how do i become a member of a credit union? i live in west LA?

Answer 1

Just go to your local Credit Union and ask them if you qualify. The rules have become very lenient so that almost everyone can belong to a Credit Union. The one near my house would let anyone who is or was a student or an employee of the local college be a member, as well as anyone living in the area. That's pretty lenient!

Answer 2

Many credit unions, online and in your town, have a way for people to join. In some, you have to be in the local area or in a particular line of work/service or have family in that line of work/service. With others, they have a "back door" all you have to do is join a civic group through the credit union.

If you have ever been in the service or have family members in the service, you can probably join a service oriented credit union like, for example, the Navy CU.

NASA has a credit union where you pay $50 to the National Space Society to become a member (their membership is kinda on the high side compared to other CU's, but, gotta love NASA)

You might do a google search for credit unions. You can also limit your search for your area, since there are tons of credit unions.
Then look through the credit union sites for their "membership eligibility" to see if there is a way for "you" to join and what it would take to join.

Answer 3

Look in a local directory. There are usually multiple credit unions in an area with different qualifications. Perhaps your employer will qualifiy you for a CU, or the city which you live or work, sometimes if you have family member is already a member, you will be too.

You don't want to hear it, but you may have to do some actual leg work and research...