Financial Education and Outreach

Understand the Federal Tax Deferral before it’s too Late

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If you are a federal employee or member of the military, the 6.2% social security tax withholding on your regular paycheck is currently on a mandatory deferral until January 2021 if your taxable wages are below a certain threshold; $4,000 per…
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Is Now a Good Time to Refinance Student Loans?

Interest rates are low, so it is the perfect time to refinance, right? Not necessarily! Whether a “refi” makes financial sense will depend on several factors related to your personal portfolio of loans.  Here are a few tips to consider…
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Positivity in a Pandemic

The news, social media and likely your phone calls with friends lately have been filled with doom and gloom.  COVID-19 has changed our lives. For many people, the changes have not been welcome or enjoyable and are far from over.  There will…
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Affordable Summer Fun while Social Distancing

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Every summer brings the challenge of trying to cram as much fun into two months as possible without depleting your bank account.  Summer of 2020 brings the added challenge of having fun while following the CDC recommendations for social distancing.…
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Spring Cleaning Your Bank Account to Improve Your Financial Health

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Now that you are spending more time at home, your financial situation has likely changed.  Your income may have decreased due to the pandemic and you cannot spend money on shopping and entertainment like you once did. As a result, your bank…
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Budgeting in a Crisis

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We are a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects are being felt hard by Americans, especially financially.  While states are starting to lift restrictions, the economy will not automatically bounce back.  We need to prepare to…
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How to Defend Against Future Abuse

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Abuse of older Americans comes in many forms and it can be overwhelming to think of all the tactics a fraudster may use to obtain your personal and financial information.  It’s important to keep track of current strategies of abuse but it…
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Abuse Prevention Strategies

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In an effort to protect older Americans from financial abuse, Protect Week helps you identify, avoid and report financial exploitation.  Identifying key abuse strategies is essential so that you can protect yourself and those you love from…
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Protecting Your Parents from Abuse

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One of the most heartbreaking things to learn about is the abuse of older Americans.  When you first hear that this is an issue, it might not resonate with you. At the time, you may have older family members that are in good health and have…
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Beware of COVID-19 Related Scams

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It seems that overnight our world has turned completely upside down.  As quickly as we all started working from home, social distancing and hoarding toilet paper, scammers and hackers created new ways to try to take advantage of us during this…
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Teaching and Entertaining Your Kids During Social Distancing

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Social Distancing is hard for everyone and those with kids at home really know how long it can take for an hour to go by.  Since the COVID-19 crisis, many great resources for entertaining children at home have popped up.  From virtual field…
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Supporting your Community during Social Distancing

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As social distancing becomes more intense, our communities are suffering financially.  Individuals are losing their jobs on a short-term basis and small businesses are working harder than ever to keep their operations going.  While we all…
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Budgeting in a Crisis: What to do when your Income Suddenly Drops

As countries continue to increase the restrictions of our normal everyday lives due to COVID-19, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the financial burden that is being placed on Americans right now. In some industries, such as hospitality, working…
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The Five Factors Contributing to Your Credit Score

Have you seen your credit score recently and been less than thrilled with your report? Potential lenders use this score, along with your credit history, to determine your future ability to repay the credit they consider extending you. The first…
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Why You Need a Credit Report Review

Have you been getting bombarded with emails about credit reports?  Emails with subject lines like “instant credit report” or “your credit report may have changed” are trying to sell you a product that you can get for free. The Fair…
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