In celebration of Financial Literacy Month, we'd like to offer up five suggestions on how to make money a fun, applicable, hands-on topic for the youngest members of your household. While many of us view children and finance through the lens of what we’re spending, we don’t often consider the power of our own example.
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We’d like to introduce you to compound interest. It’s a simple principle that works consistently in practice. When you invest, your investment starts to earn money. Then the gains it accumulates also start to earn money and your initial investment can snowball very quickly.
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Laddering your certificates is an attractive investment strategy for new and seasoned investors looking to diversify their portfolios. With laddering, you will be able to decide how you want to split up your investments and whether to reinvest each time a certificate matures. By opening multiple certificates with staggered maturity dates, you have the potential to earn better returns while keeping your money safe.
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We're grateful to Callahan and Associates for providing such concrete evidence of our service and value commitment to you, our members.
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The holiday season is a time when people are more vulnerable to identity theft scams. Not only are people making more purchases than any other time of year, but they are often distracted when doing so. During the holiday season, stores and shopping malls are bustling with people – especially at peak shopping times during evenings and weekends. When shoppers are focused on their gift lists, looking for bargains, or tending to the kids, attention might not be on security.
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Retirement plan participants are responsible for taking the correct amount of RMDs every year from their accounts.
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New Year’s resolutions are a mixed bag for many of us. On the one hand: personal betterment! On the other hand: methodical auditing of our refrigerator, checking account, and various vices. On the cusp of a fresh calendar year, we feel compelled to immediately transform our lives, but— as is the case with most good things— change takes time. This is especially true when it comes to financial goals. And in the aftermath of steep holiday spending, our goalposts can feel...far away.
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If you are dealing with credit and debt, you aren't alone. You have a great opportunity to assess your financial situation and make a plan to move forward.
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To understand how the federal funds rate or "Fed rate" affects banks and credit unions, we first need to understand what the federal funds rate is and its role in the financial world. The Federal Government requires all depository institutions, like banks and credit unions, to have a minimum reserve level in proportion to their deposits. Those that do not have enough reserves borrow from other financial institutions that do. The Fed rate is the interest rate banks charge when lending money to each other from their reserve balance.
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More than 20 million Californians can expect a new round of direct payments to hit their bank accounts this year, Governor Gavin Newsom announced.
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