If you’ve visited our St. Cloud branch, chances are, you’ve met Casey Krafnick. Casey is a member advisor and a long-standing Affinity Plus member. She loved banking with Affinity Plus so much that she decided to join the team in 2019. Before working at Affinity Plus, she says she never thought she’d be able to have a savings account, after working paycheck to paycheck, just to get by. Casey says there was no real thought of future savings but that quickly started to change. We sat down with Casey to get to know her better and find out why she thinks Affinity Plus is one of the best places to bank (and work).
Q: Tell us a little bit more about you! We’ve been told you’re a former preschool teacher!
A: Yes! I was a preschool teacher for about five years, but knew that I had to look at my future and look for a place where I could see myself for a really long time. I came into the branch and the rest is history! I got married in October 2019 to my husband, Aksel, and I’m a proud dog Momma to Tucker, who is a pitbull mix and the sweetest rescue!
Q: What has your experience been like working at Affinity Plus?
A: I knew right from the start during training how different this company was – and in such a positive way! The camaraderie during that week-long training just builds with others, who are starting in the same boat. It’s so important to build and foster those relationships – to feel connected and to feel inspired by your peers. It was during my training where I recognized that the company wants to set you up for success and help you feel supported.
Q: The pandemic threw a bit of a wrench into working at the branch. How was the experience for you?
A: Obviously the last year has looked a little different, but I have a great team who is super supportive, even throughout changes and a global pandemic. I started in December and the following March is when COVID began. I was feeling nervous about going home and answering calls from home, as I was still a pretty fresh teammate. Even with that, I still had so many resources and everyone was willing to help find answers and support me. The kind of people who work at Affinity Plus are cut from the same cloth – they want to help people, from colleagues to members.
Q: As a member advisor, you see plenty of members each day, each with different financial goals. What would you say is your top financial tip?
A: The best way I started saving was not putting it into my checking account; I put myself on my own allowance. Not seeing the full balance in my checking was hard to get used to, but knowing the safety net was there in my savings was a nice feeling – one I wasn’t used to because I never really had a savings before. When I only saw a specific number in my account, I knew that’s’ where I had to be.
Q: Why do you think it’s important to find a place like Affinity Plus?
A: Before joining the team and while I was a member, I realized how important and nice it was that when I came into a branch, they knew my name, or they remembered something personal. I wasn’t just a number in a crowd – it’s so important to treat people like people and feel supported by a place that was managing my money and help me on the path to financial success.
Q: Why should someone join Affinity Plus?
A: I feel like people should want to be members because they want to, not because they have to. It truly is a different banking experience and when someone realizes that, they start shouting it from the rooftop. It’s so personable, and banking here is just different, in the best way possible.
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