March is National Credit Education Month, so what better time to brush up on your knowledge? A little mysterious and sometimes confusing, credit represents the ability to borrow money assuming it will get paid back in the future, usually with interest. It's an agreement between a lender (i.e., a bank or merchant) and a borrower ...
Thinking that you need a change of scenery? Ready to get your toes in the sand (instead of some snow)? If you have been longing to escape and are thinking about planning your next vacation, here are some quick tips that may help you click ‘book’ and head to warmer (or cooler) climates faster. 1. ...
You just paid your rent for the month, your bill payments were due last week, you’re awaiting your next paycheck, and your car stops working – do you have the emergency funds you need for getting back up and running? 55% of households would struggle to “make ends meet” after facing a financial shock, such ...
Saving money can help build your better future by giving you the liquidity you may need for unexpected expenses, large purchases, etc. Learning about savings early in life can establish an excellent runway for your financial future. So how do you teach children about the importance and fundamentals of saving? Great question. We asked our ...
As community bankers, we thrive on discussing our clients' dreams and goals and helping them through the financial journey to achieve them. However, we understand that finances and banking may not be everyday topics for you. Additionally, talking about finances can be difficult, and financial products can be complicated to understand. Financial literacy is defined ...
As Jelena McWilliams, FDIC Chairperson, stated in a recent FDIC Podcast, "Supporting small businesses is one of the key roles that community banks play in our financial system. The overwhelming majority of community banks focus their commercial and industrial lending on small businesses…These attributes, as well as strong ties to their communities and borrowers, likely ...
Do you ever wonder how others accumulate wealth or how they always seem to have the funds, or access to funds, to invest in opportunities when prices seem attractive? The opportunity could be something as small as a high-ticket item on sale or as large as buying an entire business. The ability to wield this ...
While fixed income investing can offer the investor less risk than stocks and provide a steady stream of interest income, many individual depositors do not have the resources to experience the same benefits as market professionals. However, by using certificates of deposit (CDs) individual depositors can achieve benefits similar to those from a professionally managed ...