Tag: Financial Goals
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COVID-19 and Your Finances: Managing Money During Uncertain Times
Posted On: April 21, 2020 by Falcon National Bank in: Your Financial Life | Personal Banking
The Coronavirus outbreak has thrown a wrench in just about everyone’s plans this year. From smaller goals to major life plans, people around the country are finding it necessary to adjust. Since you can’t pay your bills in stockpiled toilet paper (yet), read a few of our finance tips on managing money below: The Basics of Adjusting Your Budget First off, we’d usually say cut out unnecessary spending, such as a night out at the movies or splurge trips to the mall, but the quarantine...
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FTC: Fraud Alerts & Credit Freezes: What's the Difference?
Posted On: March 10, 2020 by Falcon National Bank in: Your Financial Life | Personal Banking
Looking for ways to protect your identity? Two options to consider are fraud alerts and credit freezes. But what’s the difference? A fraud alert makes companies verify your identity before granting new credit in your name. Usually, that means calling you to check if you’re really trying to open a new account. Placing a fraud alert is easy – you contact any one of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) and that one must notify the other...
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How saving for a vacation can be a valuable budgeting lesson for your kiddos
Posted On: February 28, 2020 by Falcon National Bank in: Your Financial Life | Personal Banking
When it comes to creating your budget for the year, a vacation allowance is not typically considered an important expense. But maybe it should be, especially if you have little ones in your household. Planning and saving for a vacation is a great way not only to create life-long memories but also give your children the tools to learn how to create a budget and instill saving at a young age. Where do you start? The most important lesson you can teach your children is conceptualizing money and...
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3 Good Ways to Establish Credit and 4 Ways to Improve It
Posted On: August 13, 2019 by Falcon National Bank in: Your Financial Life | Personal Banking
Did you know… The average FICO score in America is 695 and the average Vantage score stands at 673. [source] Less than 1% of the population has a perfect credit score of 850. [source] Only 41% of Americans understand that a credit score measures your risk of not paying a loan, according to a joint survey from the Consumer Federation of America and VantageScore. Credit is important for pretty much all facets of adult life. Credit can be impacted by a number of different things....
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IRAs: The Basics
Posted On: April 4, 2019 by Falcon National Bank in: Invest your Money | Investment Banking
An individual retirement account (IRA) allows you to save money for retirement in a tax-friendly way. Most people don’t start thinking about retirement until they’re close to that age. It’s hard to imagine saving for retirement when you’re just trying to get by. Between student loan debt and the cost of living, most Millennials don’t have the luxury to plan for retirement. However, if you are not saving for retirement now, you are missing out on major opportunities to...
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How to Start and Keep Business Finances Straight
Posted On: March 20, 2019 by Falcon National Bank in: Manage your Business | Business Banking
Some business owners knew they wanted to pursue an entrepreneur career path from the get-go. They attended business school, have advanced degrees, and are very familiar with how business finance works. Other business owners are naturally savvy when it comes to finance. They have a great idea, product, or company, but are well-versed in the business world. Unfortunately, self-employment isn’t for the faint of heart and the learning curve isn’t very large. However, there are a few things...
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The Top 5 Things to Know When Starting a Small Business
Posted On: February 26, 2019 by Falcon National Bank in: Manage your Business | Business Banking
"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." - Steve Jobs 70% of small businesses are owned and operated by a single person.1 Two-thirds of all present-day college students intend to become entrepreneurs at some point in their careers.2 It takes just 6 days to start a business in the U.S., compared to a whopping 38 days in China.3 There are 28 million small businesses in the U.S., which outnumber corporations 1162 to 1. 4 Small businesses...
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Consumer Beware: Tax-time tips to keep you safe
Posted On: February 19, 2019 by Falcon National Bank in: Your Financial Life | Personal Banking
The headline of the first article in the February IRS newsletter reads: Don't be victim to a 'ghost' tax return preparer. Wow! What next! The IRS is now warning taxpayers about unscrupulous tax preparers, known as ‘ghost’ tax return preparers. These individual preparers do not sign the return, instead they are instructing the taxpayer to sign themselves and mail to the IRS. These preparers are making some quick fees based on their aggressive write offs and generous refunds. By...
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A Brilliant Deduction (Section 179)
Posted On: February 12, 2019 by Falcon National Bank in: Manage your Business | Business Banking
November and December are always busy months in the world of Commercial Equipment Financing. At the urging of their accountants, many of our customers rush to make last minute yearend equipment purchases. Why the big rush you may ask? Well, My Dear Watson, it comes down to the fact that they are running out of time to take advantage of the SECTION 179 TAX DEDUCTION. What is the Section 179 deduction? Most people think Section 179 is some complicated and mysterious tax code. Truth is, it is...
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5 Tips for Achieving Financial Security
Posted On: January 30, 2019 by Falcon National Bank in: Invest your Money | Investment Banking
When I was in fourth grade my mother asked me to clean the refrigerator. The fridge was white and instead of just cleaning it, I decided to spray it with a can of white paint! It did not work so well. I remember my father telling my mother, “Well honey, it’s a good thing we have 10 kids. At least one of them should be able to take care of us when we retire!” Relying on your children to take care of you during your retirement years may not be the easiest solution to achieving...
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