Monthly Archives: March 2018

4 Standard Safety Tips for Social Networking

“Technology and social media have brought power back to the people,” Mark McKinnon. Whether or not you fully agree with this statement, social media has become ubiquitous to all ages on multiple platforms. It’s not only the pre-teens who are at risk of becoming victimized by hackers, as even corporations are finding themselves in costly predicaments. Because of this, Heartland Bank has gathered basic standards that everyone should adopt into their social media safety.

The Big No-No’s

With much of social media, the purpose is to share the highlights of your life with others. However, there are certain facets of your identity that you should never, under any circumstances, share. You may not even know you are outright sharing this information, as it can manifest in basic profile information or slight comments on a friends post. It may seem obvious, but never share your:

-Social Security Number

-Birthdate

-Passwords

-Home Address

-Cell Phone Number

-The State Where You Were Born

Review Your Privacy Settings Frequently

Social Networking sites can change their privacy options, so it is good to check in to ensure that you are only sharing the information you want shared. There are multiple ways to manage who sees what posts and even who your other friends are. While you are reviewing these settings, be sure to change your passwords to ward off hackers seeking access to your most privileged information. A great option would be to have your password in sentence form. It’s been recommended to have a positive sentence that’s easy to remember like, “I love my puppies!”

Only “Friend” Those You Know

Although there is a social praise towards those who have a lot of followers, or friends, it is a better standard practice to ensure you are only allowing those you know into your web life. Keep in mind that if you’re posting about your friends, others who you have friended are seeing it, too. It isn’t only your identity that is at risk, so friend responsibly.

Avoid Oversharing

We all have that one friend that shares EVERYTHING on social media, even down to the smallest detail like what flavor of coffee creamer they had this morning. We don’t want to be this person, but we may be doing similar dangerous behaviors without even thinking.

For example, if you are going on a great vacation, wait to share those photos until you are home. The last thing you want to be doing is advertising that your home is empty for the week. Even minuscule details here and there can be pieced together by predators for a large picture of your life. Review your professional sites like LinkedIn, and be sure you are not sharing your entire work history. This data can be gathered by hackers to fill out applications for things on your behalf.

Don’t make yourself an easy target! Stick to these standards to provide yourself with a digital wall of protection.

What Sports Can Teach Your Kids About Finances

As a parent, you want to do your best to give your children a great childhood and prepare them to be successful, contributing members of society. One of the ways that many parents are doing this is by encouraging youth sports. They realize that there are great lessons learned from athletics like how to be a part of a team and physical health. It’s also a good way to get kids away from the screens! By the same token, you may not realize that sports, particularly pay to play, have additional benefits of teaching your children about money, if handled correctly.

Spending on youth sports has grown incredibly high. So high in fact that it has prevented many kids from being able to participate at all. It’s estimated that spending has grown up to 10.5 percent of gross income. While we certainly don’t recommend you sacrifice your retirement for your children to play, developing a spending plan within your budget, and including your children in the process will help them to understand that this does come at a cost. Yet, spending too much may have the reverse effect, putting extreme pressure on youth to perform worthy of the costs. It’s important to set boundaries, and stick to one or two sports. The more you involve kids in your finances, the more comfortable they will be with money in their adult life.

Earn

Most schools don’t teach financial literacy to minors, and even if they do, the national average of financial literacy is still at 59.6 percent. Instead of throwing money at the costs, have your children earn the money for participation or athletic gear. They could complete additional chores around the house, mow neighborhood lawns, or even help with training others younger than them. At any age, this is setting them up for the simple realization that things cost money, a concept muffled for many younger children.

Save

Encourage your children to save at least 15 percent of what they earn for next season, or incidentals. No matter what they are working for, it is incredibly important to teach them the habit of saving a portion of their earnings. This provides opportunities for them to understand spending on what you want now vs. what you may need in the future.

Give

Whether in time or their finances, helping your child understand that not every youth has the means to participate in pay to play sports, will be relatable to them in various ways later in life. If they would like to give a small percentage towards helping others pay for gear or participation it would be a relatable opportunity for them to understand how much meaning there is in giving. They could even give of their time to help mentor others refine their skills.

In whatever way you want to teach your children about finances, getting the conversation started is the most important step for them being comfortable and competent with money!

Landscaping: 5 Tips to Increase Your Home’s Value

Home improvement projects can be overwhelming and who wants to spend their free time camped out inside covered in sawdust on a beautiful spring day? Whether you want to put your home on the market now or in the future, here are a few simple tips to get you outdoors while increasing the resale value on your house!

Have a Strategy in Mind

Before taking a shovel to your whole yard, have a strategy in place for the design you want. You could even hire a professional landscaper to come up with a design for you. You don’t typically have to hire them to complete the design, but do it yourself. Think about what goes with the design of your home, what plants might need the most time to grow and how to stay on budget. Some of your ideas might take some time to accomplish, so break up what you want to get done within different spurts.

Keep it Green

Planting trees is not only great for the planet, but will appreciate with time as well as cut down on energy costs from the shade they provide. They make your home more attractive to visitors and potential buyers. Did you know that one study even shows that neighborhoods with a lot of vegetation report less crime? That sounds like a win-win to us!

Think Low Maintenance

While you may want to go all out in landscaping your home, less is more. Unless a potential buyer is a master-gardener, a majority of people will translate a yard with extreme detail as more work. Focus on simplicity and utility to attract a wide range of spectators.

Front Side Curb Appeal

Some experts say to spend 10 percent of the value of your home into landscaping. However, this might not guarantee a 15 percent increase in resale value as suggested, nor be in your budget. There is curb appeal for a reason, and we recommend starting with the first side of the home that people see. It doesn’t even necessarily have to be with vegetation. Paint your front door or upgrade the numbers on your home. These are easy updates that will draw your visitors in.

Consider All Seasons

When deciding on plants, try to have an array of species that will make your home stand out all year long. From tulips in the spring, to chokeberry bushes in the winter, having an assortment will make it easier to draw potential buyers in all year long-whenever you decide it’s time to put the house on the market. Try opting for plants that are drought-friendly, so you are not having to worry about daily watering.

When the time comes and you are ready to move onto your next home, Heartland Bank will be right beside you.

Common Cyber-Security Threats While Traveling

Whether you are traveling for work or pleasure, the last thing you want to battle with is having your cyber-security compromised. If knowledge is power, Heartland Bank has created a list of potential threats to your private information and steps to prevent damage while away from home.

Before You Go

Along with remembering to pack a toothbrush, you should also prepare your devices for travel. You should ensure all updates are completed. This will make your systems harder for hackers to penetrate.

You may consider backing up your information on cloud storage. You would hate to have forever lost important documents and photos. Should your information become compromised, having these copies of your private information will be useful. We would also recommend changing all of your passwords prior to leaving and again when you return. It is also extremely important, especially when traveling abroad, to let Heartland Bank know where you will be traveling and when.

While You’re There

Unfortunately, you are at higher risk the more you travel and use the internet abroad. However, this shouldn’t stop you should you use the proper precautions from these threats.

While convenient, public wireless networks are not secure. Nevertheless, if you need to connect, be sure it is a legitimate network by verifying the account with employees. However, your mobile connection is going to be more secure. You are going to want to turn off auto-connect for wifi and Bluetooth as well. If you are able, purchase a VPN (Virtual Private Network), so you have peace of mind while surfing the web. We would recommend staying away from public computers-even the hotel and library. You cannot trust that these are on secure networks, and that Keylogger Malware is not present.

To many people’s dismay, you are being watched in ways like never before. You should get into the habit of guarding yourself at all times. When traveling to fun places, it is tempting to share your location. But waiting to share this information is best, so hackers don’t follow where you are, and maybe even make their way up to your hotel room to take your computer when they know you’re away. This is another reason why you might consider eating meals outside the normal hours, as that is when most hotel thefts occur.

You can’t avoid purchases while on the road, but be aware of ATM skimmers, point of sale compromises and hidden cameras. ATM skimmers have been on the news frequently. If you can avoid using this altogether by sticking to credit cards or Apple Pay on the road, it may make the experience easier. Business card readers may be compromised or a hidden camera could be tracking your pin input, so it’s important to always be aware.

We hope that these tips have informed you to be a cyber-secure traveler. For more information about anti-fraud services, please stop by and speak with our helpful staff!

Gloomy Day Fun for the Budget-Conscious

You made it! It’s finally the end of the work week, you can’t wait to do anything that doesn’t involve sitting in an office. Maybe you can get that hike in you’ve been thinking about all week. Disappointment sets in as you peek out the window to gaze upon a blustery, cloudy and plain gloomy day. And as misfortune would have it, there isn’t room left in the budget this week for a trip to the movies or an indoor game park.

However, this doesn’t have to call for an uneventful day. Heartland Bank is here to give you some options to make the most of your day off! Here are some great low-cost activities you can do now.

Local Adventures

While you may not want to spend the gas money traveling out of town, this is an opportunity to explore places in the community you may not normally think of visiting. Local museums are typically low-cost and if you make it on certain days, they have discounts for the kiddos! You’d be surprised at how entertaining local history and innovation can be. Bring some friends with you so you can discuss what you learn.

Let’s not forget about the neglected library. They may even have free events going on! Join a book club, rent a book or take a free class about computer literacy. Nothing is easier on your wallet than the library.

If the library is closed on your gloomy day, check out local department stores. They may have a free class for you to take to learn about a DIY home improvement project. They teach a variety of classes from how to install a home security system to woodworking projects.

Host an Activity

Can’t go out? Bring people to you! There’s probably others who are not digging the gloomy day, so invite them over for a game night. Everyone can bring their favorite board game and an appetizer to share.

What’s your favorite movie? Host a movie night or show marathon to watch with your friends. If you have kids, you can have two different movies playing. You can center your snacks around the theme of the movie with what you have in the pantry, or buy some generic items from the store. With a little creativity, you can make this a memorable event.

Plan a Vacation

“But it’s not in the budget.” This day is the perfect opportunity to not just daydream about a vacation, but get the wheels turning for how to practically get to the white sand beach or ride that elephant in Thailand. Break down what you want and how much you need, so you know what you need in savings to get there. Research average flight prices and best places to stay for the price – don’t forget to read those reviews! Maybe look around your place to see if there is anything worth selling that you are willing to part with. Once you have where and how, build an itinerary of everything you want to see while you are there! Adjust the budget sheet accordingly. Making your travel dreams become a reality is sure to boost your mood.

Any of these activities will be kind to your budget, and hopefully boost your mood on this not so bright day.

How to Tackle Student Loan Repayments

What they didn’t teach you in school, was how to pay for school. Many know what it’s like to look excitably into your direct deposit account or open that envelope on payday to only be dissatisfied by the large withdrawal that was taken towards your student loan debt.

Confronting what seems like the impregnable wall of debt can be overwhelming. And many can feel unprepared – even duped at the debt to income ratio their college degree has given them. However, it doesn’t have to be this way forever. By changing your strategy and perspective on your educational investment, you can eliminate your monthly payments at an accelerated rate. Learning to tackle debt in the right way will become muscle memory for future financial discipline.

Choose the Right Repayment Plan

Americans owe 1.45 Trillion in student loan debt, spread out among 44 million people. While this may seem counterintuitive, choosing the right plan for your income can make a large difference in how much you pay over time. 85 percent of student loans are either: Stafford, Perkins, PLUS, & Direct Consolidated. They have 5 repayment options, with the lowest minimum payment starting at $50 for ten years, to the income based plan that takes a “fair” percentage of your salary (decided by the Federal Government) and forgives any debt left after 25 years.

Although it’s tempting to pick whatever has the lowest monthly payment, it isn’t the wisest. How much you pay and on what terms can seriously impact future investments like a home or being able to put enough away for retirement. Try to pay 10% of your gross (pre-tax) income towards your debt. By biting the bullet now, you will give yourself freedom in the future.

Scrap for Savings

There are some basic practices you can implement to prevent being delinquent on payments. One of those is consolidating your Federal loans. This won’t initially save you on interest, but it will help to relieve you from the headache of keeping track of many different loans. Having them all in one place with one simple payment will enable you to stay on track. Second, sign up for automatic withdrawals from your checking account. Doing so will cut your interest rate by .25 percent. If you would like to establish a college fund repayment account, contact one of our loan specialists at Heartland Bank to help.

Keep Your Eye on the Prize

The average student loan monthly payment is $351 a month, and we recommend you paying more than that if you can fit it into your budget. The most important thing you can do is to not fall off the wagon when it comes to tackling your debt. Stay focused on the goal set before you. The impulse purchases and comforts of the present are alluring, but ridding yourself of a financial burden is more rewarding. The more you take hold of your debt, the sooner it will be conquered.