reviews

First Entertainment Credit Union, Hollywood, Calif., now offers free financial counseling to all of its members.

Its new Balance program encompasses the full spectrum of financial counseling and services. As a benefit of credit union membership, free confidential services now include InfoLine, Money Management Counseling, Debt Management Plan, and Credit Report Review.

Balance is a comprehensive financial fitness program designed to help members manage their personal finances and plan for the future. The program’s centerpiece is free individual counseling by trained and certified financial experts free for all First Entertainment members who request it. Members may request the service in person or online.

"Our members are entertainment-industry professionals who have to be savvy about the way they handle their income," says Charles Bruen, First Entertainment’s president/CEO. "They often have to weather hiatuses, production slow-downs, and other challenges that are a natural part of any show business career. Our members expressed a need for financial planning and now they can get top-notch advice just by being a part of First Entertainment."

Balance is the first in a series of new programs First Entertainment will launch in 2004, Bruen adds. These programs are designed to aid First Entertainment members and help the credit union’s management team design and develop new loans, investment vehicles, and free seminars to fit members’ emerging needs.