Consumer Education

Budgeting your money & financial priorities

Top 10 things to know when budgeting your money and setting financial priorities.

1. Narrow your objectives. Identify your goals clearly and why they matter to you, and decide which are most important.
2. Focus first on the goals that matter. To accomplish primary goals, you will often need to put desirable but less important ones on the back burner.
3. Be prepared for conflicts. When faced with such a conflict, you should ask yourself questions like: Will one of the conflicting goals benefit more people than the other?
4. Put time on your side. The most important ally you have in reaching your goals is time.
5. Choose carefully. In drawing up your list of goals, you should look for things that will help you feel financially secure, happy or fulfilled.
6. Include family members. If you have a spouse or significant other, make sure that person is part of the goal-setting process.
7. Start now. The longer you wait to identify and begin working toward your goals, the more difficulty you'll have reaching them.
8. Sweat the big stuff. Once you have prioritized your list of goals, keep your spending on course. Whenever you make a large payment for anything, ask yourself: "Is this taking me nearer to my primary goals - or leading me further away from them?"
9. Don't sweat the small stuff. Although this lesson encourages you to focus on big-ticket, long-range plans, most of life is lived in the here-and-now and most of what you spend will continue to be for daily expenses - including many that are simply for fun.
10. Be prepared for change. Your needs and desires will change as you age, so you should probably re-examine your priorities at least every five years.

Get a handle on basic finances

Learn about the basics of personal finances with information and resources.

• Managing Your Money
  • Keep accurate records of your deposits and withdrawals
    • Use your check register to record every deposit and withdrawal you make. Keeping track of all your transactions will help you manage your money.
• How to Build for the Future
  • Secure your future financially
    • Speak to an expert about investments and shares.
    • Open a savings account and decide on savings goals (e.g. I will save $20 a week for two years). It's always wise to have savings for a rainy day.
    • Buy life insurance.
    • Sort out your present financial circumstances.
    • Get into good budgeting habits now in order to avoid debt problems in the future.
• Dealing with Financial Hardship
  • How we deal with this crisis as well as the additional stress that is added on to our daily lives will be the key to our survival now and in the future.
    • First evaluate your situation, secondly take advantage of available assistance, next take time to negotiate with your lenders and finally try to be happy.

 

How to check your credit score

Learn how to access, interpret, and use your credit report.

Your credit report tells potential lenders how responsible you’ve been with credit in the past. Lenders can legally request this document to assess how risky it is to lend to you.

What can lenders see?

Your credit score is a number that represents your creditworthiness. Scores can also be referred to as credit ratings, and sometimes as FICO scores, ranging from 300 to 850.

Your credit history lists the details of your past and current credit accounts. It also documents each time you or a lender requests your credit report, as well as instances where your accounts have been passed on to a collection agency. Financial issues that are part of the public record, such as judgments, liens, bankruptcies, and foreclosures, are also included.

What does a credit score mean?

A credit score is a numeric representation of your credit history. It is comprised of these components:

• Payment history
• Amounts owed
• Length of credit history
• How many types of credit in use
• Account inquiries

Generally, the higher your credit score, the lower your risk may be to the lender. 

How to access your report

You can request a free copy of your credit report from each of three major credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You’re also entitled to see your credit report within 60 days of being denied credit, or if you are on welfare, unemployed, or your report is inaccurate.
It’s smart to request a credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies and to review them carefully, as each one may contain inconsistent information or inaccuracies. If you spot an error, request a dispute form from the agency within 30 days of receiving your report.

5 ways to improve your credit score

• Get copies of your credit report then make sure information is correct.
• Pay your bills on time.
  • One of the most important things you can do to improve your credit score is pay your bills by the due date.
• Understand how your credit score is determined
  • Your score is usually based on the answers to these questions:
    • Do you pay your bills on time?
    • What is your outstanding debt?
    • How long is your credit history?
    • Have you applied for a new credit recently?
    • How many and what types of accounts do you have?
• Learn the legal steps to take to improve your credit report.
• Beware of credit-repair scams.
  • Sometimes doing it yourself is the best way to repair your credit.

Responsibility is key

Above all, it’s important to use credit responsibly. A good credit history and credit score can be the difference between being able to purchase a home, buy a car, or pay for college. Proactively managing your credit report is a great way to stay in control of your finances, and ultimately achieve your goals.

Managing someone else’s money

More Help will be needed in the years ahead

The U.S. population is aging. More people will live long enough to deal with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, so the need for these money management skills will continue to grow.

Millions of Americans are acting as fiduciaries, meaning they manage money or property for someone else. Many older Americans experience declining capacity to handle finances, which can make them vulnerable. Even mild cognitive impairment can significantly impact an older adult’s ability to handle finances and to detect fraud or a scam. In addition to older adults, many younger adults with disabilities may also lack capacity to handle their own finances. The fiduciaries that help them are a critical source of support, but often have no training.

If someone in your family is the only one doing the finances and something happens to that person, you may not know what steps to take. It’s easy to put off doing things that are unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Good financial education and preparation can save so much heartache.

Four main responsibilities of a fiduciary:

• Act in the persons best interest
  • should not loan or give the person’s money to themselves or others and avoid conflicts of interest
• Manage money and property carefully
  • Pay bills on time, protect unspent funds, invest carefully, and have a list of all monies, properties, and debts.
• Keep money and property separate from your own
  • Avoid joint accounts and paying the person’s expenses from your own funds.
• Maintain good records
  • Keep a detailed list of the money received or spent on the person’s behalf, avoid paying in cash in order to have a record of purchases, and keep all receipts.

Keep good records

Fiduciaries are expected to act in the other person’s best interest, manage the finances carefully and maintain good records.
Keep a detailed list or a file of all money you receive or spend. Include the date, amount and purpose of checks paid or deposited, as well as names of people/companies involved. Keep receipts and notes, even for small expenses.

Avoid conflicts

No matter what kind of fiduciary role you’re taking, it’s imperative to keep the senior’s money separate from your own. For instance, it might be OK to buy a car with the senior’s funds to drive to doctors’ appointments or to do banking, but if you’re using the vehicle mainly for personal use, that could be a conflict of interest. Same with paying your relatives to do work at the senior’s home or apartment.

No matter our age, all of us should designate someone to act on our behalf, in the event we’re incapacitated due to illness or other impairments. Whether it’s a bank, a trusted friend or an adult child, those who step in as fiduciaries to help manage someone’s financial life have a built-in responsibility to report suspicions of elder financial abuse.

Safeguarding your information

How to keep your personal information secure:

Protecting your personal information can reduce the risk of identity theft. There are several ways to do it:

• Never give your account information unless YOU initiate the contact.
• Protect your online passwords. Don’t write them down or share them with anyone.
• Review your account statements as soon as you receive them.
• Guard your ATM or Debit Card and PIN. Do not write your PIN on your card or keep the number in your wallet.
• Store new and cancelled checks securely.
• Do not leave your statements out in an open area where others may see them.
• Maintain appropriate security on your computers and other electronic devices.

The variety and volume of internet crime has increased over the past few years.  Cyber criminals have become more sophisticated and organized in their attempts to target financial institutions and their customers.  Ensuring the security of your online transactions is a crucial step in preventing account takeovers and fraudulent transactions.  First, it’s important that you know that:
We will never email, call or otherwise ask you for your user name, password or other electronic banking credentials

SAFEGUARDS YOU CAN PROVIDE

You can protect yourself by:

• Choosing user names and passwords that, at a minimum, mix upper and lower case alpha, numeric and special characters.
• Changing your password periodically.
• Not sharing your user name and password information with others.
• Being alert to scams, like phishing attempts (Phishing: A scam by which someone online is deceived into revealing personal or confidential information which the scammer can use illicitly).
• Conducting your financial transactions with a firewall in place.
• Completely logging off a system when you’re finished conducting business.
• Monitoring your bank accounts on a regular basis.
• Keeping proper anti-virus and spyware detection software up-to-date.

SAFEGUARDS THE BANK PROVIDES

• Multi-factor authentication (System requires that the customer select an image, create a pass phrase, and answer security questions.
• Encryption
• Inactivity timeout   
• Lock out after 5 failed login attempts  
• Password expiration
• Password requires upper and lower case alpha, numeric and special characters.
• Verification of customer ID during account opening
• Bank policies and procedures that safeguard customer information.
• Northwoods Bank Identity Theft Prevention Program

CONSUMER SAFEGUARDS PROVIDED BY FEDERAL REGULATION

Federal Regulations (Regulation E) provides consumers with some protections for electronic fund transfers.  These generally apply to accounts with Internet access. However, you must act in a timely manner. See the Electronic Fund Transfer Disclosure you received at account opening for more information.

SAFEGUARDS FOR COMMERCIAL ACCOUNT CUSTOMERS

Owners of commercial accounts are required to perform their own risk assessments and controls evaluation.

Possible risks related to online business banking transactions:

• Written passwords left out and visible to others.
• Easily guessed passwords
• Internal fraud or theft
• Failure to remove access rights of terminated employees
• No dual control or monitoring of employee online capabilities

Recommended safeguards:

• Store passwords in a protected place
• Conduct  employee background checks
• Policy and procedures for terminating  past employee computer access
• Segregation of duties among   employees
• Third party audits of controls
• Install a firewall
• Install anti-virus/spyware software

Additional Resources

OnGuard Online http://onguardonline.gov/
Protecting Kids Online https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/topics/protecting-kids-online
National Cyber Security Alliance http://www.staysafeonline.org
How to keep your personal information secure http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0272-how-keep-your-personal-information-secure