Category: Uncategorized

It’s the Most ‘Spenderful’ Time of the Year

It is difficult to control spending during the season of giving. You don’t need to break your budget to give nice gifts to your loved ones.

Are you looking forward to the holidays? Do you want the table filled of delicious food, beautiful storefronts and time with loved ones? It can be easy to get caught up in the festivities and ignore the major spending that takes place every year at this time. That is, until the major January spending aftereffect hits. If you are trying to skip the major expenses this holiday season, try some of these tips to prepare your finances now and prevent overspending later.

1. Track your spending – Know where your money is going. You may be surprised to see places that you are spending more than you ever thought.

2. Wants vs. Needs – Differentiate between what is necessary and what is not. It is also important to recognize the difference between people. Your wants may be another’s needs and vice versa.

3. Spend Wisely – It may seem obvious but try to get the most that you can for the least amount of money.

4. Have a goal – Tell yourself something like “I will only spend X dollars this week on wants”. This will challenge you to prioritize your wants and maybe find places where spending is not necessary.

5. Reward yourself – If you are motivated by the knowledge that you will have more money in your wallet around the holidays, that is your reward. If you miss something that you gave up to cut back on costs, reward yourself every once in a while. It will keep you motivated to stick with your plan.

Don’t stress over your finances during the holiday season. November is a good time to push for saving as much as you will spend to prevent spending first and paying later. Try our Christmas Club savings account that allows you to save all year long. Interest is compounded every month and credited to the account at the end of the 50^th week deadline, just in time for Christmas! Contact Milledgeville State Bank at (805) 225-7171 or stop in today!

Are You Protecting Your Kids From Identity Theft?

We don’t often consider our children at risk for identity theft. This makes them a target for many thieves.

Do you know what your child’s credit report looks like? Of course not! Why would you check a credit report for someone who doesn’t have any credit? While it may seem ridiculous, this is the reason that children are easy targets for identity theft. Thieves know that adults aren’t going to be checking a credit report for a child so they can run up debt for years without being detected. Common ways that thieves get information about children are medical records, mail tampering and computer searches. Here are a few ways to help protect your child’s identity.

Guard their Social Security number – Never carry your child’s Social Security card in your wallet, give the number out over the phone unless you trust the recipient and don’t give them the number until he or she is old enough to understand what it is.
Be mindful when posting information about your child – If you want to post on social media that it is your child’s birthday, don’t reveal their age. Thieves can use that information to get their complete date of birth and access personal information. If you have a child online, stress to them the importance of protecting personal information on the internet.
Be careful with their birth certificate – A lot of club sports teams ask parents to present a birth certificate as proof of a child’s age. If your child’s coach asks for personal documents, make a copy and show it to the coach. Put the copy in a sealed envelope with your name on it and let the coach know that you expect to get the envelope back unopened at the end of the season.

Signs that your child’s identity has been stolen:

Your child receives unsolicited credit offers or letters from debt collectors
If you try to open an account for your child and the bank tells you that an account with your child’s Social Security number has already been opened
The IRS sends you a letter saying that the Social Security number listed for your child on your tax return is a duplicate

Unfortunately, identity theft is becoming increasingly common and nobody is free from risk, including children. Milledgeville State Bank wants to keep you and your family safe and at peace. Contact us today if you have about setting up a savings account for your children’s security.

5 Things that are Killing Your Credit Score

It is important to know your credit score before trying to apply for a loan or new credit

In today’s post-recession economy, many individuals are confused about what can hurt or help their credit score. It can be frustrating to decide on a major purchase only to discover that your credit score is not high enough to be accepted for a loan. In many cases, people are unintentionally hurting their credit score. Here are 5 common mistakes that can drive that three digit number down:

Paying your bills late. While a couple late payments won’t cause much damage, making a habit of overdue credit card and loan notices can work against you.
Not paying the minimum amount required. A creditor will typically report this account as past due at some point. This can result in late fees and add-on interest charges.
Keeping debt levels too high. When you owe a lot on a card or max it out each month, creditors begin to question your ability to pay. They may even tack on an extra high interest rate to compensate for the high risk of your account.
Owning too many credit cards. Department store discounts that are offered with the store’s credit card may seem tempting but if you don’t use the card, potential creditors begin to worry that you won’t be able to repay a new obligation when you use so much credit.
Not alerting creditors if you have moved or changed names. This minor mistake can cause inaccuracies in the credit that you have worked to build. If bills continue to be delivered to a previous residence, you may see them late or never at all, resulting in late payments.

Many credit mistakes are easy to make and tough to reverse. It is no wonder that credit reports can be so confusing. If you want to commit to bumping up your credit score, work hard to make regular payments each month. This is the easiest and fastest way to get on the road to financial security.
If you are struggling to get out of credit card debt or saving for a future investment, try one of Milledgeville State Bank’s online financial calculators. These simple tools will help you measure how much you need to save in order to reach your goals.

Scary Spending that is Shrinking Your Wallet

Small expenditures are adding up and creating financial stress for many Americans. Don’t be one of them.

Both wealthy and working class Americans are unknowingly blowing surprising amounts of money every year in a variety of ways. Fees, indulgences, and a variety of small behaviors cause us to waste money and create bad habits. These are just a few of the most popular things that Americans are blowing their money on.

Wasted food – According to the National Resources Defense Council, each American wastes about $529 each year by throwing out unwanted food.
Expedited shipping – Paying the extra few dollars to get your purchases faster is a habit that can quickly add up.
Tobacco – Americans spend an average of 14 percent of their income on cigarettes. That is about one-seventh of their total income! This number only increases in states where tobacco taxes are higher than average.
Daily coffee trips – A survey conducted by Accounting Principals concluded that Americans who regularly buy coffee during the week spend an average of $1,092 on coffee each year.
Poor health habits – Junk food like soda and candy not only lower your quality of health but they are also non-beneficial and costly. The National Retail Federation claims that Americans spend $2 million on candy during the weeks leading up to Halloween alone.
ATM fees – While different bank ATM fees are unavoidable at times, it is still a good idea to know the average cost that comes with this convenience so you can prepare ahead. If you are in a crunch, many convenience stores will allow you to use a cash back option when you make a small purchase.

Do any of these expenses sound familiar?
Even the smallest cutbacks could save you money and ease your financial stress. Make it a challenge! Pick one item to try and cut back on this month. The savings might surprise you!
Milledgeville State Bank can help by offering various accounts to make your savings work for you. Start a conversation with us to find the right one for you!

Create a Budget Today in 5 Easy Steps

Make your own budget by following these 5 easy steps
“A budget is telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went.”
A quote by Dave Ramsey suggests creating a budget can be helpful in controlling your finances before you end up in trouble. The best way to avoid a pile of debt is to be proactive. By knowing where your money is coming from and going to, you will have an idea of what is available and where changes need to be made.
Milledgeville State Bank encourages you to be financially responsible and create a budget to better manage your finances. Here we have provided 5 steps for creating a budget we hope you can incorporate into your life this month and in months to come. Milledgeville State Bank is here to provide you with financial assistance from loans, IRAs, savings accounts, credit cards, and more. Visit our site and contact us today!

The first step to creating a budget is to gather all documents containing financial information. This includes bank statements, bills, and any documentation of income or payments. The more you can find the better.
Record all sources of income. This may be from a full time job, part time job, or selling items on ebay. Wherever your money is coming from, write it down and how much you take in.
Write down all expenses, from bills, gas, food, entertainment, memberships, and anything else that costs money. You may quickly discover where all your money is going without even realizing it.
Break the expenses into fixed and variable categories. Fixed expenses cannot change and are necessary to live, while variable expenses can adjust to help make ends meet.
Total monthly income and expenses and find the difference between both of them. If income in greater then expenses, you are doing well and can start to save or pay off debt. However, if expenses are more than income, you may want to make some adjustments to live more comfortably. This is where your variable expenses may have to change.

Milledgeville State Bank understands life is busy, however, we encourage you to take time and create a budget to organize your finances. You may find peace of mind knowing where your money is coming from and going too without having to worry about falling into trouble. Contact Milledgeville State Bank or stop by today for financial services to meet your needs.

A Guide to the New MilledgevilleBank.com

A guided tour of the new Milledgeville State Bank website
You may have noticed something new recently if you’ve gone to MilledgevilleBank.com. As part of our continuing efforts to serve our customers as best as possible, we developed a website that is easier for users to navigate and use.
We know understand that a new website for your bank can be a big change. You were used to where everything was at on our old website, and you want to be able to find those things quickly. For our first post in our new blog, we want to walk you through the home page of the website to help you acclimate to the site as quick as possible. You can open another window in your internet browser and go to www.MilledgevilleBank.com to follow along.
Online Banking Login
Online Banking is located in the upper right hand corner of the new website
Most of our current customers come to our site for one purpose: to login to their online banking account. We’ve placed the login area right at the top of the home page, and it is in the same position on every page for easy access.
Contacting Milledgeville State Bank
Contact Milledgeville State Bank easily from the home page
We’ve also made it very easy to contact us. You can easily call us using the number on the upper left on the home page, or select the “Contact Us” option in the main navigation to go to a page with all of our contact information and a contact form you can use. A cool tip: if you go to our website on a smart phone you can simply tap on our phone number and to give us a call!
Finding the Right Information

We understand your financial needs may change over time. When you need additional services from Milledgeville State Bank, using our main navigation is how you will exactly what you’re looking for.
Quick Resources
Reorder checks and find ATMs easily on the home page
Need to order checks, find an ATM or see how much you need to save each month to hit your savings goal? The resources located in the center of our home page can help you get those things and more done quickly so you can focus on the larger things in life.
Stay Up to Date with Milledgeville State Bank on Social Media

See what we’re posting on Facebook and on our blog right from the home page in our social media feed. Clicking the posts will take you to our Facebook page (don’t forget to like us!) or our blog for financial advice, money tips and more!
We invite you to explore our new website and get comfortable with where everything is at. Also, don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and watch for another blog post coming up this month!

Welcome to our new blog!

As part of our commitment to providing you with the best products and customer service, we’ve established this blog to keep you up-to-date. Here, you’ll find updates on new products and/or services, industry news, and tips and advice to help you live better!
We value all of our customers and hope that you find the information in our blog to be both informational and helpful. Be sure to check back regularly for updates!
From all of us at Milledgeville State Bank, we appreciate your business and look forward to seeing or hearing from you soon!