Monthly Archives: July 2017

Banking With Buch

I still remember buying my first home and the feeling I had in knowing it was mine. You wanted to make it look the best you could, decorate it with all the things you loved, and personalize it to reflect your personality. Besides that sense of pride in ownership, it was also a good investment. By taking good care of your home, paying the taxes and mortgage payment, your investment value would grow, and in return, be worth more than when you purchased it.

Today, I am helping others in buying their own home and I get to re-experience those great feelings over and over again. It is exciting to be a part of this process for my customers and see those same emotions on their face. There are many things different in the process of getting a mortgage, but that end feeling of home ownership is the same. That is what I like most in my job.

If you are just thinking of buying a home, here are a few suggestions:

Check your credit score. You will want to have it in the range of 660 or above. If you need suggestions on how to raise your credit score, stop in and chat with me.
Save a little each month into a savings account. Not only will this help you build up a down payment, but it will also help you budget with cash flow and get used to a possible higher mortgage payment.
Don’t go out and make a big purchase prior to house shopping. Sometimes a purchase of a new vehicle will cause problems in qualifying for a house payment or limit you to a lower price range of home.
Employment strength is also important. Hopping from job to job allows for gaps of income and makes it harder to qualify for a mortgage.
Stop in and get more information. Sometimes there are special loan programs that can help you out financially. Information is free and we will take the time to answer all your questions.

Buying a home is one of the largest investments that most people will make in their lifetime. Enjoy your experience as much as you enjoy your new home. One of my favorite quotes is “It’s not about the destination. It’s about the journey to get there.”

– Sue Buch, VP Real Estate Lending

7 Absolutely FREE Activities for the Kids

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Whether it’s during the summer or after school, keeping your children occupied takes a truly creative mind! This season, Iowa State Bank is excited to share some of our favorite and affordable activities for all of your little ones to enjoy!

Take advantage of your local library and their summer and afterschool programs. Even if it’s only an hour a day, this simple strategy can keep your child learning while they play, saving you some green along the way. To bring that fun home, register your child for a library card, and show them how to check out books and take them back. ! Extra tip: If you make a game out of reading, such as who can finish a new book first, you may even instill a passion in them for reading and learning.
Setup camp in your backyard, tent and all. There’s nothing like the great outdoors, except when the indoors are just steps away! Ease your little ones into the wilderness by creating a camp in your own backyard. You can complete the evening with a s’more roast, campfire stories, and stargazing to make the most of the nighttime.
Bike around town, and enjoy a pit stop at the park. Set a route for a bike ride, and see if you can end at a park close to your home. The bike ride can allow your kids to explore the town, and burn some extra energy before winding down with some playtime outdoors.
Head out for a swim at your local state park and enjoy the cool water or beach. Every state has some unique local parks, many with their own watering hole! Instead of paying the fee to visit your local pool, consider making a day trip to enjoy the warm sand and cool waters of your nearby rivers or lakes. For extra savings, pack a lunch and cooler to make the most of your day without having to spend a dime on admission or food.
Create a fun scavenger hunt around your home or neighborhood. A scavenger hunt can be as simple or as complex as you make it. For some of the younger kids, it may be beneficial to keep it around your home. However, if you have pre-teens to keep occupied, creating a neighborhood or town-wide scavenger hunt could be the perfect afternoon activity. Setting up the scavenger hunt ahead of time, will help you plan your route, and determine the best prize for those who finish it.
Bring some grub, and have a picnic at the park. You can do this fun-filled activity for lunch, dinner, or both! Pack a bag or cooler with some great bites to eat, and find a table or bench at your nearby park. The kids can run and play for a bit, and then come enjoy a delicious homemade meal before diving back in for round two. If you want to really make this activity sweet, pack some of these individual cherry pies for dessert!
Volunteer for local organizations and give back to your community. Keeping busy isn’t always about entertaining your children or yourself. Sometimes, it can be about something greater, like helping others. Organizations such as The Salvation Army, your local Food Bank, and the county Humane Society, are always looking for helping hands to assist in their day-to-day activities. Let your little ones choose which one they want to be a part of, and see if volunteering once or several times a week can fit into their schedule!

We love getting children involved in personal finance at an early age. If you’re searching for more affordable activities for your little one to enjoy, consider some of these fun-filled games to help them understand the basics of personal finance! Everything from mobile apps to hands-on activities can help them grow their own financial education.

When to SAVE and When to SPLURGE

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When you and your sweetheart set your budget each month, there are a variety of factors at play. Where can you get the best deals for groceries? How many date nights will you have each week? Do the kids have any sporting activities that require new equipment? At Iowa State Bank we recognize that everyone’s budget is different. No matter which categories you enjoy most, we’d love to showcase some great examples to help you find extra ways to save, and better identify which costs are worth the splurge.

SAVE: The best areas to find savings.

Weekly Groceries: If you don’t need the atmosphere, or the free samples, there are numerous discount grocers which can save you BIG for weekly grocery runs. Coupling those savings with a pre-planned menu, and sale scanning, can further reduce your overall food costs.
Kids Activities: During both the summer months, and those after school hours, you may find yourself searching for activities to keep your children occupied. Whether that’s going to the pool, attending various summer camps, or finding an after school caretaker, keeping your kiddos active can be easier said than done. To help reduce these costs, we recommend season passes to recurring parks/activities, along with fun and affordable activities at home, which you can do with a number of household supplies.
Exercise: If you have ever purchased a gym membership you didn’t use, you are not alone! Many Americans see a gym membership as automatic attendance, when truly, it may be easier for you to workout at home. With so many new callisthenic exercises, yoga, and free-weight routines, there are a variety of tools out there to help you stay in shape without having to pay that monthly membership fee.
Travel: Searching “travel savings” on Google will inevitably leave you with pages of results. One fantastic tip we’ve found, is purchasing travel through membership programs such as Costco, even if there’s not one in your area! There are countless reports of happy customers who not only saved money, but had a much better experience when compared to booking it themselves.

SPLURGE: The expenditures worth the extra cost.

Budgeted Special Occasions: Occasions like your child’s birthday, or you and your spouse’s 30th anniversary deserve a special treat. While we do recommend saving for these outings in advance, as long as the funds are budgeted for, feel no regret in celebrating your family’s happiness.
Childcare: Raising a child is no simple task, and for most parents the number one expense after a mortgage is childcare. We recognize that there are certainly savings opportunities to be had, however, in the long you’ll find that a friendly and reliable caretaker can make the world of difference on your child’s happiness, and your sanity, for years to come.
Healthcare: Your health, and the health of your family members is paramount to everything else in life. Whether you’re looking to find a reliable family practice physician, or are seeking long-term care treatment, now is not the time to scrimp and save. Making sure that your family is well taken care of and continues to live a happy and healthy life means you’ll have plenty of time to save for nearly everything else life throws your way.
Toiletries: Toilet paper, toothpaste, shampoo, etc.; these are items you use every day. If you’re using poor quality products to save a few cents you may find yourself with dry skin or poor hygiene. While it’s not necessary to purchase the most expensive option available, know that spending the extra dollar or two is well worth the cost to avoid potential problems.

Whether you’re looking for a place to store your savings, or budget your spending, Iowa State Bank has the perfect solutions for you. Stop by your nearest branch today and learn about our personal savings and checking services.

Cyber Security from Swan

Picture this: You’re sitting at home, watching your favorite Janet Yellen video clips on YouTube. You’ve got your big bowl of organic popcorn, a glass of free-range grapefruit soda and your cozy gluten-free slippers. Janet’s just begun her testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, and you can barely contain your excitement…

Suddenly, the phone rings. CallerID reports the number as “000-000-0000 – Unavailable”, but you’ve already paused the video so you answer anyway. Your disinterested “Hello?” is met with a couple of seconds of silence, a muffled, mechanical click-beep, and a somewhat obviously prerecorded voice…

“Hello sir/madam. What is the name of the street your maternal grandmother grew up on?”

Chances are, you’re not going to answer that question, right? RIGHT?!?!

Yet, seemingly every minute, people are putting the answers to questions like this (and many others) out there for the world to see on social media networks, via those cute little surveys shared amongst “friends”, under the guise of “getting to know one another a little better”. Everything from your first pet’s eye color to your uncle’s favorite song involving a mandolin. Thirty questions designed to bring you closer to your friends…and make it incredibly easy to hijack your financial security.

Debit card thieves are putting Facebook to work as soon as they get their hands on your card. The less-savvy ones are looking for birth dates and anniversaries for PIN codes for the easy ATM or purchase grabs. The scary ones are building life inventories for larger windfalls, such as home/auto loans and other credit accounts, or opening deposit accounts in your name to be used as a placeholder for even larger scale fraud. And you’re handing it to them on a silver platter. Your favorite book. Your first car. Your high school English teacher. Many of the questions on those surveys are ripped straight from the security question database that many websites (including our own online banking) use to identify you. Some are word-for-word, others are more subtle and buried amongst 20 other seemingly harmless questions.

Even if you keep close tabs on who you “Friend”, and are sure to set privacy settings on your posts to only be visible to those “Friends”…how confident are you that those “Friends” are doing the same? If someone compromises an account on your Friend list, how much can they find out about you?

– Mark Swan, IT Manager/Network Administrator