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A Chance to Live Her Values
When Melissa Wenzel found out in 2019 that Affinity Plus offered bicycle loans, she knew she had an opportunity to cruise on a new e-bike while also living out her values of sustainability and community.
As a St. Paul resident, she’d ridden an e-bike – bicycles with small electronic motors – after selling her car in 2008, and she was familiar with the ease and convenience the crafty vehicles gave her in the Twin Cities’ traffic. But by 2017, her e-bike at the time was giving her trouble, and she knew it was time to buy a higher-quality model, running around $3,500.
“Having a good-quality bike does cost money,” Melissa said.
She considered bike-shop financing, but then Melissa saw Affinity Plus loans offering 120% of a bike’s price, giving the rider some breathing room to pay for necessary accessories like helmets and bike locks. The care that Affinity Plus put into the loan caught her eye.
“The thoughtfulness of the bicycle loan really struck me,” she said. “I could’ve gotten a loan through the bike shop, but I wanted to work with Affinity Plus on it.”
Care and kindness brought her to Affinity Plus in the first place, during the recession in 2011. As an employee for State of Minnesota in the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the 2011 recession sent her and her coworkers home for three weeks during the state shutdown.
In the midst of the stress, Melissa said Affinity Plus reached out and provided a sense of stability and security for the state employees on furlough, and she was impressed with the credit union’s humanity.
“A lot of us realized how wonderful and generous and willing to help Affinity Plus was to employees going through a 20-day shutdown,” she said. “That’s when I became a member.”
So when she learned about the bicycle loan, she knew it was an easy choice. She purchased her new e-bike in 2019 and has been avoiding traffic snarls – like when I-94 heading into St. Paul looks like a parking lot – ever since.
“I don’t have to think about which roads are closed. I just take whatever route I want,” Melissa said. “We can live our values.”
“Having a good-quality bike does cost money,” Melissa said.
She considered bike-shop financing, but then Melissa saw Affinity Plus loans offering 120% of a bike’s price, giving the rider some breathing room to pay for necessary accessories like helmets and bike locks. The care that Affinity Plus put into the loan caught her eye.
“The thoughtfulness of the bicycle loan really struck me,” she said. “I could’ve gotten a loan through the bike shop, but I wanted to work with Affinity Plus on it.”
Care and kindness brought her to Affinity Plus in the first place, during the recession in 2011. As an employee for State of Minnesota in the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the 2011 recession sent her and her coworkers home for three weeks during the state shutdown.
In the midst of the stress, Melissa said Affinity Plus reached out and provided a sense of stability and security for the state employees on furlough, and she was impressed with the credit union’s humanity.
“A lot of us realized how wonderful and generous and willing to help Affinity Plus was to employees going through a 20-day shutdown,” she said. “That’s when I became a member.”
So when she learned about the bicycle loan, she knew it was an easy choice. She purchased her new e-bike in 2019 and has been avoiding traffic snarls – like when I-94 heading into St. Paul looks like a parking lot – ever since.
“I don’t have to think about which roads are closed. I just take whatever route I want,” Melissa said. “We can live our values.”
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