Personal Finance

Sometimes the best intentions can lend themselves to producing the worst results. While many friends and family members may offer quick solutions to your financial anguish, often times the best education is understanding those lessons first hand. At Exchange Bank of Northeast Missouri, we’d like to showcase several of the most common pieces of money advice we hear, and what you can do to remedy these particular miscommunications.   Bad Advice #1: You have to go to college to get Read More

Often times, phishing calls can come off as friendly or even helpful, however, in many instances the caller is malicious and intends to compromise your personal information. Exchange Bank of Northeast Missouri wants to help you avoid situations like these, and offers the following key prompts to help you identify a fraudulent caller. Keep these five points at the top of your mind the next time you’re wary of an unknown caller:   The matter is deemed extremely urgent by the caller. Read More

Across television ads, online banners, and even chit-chat among relatives, the phrase, “Check your credit score,” seems to be popping up everywhere. If something so important needs constant reminders, why does it have such a key importance in your personal finances? Well, the truth is that it doesn’t, your financial actions do.   A credit score is comprised of five different measures which indicate how you as an individual are perceived in terms of repayment and risk. Read More

Making your way through the drive through every morning before 7:30 may give you a refreshing start to your day, but at what cost? The ideology that coffee shops and other retailers capitalize on is the notion that these small expenditures add a little excitement to your day without a hefty bill. However, when you enjoy perks like these on a daily basis, they add up, and quick!   Financial author, David Bach, is the mastermind behind the Latte Factor. This helpful calculator enables shoppers Read More

Everyone and their brother seems to be sharing the importance of checking your credit score, but once you have the information, how do you actually know what it means? At Exchange Bank of Northeast Missouri, we want you to not only have the information about your personal finances but be able to understand and act upon it as well. If you see any of the following red flags while viewing your report, you may want to look into the appropriate remedies as quickly as possible.   Missed or Late Read More

If you’re in the market for your first home, congratulations! Becoming a homeowner is an exciting step on your financial journey. At Exchange Bank of Northeast Missouri, our dedicated mortgage lenders are here to help you find the best financing option for your new home. Remember to stop in and secure a pre-approval letter before you start your home search.   After speaking with a mortgage lender to help determine your family’s ideal price point, it’s time to start viewing Read More

Managing your money is a great skill to learn at any age. We agree with financial guru, Dave Ramsey, who famously said, “Personal finance is only 20% head knowledge. It’s 80% behavior!” While creating a budget is a great first step, the next way to better manage your finances is to decrease surplus spending in order to save more for future plans such as retirement, vacation, or education. At Exchange Bank of Northeast Missouri we recommend examining the following expenses to see Read More

One of the most proactive ways you can protect your personal finances is to take advantage of tax beneficial accounts such as a 401(k) and/or an IRA. Though these accounts are typically tied to retirement savings, this is not always the case. At Exchange Bank of Northeast Missouri we want to help you make the most of your money by offering these two account options:   Work Sponsored Retirement Account (401k): Many companies now offer this account as a corporate benefit. By automatically Read More

This year, make the leap into financial success with a savings plan you can be proud of. Using a variety of budget-friendly strategies, Exchange Bank of Northeast Missouri will show you how you can save $1,000 or more a month towards your next fiscal goal. Here’s how to get started:   Use a Budget ($150/month) - One of the most important ways to save is to track your spending. We recommend creating a monthly budget, while also using apps like Intuit’s Mint, to accurately see Read More

If the sound of savings makes your ears perk up, Exchange Bank of Northeast Missouri has the perfect New Year’s resolution for you! As a homeowner, you have a unique opportunity to lessen your debt while also building home equity.   As of October 2016, the median price for an existing home in the United States was $232,000. This being said, a potential monthly mortgage payment for this home value could be approximately $873.51 for the average new home owner. While homeownership is Read More