Blogs

Ways to prep your home before you leave for an extended time away. Embarking on an extended getaway can be exciting. It can be overwhelming, too, especially when you need to be away from your home and personal property for a long time. You want to make sure your home is secure before you leave so you can concentrate on new experiences. If you are headed out on a long-term trip, use these tips to prep your home before you go. Outside chores to complete How your home looks on the outside can signal unwanted attention from thieves. Overgrown shrubbery, a snow-covered driveway, a stack of...

Good health and well-being aren’t things we only want for our physical bodies; we also want them for our bank accounts. There’s no better time to start building financial wellness than the present. Here are some actionable steps to begin your journey to greater gains. Financial wellness means being financially secure enough to meet all your needs and cover emergency expenses. It also means being confident in achieving long-term financial goals, such as buying property or saving for retirement. While your earnings play a significant role in achieving financial wellness, other decisive factors...

If you get an SMS message supposedly from your bank about a fraud alert, be wary. The scheme tries to scare you into believing the scammers are representatives of your bank. An automated SMS message will appear on your phone, claiming to be a fraud alert from a banking institution. It’ll then ask if you recently made an instant payment in the thousands of dollars. How it happens: Scammers will first research your online history to learn your past addresses, Social Security numbers, the last four digits of your bank accounts or any other identifiable information about you. You will receive a...

Home improvement projects can be sizable undertakings. Whether trying to sell or just looking to spruce things up, the financial commitment can get as steep as the project itself. Have you considered using your Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) to tackle your next home improvement project? Your HELOC is a revolving loan with an open credit line from which you can make withdrawals. You only pay interest on the funds you borrow, with variable rates typically starting around the prime rate plus 2%. Think of your HELOC as a super-low-interest credit card. HELOC Pros Lower interest rates and...

How to Prepare for the Unexpected (No, Not the Zombie Apocalypse) We can plan as much as we’d like, but life will inevitably throw a wrench (or five) into our plans. Having a safety net to bounce back up after life knocks us down can make a tough situation easier to handle. What if your furnace stopped, your car suddenly broke down or you found yourself with surprising medical bills? Most financial advisors agree that we should have an emergency fund that can withstand three to six months of living expenses. The best way to accomplish this is to develop a rainy-day savings plan. Set a monthly...