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With housing prices and mortgage interest rates at record lows, now is a good time to explore buying a home. Preparation is the key to navigating today’s market. Consider these tips to help your household prepare for buying a home: • Review your finances. A thorough analysis of your financial situation is central to the decision to . . . → Read More: Tips Every Homebuyer Should Know It’s tax season and criminals are seizing the opportunity for scams. Don’t become the next victim. Scammers leverage every means at their disposal to separate you from your money, your identity, or anything else of value they can get. They may offer seemingly legitimate “tax services” designed to steal your identity and your tax refund, . . . → Read More: Tax Time is Crime Time As your bank, we take information security very seriously. Take a few moments to remind yourself to stay safe when browsing the internet. Many of these are simple reminders. 1. Think twice before you click. The income tax filing season has begun and important tax documents should be arriving in your mailbox. Although your return is not due until April 15, you can make tax time easier on yourself with an early start. Here are 10 tips to help ensure a smooth tax-filing process. 1. Create a system for organizing tax documents . . . → Read More: 10 Timely Tax Time Tips It’s the season of love, but before couples taking the next step in their relationship, they should shape their financial plan. Taking the next step in your relationship is not only a marriage of hearts but also a marriage of finances. An important component of any romantic relationship is a solid financial footing. Use the following tips . . . → Read More: All You Need is LOVE — and Financial Intimacy A Short Guide to Bluetooth Security Wireless devices help us move our lives along faster and more efficiently. Let’s face it, they allow us to do more work, and have more fun along the way. However, security shouldn’t take a backseat to convenience, so take a few moments to think about Bluetooth security and how you can . . . → Read More: It Might Be Wireless, But Is It Secure? Smartphone security becomes more important every day as we add mobile banking and other personal information to our phones. It is estimated that there are 120 million American smartphone users, however, less than 5% of smartphones use third-party security software and more than 40% lack anti-virus software. More than half of users do not use password . . . → Read More: Get Smart About Smartphone Security Learn how to protect your small business, yourself, your family and your devices with these tips. Small Business Owners With interest rates at record lows, you face a number of choices for managing your money. Whether you want to save, spend or invest, consider your options and choose the strategies that best suit your particular financial circumstances. Here are five tips for low-interest-rate periods: 1. Consolidate debt. With interest rates at historic lows, it makes sense . . . → Read More: Take Advantage of the Low-Interest Rate Environment DO DO know the power of credit. Lenders look at your credit history as an indication of your future financial behavior. By using credit wisely, you can build a good credit history — which may make it easier to get loans with low interest rates, rent an apartment, or purchase a car or home. DO read the . . . → Read More: Dos and Don’ts of Credit |
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