Three Ways to Get Your Holiday Shopping Done Without Draining Your Savings

by Lynn Viesti Berube

In an analysis from American Research Group, shoppers across America are planning to spend on average $882 on holiday shopping this year. Yet, in a survey from GoBankingRates, it was found that 62 percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts. The picture being painted here is that many consumers will spend beyond their means this December. But finding gifts for family and friends in celebration of the season shouldn’t have to break the bank.

Here are three ideas to help ensure you’ll still have a jingle in your pocket once you’ve finished your holiday shopping.

1. Check daily deal sites for whole-family experiences. Instead of wrapping up another sweater or tool this season, why not up your game and thrill your loved ones with the gift of a unique experience? Daily deal sites like Groupon or Living Social offer group discount rates on activities ranging from glass-blowing classes to helicopter tours of New York City. By getting your whole family—or those distant relatives—on board, you can qualify for great deals and share in a truly original gift that will create memories that will long outlive the latest electronic gadget or pair of slippers.

2. Do your holiday shopping year-round. One big reason that financial stress weighs so heavily on our shoulders during the holidays is that most of our annual shopping takes place during just six to eight weeks, straining monthly budgets. So, why not keep an eye out for holiday gifts throughout the course of the year instead? This can enable you to make purchases at more manageable increments, avoiding a huge cash outlay in a short time frame that may constitute use of your credit card and the potential for additional costs in the way of interest. Take the year, too, to take advantage of retail sales as they occur.

3. Do it yourself. Do you sew or paint? Are you a carpenter? Whatever your craft, you may be able to think of someone on your shopping list who would love what you can produce by hand. Many recipients will appreciate the personal touch that such gifts deliver. At the same time, you save your hard-earned money, as purchasing the materials required to create your handiwork typically costs less than purchasing the same item in a store. Then, you can use the money saved to offset other purchases, like one of the group activities mentioned above. In other words, pay the DIY method forward.

If you’re one of the many Americans who are letting holiday shopping adversely affect your savings, keep these tips in mind to ease some of the stress it is causing you and your wallet. For more advice on managing your finances, come to any office of The Milford Bank or visit our website here.

Just in time for fall clean up – gather your unwanted items!

by Lynn Viesti Berube

The Milford Bank will host a Green Fair at its Main Office Campus on the Milford Green located at 33 Broad Street in Milford. The event will be held on Saturday, November 14th from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.

Two trucks will be on hand that day. One will accept unwanted office supplies such as outdated computer equipment and office furniture. AFA Electronic Recyclers of Branford, CT will responsibly dispose of all items they collect.

The other truck will securely shred unwanted documents on site. The vendor providing this service is Infoshred of East Windsor, CT. (There is a limit of three medium sized moving boxes.)

These services will be provided at no charge to customers of The Milford Bank. Others are asked to make a donation of $5 per box. Funds collected will be donated to a local charity to fund a green initiative in 2016.

The Literacy Center of Milford will be collecting children’s books at the event and the First United Church Youth Group will collect deposit bottles and cans.

There will also be children’s crafts, information about home energy efficiency, tips for reducing paper consumption, arts and crafts vendors and more! Admission will be free.

Susan Shields, Milford Bank President & CEO says of the event, “The Milford Bank continues to support the residents of Milford and Stratford through community involvement, donations to many local charitable organizations, special events and financial education. The Bank is proud to partner with this year’s vendors. The goal of providing these services to members of our community is to assist with the responsible disposal of unneeded documentation and outdated electronics while educating the public on easy energy conservation.”

A list of accepted items can be obtained on the AFA Recycling website: www.afaelectronicrecyclers.com. Have a piece of electronics to recycle that is not on the list? Please contact AFA Recycling directly at (203) 421-4187.

The Milford Bank is Member FDIC.

Three Ways to Save Energy This Fall

by Lynn Viesti Berube

With Labor Day in the rear view mirror, we’re now into fall and, with it, colder weather. After the winter Connecticut experienced in 2014, it’s safe to say that we’re all holding tightly to these last few days of warm weather. While you may not have turned on the furnace just yet, you might want to plan for the colder months sooner rather than later when it comes to financing your warm home.

To help you cut heating costs this fall and winter, here are three ways to conserve energy:

• Eliminate the cracks: You may not pay them much attention, but those tiny cracks below your door and around your windows are sucking the money right out of your home. These cracks allow conditioned air within your home to escape and cold air to seep in. By investing in inexpensive draft stoppers and by shrink-wrapping your windows, you can keep the warm air in, the cold air out and save big on your monthly energy bill.

• Optimize your heating system: One major way we waste energy and run up electric bills during the colder months is by overworking inefficient heating systems. Instead, optimize your heating system with a few at-home solutions that shouldn’t break the bank. First, consider placing area rugs in high-occupancy rooms (such as your family room) where you may otherwise have bare floors. Doing so will help retain heat and keep your feet feeling cozy. Second, change the filters in your heating system on a monthly basis to ensure you’re not forcing your system to work harder than it needs to. Finally, make sure heating vents aren’t being blocked by furniture—it may keep the couch nice and warm, but the furniture will draw the heat out of the air and keep the temperature in the room down.

• Opt for electronics with batteries: It’s no secret that during the colder months many of us prefer to wrap ourselves in a warm blanket and watch Netflix, rather than bundle up and brave the elements. However, the extra time we spend in our homes can have a major effect on our electric bills, based on our increased use of electronics alone. Instead of turning on the TV, or heading to your desktop computer this season, opt for electronics with batteries, such as laptops, tablets and other mobile devices. These devices often cost less to charge and, as long as you unplug the charger after you’re all juiced up, will save you big bucks over the course of the next few months.

As the holidays approach, don’t let good tidings be overcome by high electricity bills! These three steps will help you save on your monthly bill while staying warm. And, if you ever have a question of what to do with your new-found savings, consider a Milford Bank savings account!

Want more tips on energy efficiency and saving money on your power bills? Visit our Green Fair on November 14th!

Green-Fair-postcard

 

Three Things You Need to Know About Your Credit Score

by Trish Townsend

If you have aspirations of one day owning a home, leasing a car or paying for college (either for you or your children) then you know the road to obtaining these goals leads directly through your credit score. Your credit score is the numerical evaluation of your lending history, and it is often the determining factor when lenders accept or deny your loan request. With a good credit score the sky is the limit; however, a poor score can make a task as simple as applying for a credit card become nearly impossible.

Considering how important a credit score is to an individual’s future, it’s surprising to discover that nearly 60 percent of adults haven’t checked their score within the last year. In the spirit of educating our account holders, here are three things you may not know about your credit score:

• Payment history: The largest chunk of your credit score—35 percent in fact—is based on your payment history. This should not be confused with your history of repaying loans, but rather it includes bill payments of any kind. That means if you still have that library book from high school in the back of your closet that’s rung up unimaginable late fees, it is possible that it could end up on your credit score and negatively affect it. Likewise, medical bills, parking tickets and even a late cable bill can be factored in to your credit score.

• Free reports: Your credit report—detailing your credit score and how it was calculated—can be freely obtained three times a year; one each from the three major credit-reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. While you can contact the credit-reporting agencies individually, they can more easily be obtained through annualcreditreport.com, the only website explicitly directed by Federal law to provide credit reports. Knowing your score is the first step to improving it, and it’s a great way to monitor against identity theft.

• Constant change: Your credit score is alive, and it’s changing almost every single day. Many people are unaware of how a change in their credit score actually occurs, so having this knowledge will be helpful when seeking loans. As a best practice, check your credit score by using one of your free reports as soon to applying for a loan as possible. Doing so will allow you to address any glaring inaccuracies, as well as will offer you a better picture of how much money you’ll be allowed to borrow.

Your credit score can be your best friend or your biggest foe, but you’ll never know until you find out more.

Three Tools for Teaching Cent$ible Kid$ Personal Finance

by Becky Tudor

Americans today are having a difficult time saving money for the future. In fact, the independent research firm NextAdvisor recently found that nearly one in every four Americans has no savings at all. With recent history showing how unstable economies can become, parents today would be well-advised to educate their children about the importance of personal finance.

As of now, only 17 states have personal finance classes as a high school graduation requirement. If you live in one of the 33 states that doesn’t have this requirement (Connecticut is one of them) it might be wise to find other means of educating your children in this area.

Here are three tools the Milford Banks Cent$ible Kid$ Program employs to help teach your children personal finance:

1. Games: Yes, kids love games and, oftentimes, parents worry they might love them too much. But when games are educational, research shows it helps children learn. Computer games, like “Cash Puzzler” and “Road Trip in Savings” available through The Milford Bank’s program, entertain kids while teaching them lessons about money and spending.

2. Savings account: Cent$ible Kid$ operates by giving children their own savings accounts. Along with responsibility for this important personal finance tool comes a chance for these young owners to develop their own plan for savings.

3. Newsletter: Visual learning is important to children. Their young minds are receiving educational stimuli when they read our Cent$ible Kid$ newsletter. To get a taste of our children-friendly newsletters, that provides children with visual learning materials, check out the latest here.

Today’s Youth Grade Themselves ‘C’ or Below When It Comes to Managing Finances

by Cortney Meng

Despite the fact that today’s youth have grown up in the era of mobile banking, digital wallets and financial services platforms—from Venmo to Splitwise—a number of millennials feel ill-equipped to handle their finances. In fact, according to a survey of 1,640 college students, as part of U.S. Bank’s 2015 U.S. Bank Students and Personal Finance Study, 50 percent of coeds would give themselves a “C” or below when it comes to how successful they are in managing their money.

What’s more, the survey found that:
• More than 60 percent of college students have little to no knowledge of investments or retirement savings.
• Twenty-one percent of students are barely keeping up on day-to-day expenses, with only 5 percent prepared for unexpected expenses.
• Only 39 percent of students correctly know that paying off a delinquent loan or credit card balance is not enough to remove it from a credit report.

So how can today’s millennials start better preparing for their financial future? To begin, young adults can get a good handle on their current financial situation by asking themselves questions like:
• Am I currently in debt? If so, if I continue down the same payment rate, at what point will my debt be paid off?
• Do I have any major financial decisions ahead that I need to start prepping for today, e.g., buying a new car, saving for a house or merging accounts with a soon-to-be spouse?
• How am I currently saving for retirement? Have I started a 401k investment? Am I investing in stock? Do I have an IRA?

The answers to these questions can help guide them down a specific financial path. Youth who are in debt can begin to set budgets and reduce their lines of credit to make payments more expediently. What’s more, they can create a detailed document listing the interest rate, balance and minimum monthly payment of all their debts to stay on track of payments.

In addition, young adults may want to consider consulting with a reputable financial advisor, either formally or informally. For instance, a lot of banks can pair members with financial coaches and advisors who specialize in everything from wealth and asset management to retirement planning. Here at The Milford Bank, for instance, our resident expert John Kuehnle is always on hand to make recommendations and provide financial direction based on the information provided to him.

Millennials can also spend more time discussing their finances with their parents, especially since the survey found that 91 percent of students learn about money from their parents, either directly or by example. Moreover, 55 percent of students identified their parents as the No. 1 influence on their financial habits, as well as their go-to source for financial advice.

Are you a millennial just starting out on his or her career? Are you looking for additional financial resources? Be sure to check out our learning center, where you can pick up tips and tricks on everything from how to pay for college to how to employ basic investing strategies.

How to Save on Back to School Supplies

by Lynn Viesti Berube

It’s officially August, and that means parents are getting their kids ready for the new school year. And while the first bell is rapidly approaching, there is still one last obstacle for many people to overcome before students are back in the classroom… back to school shopping.

Anyone sending their kids back to school this fall knows just how expensive back to school shopping can be, but did you know it’s the second-largest seasonal shopping period of the year? That’s the word according to Statista, which ranks back to school shopping as No. 2, just ahead of Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. In fact, Statista estimates that $74.9 billion will be spent this year alone on back to school needs.

Here are a few ways you can save during this seasonal shopping period:

• Shop from Aug. 16-22: That is Connecticut’s tax free week. During this tax holiday, consumers can shop for clothing and footwear, tax free, on purchases up to $300.
• Buy in bulk: Not only will you be able to get a lot of items you need for the entire year by shopping in bulk, but leftovers can be used the next year as well, which can help save you some money a year from now.
• Check your inventory: If you already shop in bulk, or even if you don’t, chances are you have school supplies left over from the year before. Check your inventory and decide what can be reused and what needs to be replaced.
• Buy from dollar stores: It’s amazing that pens, pencils, markers and notebooks can be as expensive as they are, but they can also all be found at dollar stores. Consider forgoing the name brands for their dollar store counterparts to get the most bang for your buck.

Being strategic in your back to school shopping can net you big savings. Once you’ve done so, consider depositing your savings into a Milford Bank savings account for your future graduate.

Three Tools for Teaching Cent$ible Kid$ Personal Finance

by Pam Reiss

Americans today are having a difficult time saving money for the future. In fact, the independent research firm NextAdvisor recently found that nearly one in every four Americans has no savings at all. With recent history showing how unstable economies can become, parents today would be well-advised to educate their children about the importance of personal finance.

As of now, only 17 states have personal finance classes as a high school graduation requirement. If you live in one of the 33 states that doesn’t have this requirement (Connecticut is one of them) it might be wise to find other means of educating your children in this area.

Here are three tools the Milford Banks Cent$ible Kid$ Program employs to help teach your children personal finance:

1. Games: Yes, kids love games and, oftentimes, parents worry they might love them too much. But when games are educational, research shows it helps children learn. Computer games, like “Cash Puzzler” and “Road Trip in Savings” available through The Milford Bank’s program, entertain kids while teaching them lessons about money and spending.

2. Savings account: Cent$ible Kid$ operates by giving children their own savings accounts. Along with responsibility for this important personal finance tool comes a chance for these young owners to develop their own plan for savings.

3. Newsletter: Visual learning is important to children. Their young minds are receiving educational stimuli when they read our Cent$ible Kid$ newsletter. To get a taste of our children-friendly newsletters, that provides children with visual learning materials, check out the latest here.

Make Your Business Truly Mobile With SpotPay

by Pam Reiss

These days, smartphones and mobile devices have empowered us to stay connected no matter where we happen to be. Armed with these tools, we’re able to access the same wealth of information whether we’re watching the kids play soccer, putting the last minute touches on a project at the office or waiting for departure at the airport.

In other words, today’s world is an increasingly mobile one. As a business owner, you know full well how your customers are always on the go. Now, thanks to SpotPay, your business can cater to today’s mobile world without a hitch.

SpotPay, which is proudly offered by The Milford Bank, allows your business to accept charge card transactions no matter where you happen to be. All you need is a mobile device and an Internet connection and, voilà, your business can be wherever you want it to be.

By registering with SpotPay through The Milford Bank, all of your card and check transactions will be securely deposited in your business or personal account. As a result, you’ll be able to access your funds quicker.

With SpotPay, you can provide receipts and refunds as well as void transactions right from your mobile device. What’s more, the secure mobile point-of-sale system makes it so that sensitive customer data is not stored on your device.

In addition to the ability to accept charges on mobile devices, SpotPay also has plans to add remote check deposit functionality, mobile balance inquiries and transfers and more, so you’ll be able to better accommodate your customers in the future.

SpotPay costs $8.95 per month in addition to a 1.99-percent fee on most transactions. But that pales in comparison to the untold fortunes the technology can bring to your business. Click here to learn more.

Getting Through the Holidays on a Budget: Five Tips You Need to Know

by Cortney Meng

Though we always know when the holiday season falls, it seems as though it approaches faster and faster every year. And with the holidays come a seemingly never-ending list of expenses that includes presents, plane tickets and fancy dinners.

With a finite amount of cash on hand and a stockpile of bills that continues to grow, it can seem quite difficult to enter the New Year without massive amounts of debt.

Don’t sweat it: We’re here to help. Let’s take a look at five tips we hope will help you keep your wallets full this holiday season:

  1. Make a list, and check it twice. When you know exactly how much money you can spend, you’re able to make better informed, more manageable purchasing decisions. Sure, you might want to buy your family and loved ones everything under the sun. But chances are your budget has a ceiling. So consider making a list of who you need to buy presents for and how much money you can spend on each. Worried your list of those you have to give to is getting too long? Why not get a group of family and friends together and opt for a Secret Santa swap instead?
  2. Choose cash over credit. Even though you’re technically spending more or less the same amount of money when you pay for items via cash or credit, it’s a heck of a lot easier to get overwhelmed with debt if you choose plastic as your primary method of payment. By simply withdrawing the amount of money you can spend during the holidays from your savings account, for example, you can be sure that you’re not biting off more than you can chew and instead are living with your means.
  3. Get creative. Maybe you’re an artist. Maybe you’re a handyman. Maybe you’re a poet. Whatever your hobby is, it’s important to keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to buy the presents you give to your friends and family. If money’s tight, you could very well turn to your own talents and create a gift rather than buying one. Ten years from now, your brother won’t remember the sweater you got him, but he will remember the heartfelt poem you wrote that documents your strong relationship.
  4. Look for coupons and other special deals. There’s certainly no shortage of sales that take place every holiday season. Whether you’re someone who compulsively clips coupons or routinely checks Groupon, if you’re looking to save money as the year winds down, keep your eyes open for any special deals going on. And remember, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are actually pretty incredible.
  5. It’s the thought that counts. You don’t necessarily have to buy your friend or family member a Rolex. Oftentimes, smaller gifts can be more impactful, anyway. After all, we all have our collections of trinkets and other charms that carry sentimental value that is truly priceless. So at the end of the day, it’s worth remembering that the thought behind that gift can be more valuable than the gift itself.

The holidays are a stressful time for all of us. But you don’t need to make it any more difficult than it needs to be. By making a serious effort to manage your budget upfront, you can start 2015 off on a financially sound foot!