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Banking Finance
October Special Section
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Sponsored Section • banking & finance
October 2017
National Save for Paving the way to college: 4 Retirement Week things parents need to know Congress has designated the third week of October as National Save for Retirement Week. What lessons can you learn from this event? First of all, save early – and save often. The earlier you start burns saving and investing, the less you will have to put away each year to accumulate the resources you’ll need for a comfortable retirement. And by putting time on your side, you’ll be able to take advantage of compounding – the ability to earn money on your principal and your earnings. Here’s another suggestion: Contribute as much as you can afford to taxadvantaged retirement accounts, such as an IRA and your 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored plan. Finally, try to overcome barriers to building your retirement savings. One
such barrier is debt – because the higher your debt payments, the less you can afford to invest. Do what you can to keep your debt under control. By following these steps, you can go a long way toward putting the ideas behind National Save for Retirement to work for you – all year long. This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.
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(BPT) - Senior year: It’s a time to finish college applications, solidify friendships and look forward to the freedom and the responsibility that come once that final bell rings. A lot of feelings surface during that final year, especially for parents. While your son or daughter might be overjoyed to finally fly the coop and live independently, you’ll probably be dealing with your own mix of emotions, and you’ll want to be sure they’re ready to begin college in the fall. For families with a child headed to college, senior year is best thought of as a transition year. Plan ahead to make sure your family stays on track. To help you and your child with a successful transition, here’s the essential list of landmarks on the road that will take your child from a senior in high school to a freshman in college. 1. Apply yourself in the fall The journey to college begins early, and by the fall of senior year in high school, your child should be in full transition mode. They should be finishing campus visits and finalizing the list of colleges where they want to apply. Make sure they’ve spoken with admission counselors, thoroughly researched schools they’re interested in and have everything they need to complete their college applications. Keep tabs on important deadlines and stay organized to avoid missing any critical due dates. For example, will they want to apply early decision or early action? If so, make sure you have weighed how this could impact your financial plan for college. 2. Focus on financial aid from the start For many parents, one of the biggest anxieties around college is the cost. Don’t forget that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) opens on Oct. 1, and some aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Make sure you submit the form as soon as it’s available. Because everyone has different needs, figuring out how to finance your child’s education requires some research. At College Ave Student Loans, you can find private loan options for parents and students. Even if you’re not ready to take a loan out yet, parents and students can try out the fast and easy pre-qualification tools to find out if their credit pre-qualifies for a loan, and what interest rates they could expect, all without impacting their credit
scores. Calculators are also available to help you explore your options and see how you can customize the loan payments to fit your budget. 3. Spring time is decision time Early in the spring, your child will start to receive their first acceptance letters. Once they’ve heard from all of the schools where they applied, they’ll have a big decision to make. They need to do more than just decide which school to attend; they’ll also need to send in a deposit, complete their housing form and accept financial aid packages. A crucial step in this process is comparing award letters from the colleges where your child has been accepted. In reading these letters, pay close attention to how schools list the total costs. For instance, some schools will subtract the awarded loan amount from the total cost of attendance, while others will not. This could make the net cost of some schools appear less than others when in reality they are not, so take your time reading the documents. 4. Tie up everything in the summer Before they head to campus, you and your children should create a budget to keep tabs on college bills. This will help you to stay on track financially and set the right expectations about how they need to manage their money. You can help your soon-to-be freshman by working with them to outline a monthly budget that will take into account expected and unexpected expenses. Take a look at their financial aid packages and any income they might be earning and block out the monthly mandatory expenses. Then decide how much money they can spend on things like entertainment. If you find that scholarships, grants and federal aid don’t cover everything, private loans could be one solution for some college-bound students. For parents and students, senior year is an exciting period. Knowing what steps to take and staying ahead of financial matters with useful tools like the ones at College Ave Student Loans can help make the transition easier for everyone.
October 2017
banking & finance • Sponsored Section
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Cybersecurity: Are you at risk? Recently, it seems like a new security breach or hack is reported every other day. It’s likely that you or someone you know has had their private financial information exposed to potential criminals in one form or another. If you haven’t already, now is the time to make sure your online information is secure. Start with your current accounts; use the most up-to-date authentication available and change your passwords to a complex series of letters, number, and symbols. Regularly monitor your credit and debit card transactions and activity. Most experts will recommend freezing your credit with all three credit bureaus. That will ensure that no one can open a new account, credit card or loan for themselves with your personal information. Be wary of emails that ask you to verify personal information. Most companies will not ask you to do this with an email. Also, don’t click on any links within an unfamiliar email. Criminals can create phishing emails that look very real and use logos and language that try to trick you into believing they are authentic. If you receive a suspicious email, check out what time it was sent (3 a.m. is unusual), who it was sent to (your name listed in a group
with similar names and emails), and closely review the sender’s email address. Unless you were expecting an email with attachment, don’t click to open the attachment until you’ve verified the sender is legitimate. Also, if there are misspellings in the email that could be a sign it’s fraudulent. Be cautious on the phone too. If you receive a phone call asking you to verify personal information, hang up and call that financial institution directly. To help fight fraud, the IRS and Social Security Administration allow you to set up your own account with verified password. This might help to ensure that no one is using your name to fill out a return or change benefits with stolen personal information. If you’re unsure or suspicious about any activity on your account, visit your local office or personal banker for help.
We’ve been part of the local community for more than 10 years. Discover how community focused Providence Bank may be a better choice for you. Like you, we’re part of the NorthFulton/South Forsyth community. The deposits we gather locally fund loans that help the people and businesses in our area. As a community bank, we not only support our customers we also support the local community and the organizations that help make this a great place to live, work, and play. If you’re ready to experience how pleasant banking can be, give us a call or stop by. Let us show you what it feels like to bank with people you know and trust.
678-624-BANK (2265) Please visit our new website: providencebankga.com 4955 Windward Parkway , Alpharetta, GA 30004
4 northfulton.com
Sponsored Section • banking & finance
October 2017