Author Archives: Forbin Admin

Grocery Bootcamp – Shopping Healthy on a Budget for Two

Buying groceries, healthy eating and budgeting are three challenging tasks that many people struggle conquering altogether.  Whether you and your partner have been together many years or are just starting out, we have some great tips for you both to win the war on grocery shopping. Consider us your sergeant by following this simple training method ASAP.

Commit

If you aren’t both on the same page, you will have a hard time succeeding and inevitably fail. It is imperative that you sit together to discuss what you want to get out of this and that you are mentally prepared for the journey ahead. What type of diet are you seeking to maintain? Research what type of foods you will and won’t buy so you know exactly where the line is.

Plan

  • Your Budget: The first month of Bootcamp, we only want you to keep track of your expenses both grocery and dining out. From then on, your goal should be to spend no more than that amount. An average aim for many is to stick to $100 a month per individual. This may or may not work for you, but find out what does.
  • Meal Prep: This is crucial to your success. You know what kind of diet you would like to have, so search for recipes that will enable you to have healthy, planned meals. This will help to prevent you from swinging in for fast food or other impulse buys.  Once you have the groceries, prep the food to make the week of eating easy. Be sure you eat the fruits and veggies with the shortest shelf life first.

Shopping

  • Find Deals: While you may not have the time to clip out a lot of coupons, make a point to check the weekly ads to see what the deals are. Apps like DealstoMeals will even help you to find discounts in your shopping area.  Every little bit helps and this is just more opportunity the two of you have to crawl through the trenches together.
  • Make a Price Book: This is a great resource you can make for yourself to keep track of items that you habitually buy, so you know when and where to buy what.
  • Be flexible: If a needed recipe item is twice the price you thought it would be, substitute for something else. If the produce is not in season, frozen is a great alternative. Know the Dirty Dozen and how you can use it to your advantage.

Execute

You have the basics, so now it’s time for the follow through. Say no to temptation. Once you have spent your allotted budget, there is NO more going to the store. You will get better as you strengthen your skills, but until that time stay the course.

Cheap Updates to Improve your Kitchen’s Value

Mario Batali said “The kitchen really is the castle itself. This is where we spend our happiest moments and where we find the joy of being a family.” Do you find people leaving the comfort of your plush rugs and pillows to only be leaning against your laminate counter talking for long periods of time? If you find your guests and family gravitating to the kitchen, why not make it a unique experience for them?

Heartland Bank is here with some helpful ideas for how you can improve the value and experiences of your kitchen on a budget.

Lighting
Having the right lighting can dramatically change the vibe of your kitchen. Even if this is the only tip you utilize, it is sure to make a difference. You can typically find reasonably priced lighting at large hardware stores, or online. Pendant lights are a current trend that people are drooling over.  If you have old-school vintage lighting, you can update it by replacing the lights with Edison light bulbs and spray painting with a metal finish or coordinating paint. Additionally, adding under cabinet lighting will help to soften the kitchen. This can help it to appear bigger and more welcoming to those large groups that always find their way into your kitchen!

Storage

Get that clutter put away! Not only will your kitchen look smaller, but having too many items on the countertops can keep it from looking modern as the minimalist look is on the rise. Look for new ways you can utilize your storage, or create more. Maybe it’s time to get rid of some appliances that you never use. You could sell these to make some extra cash to go towards revitalizing the room. You can purchase a pull out storage kit and drawer organizers to maximize what you have for space, without needing to do a complete cabinet remodel.

Paint

You don’t have to be an expert designer to use paint! Although it may be tedious, it’s a cheap way to up the value of your home by making it look fresh and clean. Here are some items you can paint to dramatically change the feel of your kitchen.

  • Cabinets- If you don’t have the money to spend to update your tired cabinets, grab some sandpaper, primer and a light colored paint. Professional designers recommend light or citrus colors. Even removing some of your cabinet doors to showcase your favorite dishes will modernize the room. Paint the inside shelves white to really make it pop!
  • Focal Wall- Paint one wall in your kitchen a few shades darker than the walls, to create an accent wall. This will give more dimension to your home and be a quick fix. Try out Chalkboard paint to make it even more fun!
  • Island- If you have an island, paint this a bright color.
  • Floors- If you have weathered floors, look into mixing it up with painting them a fun design like these. This is much less expensive than completely replacing your flooring and you can always add a comfy rug to add even more appeal.

Accessories

If you don’t have the time to complete a large project, these simple additions are another option.

Put new handles and pulls on your cabinets that are sleek and current. Don’t choose anything that has too much character, as most likely whoever you are selling your home to won’t find it amusing.

You may not be a plumber, but it doesn’t take too much skill to replace your faucet. There are so many options on styles and functions, you will be pleased with how much you can enjoy this simple addition.

While you don’t want to darken your kitchen too much, adding window treatments amplifies style and privacy. You can make your own out of kitchen towels or buy roman shades.

You may not have spent the whopping average of $21,907 on a kitchen remodel, but you will definitely have added value to your kitchen and to your guests’ experiences!

 

New Season. New You. New Financial Goals.

It’s a new season and a new month, making it the perfect time to set new financial goals! While money management may not be your strongest asset, we believe with a little goal setting, a little discipline and a little help from Heartland Bank, you can end up surprising yourself how much of a financial all-star you really are! Start with these quick tips and watch your money grow.
Create a budget and stick to it – Budgets don’t have to be hard. Write down your outgoing expenses and any incoming money. If you’re spending more than taking in, it’s time to eliminate some costs. If you need help with monitoring your spending, we can help you get on track.
The importance and purpose of a budget is to help you spend less than you earn so you can save money. So by not sticking with the budget, what’s the point of having one? Create it, use it, and stick to it.

Eliminate Wasteful Spending– Next round of bills you receive look at them closely. Do you need every service you’re paying for? Are you being charged unknown fees? Go through your bills with a fine tooth comb and raise any flags so you’re not nickel and dimed.

We live in a time of instant gratification, but that often leads to financial consequences. Before every purchase, ask yourself “Do I really need this?” If you find the answer is no, leave it behind and move forward.

Build Your Savings – Every time you’re paid, the first deposit should be into your savings account. Essentially, you’re paying your future self for emergencies and retirement.
If you haven’t done so already, now is the perfect time to set up your 401k or 403(b). Generally, companies match their employees to a certain percentage and that’s free money you should be taking advantage of today.

Leave money you’re saving alone. There are penalties for withdrawing money early from certain accounts. Why pay a penalty for money you worked hard to put in there? Let it sit tight and watch it grow!

We hope these tips help you work to your financial goals this month or season. We are available to help you with your financial management if you need it. Just call or stop by to get your goals underway.

 

3 Tips on How to Make the Holidays Less Stressful

While songs on the radio promise that this is a holly, jolly time of year, for most Americans, the holidays are anything but. A Healthline survey found that an average of 63 percent of adults in the U.S. experience an increase in stress level during the holiday season.

In a way, it seems almost unavoidable. Our routines are interrupted as we travel or host guests. Our healthy eating and exercise habits are thrown out the window. Our finances find themselves in a freefall as we spend just a little too much to buy that perfect gift.

Today, Heartland Bank would like to help bring the holidays back to the merry time they should be with these tips on how to combat holiday stress:

1)      Stick to your spending plan.

It’s true when they say it’s the thought that counts when it comes to gift-giving. Obsessing over the perfect one not only causes more stress, it can also cause you to overspend. If you start overthinking, stop, put the item down and walk away (or minimize your browser and walk away). Think about the big picture—that ultimately, spending quality time with family is better than anything you can buy them.

2)      Use Moderation.

You may not get to your exercise routine every day, due to schedule restraints. As long as you get up and move every day, give yourself a pass. Before you know it, the New Year will be here and there will be plenty of social pressure to exercise. In the meanwhile, practice watching portion sizes and passing on the extra cocktail. By all means, sample the sweets at the table—just cut yourself bite-sized pieces instead of an entire slice.

3)      Focus on what you have to be grateful for.

It can be easy when you have guests getting underfoot or are inconvenienced at the airport to resent having to spend time with friends and family. In these moments, remind yourself of the things you have to be grateful for—especially the fact that you have loved ones to spend time with. Not everyone is so lucky.

If you have any tips or tricks to cut the stress out of your holidays, feel free to share in the comment section. While Heartland Bank can’t cook your turkey or shop for gifts, we can help you reduce your stress when it comes to finances. Set up an appointment with one of our bankers today!

 

 

 

 

4 Ways You Can Budget With an Irregular Income

If you work sales, freelance or are self-employed, you have a major issue to contend with when it comes to personal budgeting—an unpredictable income. While this can make it hard to plan your monthly spending, it’s not completely impossible. Today, Heartland Bank would like to offer you these tips to budgeting on an irregular income:

1)      Calculate the Bare Bones.

These are the minimum expenses you need to cover every month, usually in the form of your absolute essentials. Rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, debt repayment and transportation all fall into this category. This way, you know what you absolutely need to get by.

2)      Figure out your discretionary expenses.

These are all the expenses you have after you’ve paid for the basics. This includes the cable bill, streaming services, entertainment, eating out and hobbies. Once you add that to your bare-bones spending, you can figure out how much you spend on average each month.

3)      Use the Zero-Sum budget.

This is where you use the income you brought in from last month to live this month. Once your bare-bone expenses are paid, put away a certain amount for savings, retirement and investments. The rest can then be spent on discretionary expenses.

4)      Have an emergency fund.

It’s recommended that you have three to six months’ worth of expenses in the emergency fund. That way, if you have a lean month, you won’t have to forgo paying a bill. This can be tricky to build, especially if you have no savings to begin with.

A few ways to build this up include setting aside a certain percentage of what you make each month or allocating unexpected income (such as selling something, a gift, a tax refund, etc.) directly into your savings account.

By following these steps, you should find yourself with less of a headache when it comes to living on a balanced budget. If you haven’t already set up a savings, checking or retirement account, come see the experts at Heartland Bank today. We can help set you on the right financial path.

 

Protecting Yourself While Shopping Online this Holiday Season

As the holidays roll up, buying items online increases exponentially. Unfortunately, cyber-attacks and identity theft also increases with that number. That’s why the professionals at Heartland Bank have come up with some helpful tips and tricks to stay safe when shopping online this holiday season!

 

Don’t Use Unknown Wireless Networks

If you are in a coffee shop or airport and a network pops up for you to connect to, your chance of being hacked skyrockets. When the network you are on is not protected, hackers have a chance to get into your phone and locate passwords, account information, and more. Even though you want to check your email or see if there is a good deal somewhere, try to resist in order to protect yourself.

 

Use Different Passwords

Yes, it is hard to use a different password for each site when you are connected to 50 or 100 sites. However, if a hacker gets ahold of one password, they can instantly use that password with your email to log into all other sites that have the same one.

 

Don’t Store Credit Card Info on Sites

When online sites have you enter your credit or debit card information, many of them give you an option to save your card information. They say it’s secure and most of the time it is, but hackers are still able to get into their account and find your information. Even though it’s a little more work to type your information in each time, it’s more work to deal with getting your money back after someone has stolen your information and used it.

 

Avoid Clicking Links

When shopping online, there are millions of links connected to products or telling you they will bring you to the product you are looking for. These are easy ways for hackers to bring you to a site they created to give you malware. If you are on a trusted site, you can click the links there because they will only bring you to other places within their own site.

 

Shop Secure Sites

As mentioned above, it is okay to trust links within a secure site. However, if you are online searching for a certain gift to give someone and find a list that links to different sites, do not trust those sites. Search online about which sites are to be trusted before you go to them and give them your credit card information.

 

These tips will aid you in being a security savvy shopper when the holidays begin to hit. If you have any questions or concerns about your account, be sure to contact Heartland Bank. Our team of professionals is here to help if a problem of stolen information does arise!

 

6 Ways to Maximize Online Holiday Shopping

Let’s face it, Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t for everyone. You rise at the crack of dawn and either have to fight the crowds or hope you have faster Wi-Fi than other shoppers.

Luckily, these aren’t your only options when it comes to getting deals around the holidays. Heartland Bank has compiled this list of online resources to help you stretch your gift-buying dollar:

1)            Use Coupon sites.

The most popular site is Groupon, but there are other online coupon sites that can save you money as well! Sites such as Couponcabin.com, coupons.com and RetailMeNot.com all have thousands of deals and coupons for online retailers.

2)            Buy discounted gift cards.

Places such as Sam’s Club have gift cards for restaurants that are up to 20 percent off, and can make great stocking stuffers. If you don’t have a membership, there are other places where you can buy retailers’ gift cards at a discount, such as Gift Card Granny and Card Cash.

3)            Free shipping offers.

If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’ll already be able to take advantage of this. But if you’re not a Prime member or are shopping elsewhere online, FreeShipping.org has coupon codes for free shipping at around 4,000 stores.

4)            Cash back.

If your credit card offers cash back, the holidays are a great time to rack up points. We would caution that you have enough cash on-hand to pay off everything you charge to the card, as you don’t want to start the New Year with debt.

Credit cards aren’t the only way to earn cash back. Sites like Ebates.com and Extrabux.com offer cash-back for online purchases at certain stores.

5)            Buy used.

Sometimes, a new iPad isn’t in the budget. If that’s the case, you can buy gently-used electronic equipment at Glyde.com. You can even set up price alerts for certain items. Another gently-used online retailer is Swap.com. Items such as toys, games and DVDs still in the original box can be purchased for a fraction of the original cost.

6)            Deals on electronics.

Online retailers such as NewEgg.com and Fry’s Electronic are well-known among I.T. and tech professionals for their steeply discounted prices on everything from laptops to component computer parts. If you’re looking for a reputable place to buy inexpensive electronics, these websites are worth checking out.

Remember, the holiday season doesn’t have to break the bank! Next year, you can start planning ahead by starting a Christmas club account. This special savings account makes it easy for you to put aside the money you need to check off everyone on your list!

Four Ways to Raise Your Financial Game

Whether you’re a football fanatic whose weekly happiness hinges on your team’s performance or you can’t tell the difference between a quarterback and a punter, the game of football can actually teach you a lot about managing your finances. Don’t believe us? Check out the Heartland Bank game plan that can help you earn a financial win.

 

It’s Important to Win on Offense, Defense and Special Teams

Most teams need to play well in all three aspects to win games. In your finances, your offense is your income. If you think of dollars as yards, the more money you generate, the more secure you can be. If income is your offense, then spending is your defense. Coaches don’t want their defense to be on the field too long, so keeping the spending to a minimum is the best way to keep your finances in check. Your special teams are unique actions like investing. You only need them a few times per game, but you need them to perform well when they’re on the field.

 

Defense Wins Games

If spending is your defense, controlling your spending is the best way to ensure your defense is successful. Taking a defensive approach to your finances that controls spending and saves a little each and every month may not seem like the most exciting thing, but it will get you a win. Slow and steady saving can keep you on that winning streak you’ve been striving for.


Understand the Game Clock

The game clock can dictate how a team plays. At times, you can be aggressive, while other times may call for a more conservative approach. Taking an aggressive approach, such as making a smart investment, can help you improve your financial situation quickly. However, a more conservative and steady savings approach can help you accrue wealth, too. However, it may just take a little longer.

Surround Yourself with Good Coaches

A good coach trusts others to develop players and game plans. There are a lot of financial experts that have a wealth of knowledge. Take advantage of their assistance and unique perspective, and you can start with the experts right here at Heartland Bank. Trust these financial experts to use their experience to help you get a win.

Just as a good game plan can help your favorite team on the gridiron, basic football strategy can help you with your finances. If you have any questions, contact Heartland Bank and we’d be happy to help you develop the right game plan.

 

Hunting for College Scholarships

The spring semester is quickly approaching, and with the impending holiday break in a few months what better way to spend your time than searching for scholarships? While it may not be on the top of your to do list over your break to take the time to find and apply for scholarships, taking this initiative can pay off in the long run. Most college graduates leave with a diploma in one hand and $27,857, on average of student loan debt in the other. Help yourself reduce that amount with these scholarship hunting tips.

1. Scour the internet: The internet will be your best friend when looking for scholarships. One place to start searching for scholarships is looking for those that are tied to your major or interest. Check with your college, department and university websites for opportunities. Read emails professor send out, since they can contain scholarships that can randomly come across their desks. Try searching for fun scholarships for things like being over six feet tall, being left-handed, or other unique characteristics. You’d be surprised what you’d be able to find!

2. Shop Local: Most community organizations have a scholarship program. This is an easy opportunity to connect with members of your community to find out more. Check with your high school counselor who probably has a list of local organization that offer scholarships. Check with your local Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, churches, your parent’s employer and other businesses within the area for more opportunities. Don’t forget, Heartland Bank gives out four $500 scholarships each year! Contact your high school counselor for information.

3. Resources: Use your resources! Outside of using search engines and local scholarship opportunities, you can search for scholarships on databases dedicated to helping students find scholarships. Below are website resources you should enlist during your search:

a.       College Board’s Scholarship Search

b.       FastWeb

c.       Scholarships.com

If you’re looking for more tips or solutions to help fund your higher education, our team of professionals are ready to assist you today. We’d love to help you set up a savings plan or loan option to help meet your needs. Contact us or stop by today!

How to Financially Prepare for Natural Disasters

When it comes to preparing your finances for certain occasions, natural disasters usually aren’t one of the events that come to mind. However, not creating an emergency fund for the unexpected could hurt you immensely since Mother Nature doesn’t care whether you’re prepared or not. That’s why Heartland Bank has put together a few tips on how you can ready yourself for a natural disaster.

Make Your Fund A Priority

While some disasters come with a warning, others do not. If you try to prepare too quickly and scramble to figure out what the best strategy for saving your emergency fund is, things will fall apart. Adding to your fund by taking a little out of each paycheck will help you to begin saving quickly. For example, an emergency fund of $500 would be able to pay for a small family’s hotel, transportation, or food if a disaster occurred.

Have Cash On Hand

When being forced to evacuate, ATMs may be overrun or go down, meaning there is no way for you to get cash. Power can go out, leaving debit and credit cards useless. By having cash on hand, you will be able to know that you can purchase necessities when an event occurs.

Document

Be sure to have a fireproof and waterproof box with documents you will need to pick up the pieces after a disaster. You will need documents that have numbers and information to your bank, creditors, health insurance, and property insurance. By having your personal, legal, health, and financial documents together, moving through the disaster will be a much smoother process. Other documents to include would be passports, birth certificates, health records, social security cards, bank routing numbers, deeds, income tax information, and more.

Take Inventory

Be sure to take videos and photos of your belongings. Photograph the interior and exterior of your home along with your vehicle. By documenting all of your belongings and the state they were in, you can be sure that your insurance company won’t shortchange you.

We don’t ever hope a natural disaster will strike, but it’s better to be prepared if something does occur. By having some cash on hand when disaster strikes, you will have a foolproof plan to help aid in your recovery. Contact Heartland Bank to set up an emergency fund or to understand what more you can do in order to be prepared financially!