Financial Awareness Day

Financial Awareness Day is August 14, 2022.  Below, we’ve outlined a few ways you can celebrate!  

  1. Open a Savings Account.  According to credit.com, 58% of people in America have less than $1,000 in savings and 20% of Americans don’t save any of their annual income.  Half of U.S. residents claim they live paycheck to paycheck and 44% of people do not have enough money to cover a $400 emergency.   Putting back even just a little money every month will help you better prepare for your future.  With direct deposit, you can even set up a portion of your paycheck to go to a savings account so it is out of sight and out of mind.
  2. Check Your Credit.  Before making any big financial decisions, check all three of your credit reports.  Using annualcreditreport.com, you are allowed to pull one credit report annually from each of the three vendors, Experian, Equifax, and Transunion.  You don’t have to pull all three at the same time so you can spread out the pulls from each vendor throughout the year to better monitor your scores.  If you have a credit card that offers free credit score monitoring, be sure to check your score monthly to look for any sudden change in credit scores.
  3. Build Your Credit.  Make payments on time and don’t keep a balance on your credit cards.  Remember, mortgage payments have the greatest impact on your credit scores followed by other secured loan and revolving debt so don’t ever be late on a mortgage payment.  Be sure to limit “hard inquiries”; don’t let people continue to pull your credit if it’s not necessary.
  4. Download a Budgeting App or Make a Monthly Budget.  Microsoft Excel has a number of free monthly budgeting templates you can use to create a budget.  Be sure to set realistic goals, track your spending, and review your budget regularly.
  5. Save for Retirement.  If your employer offers a traditional 401(k) plan and you’re eligible, you may be able to contribute money pre-taxed.  If your employer offers to match your 401(k) plan contributions, make sure you are contributing at least enough to take full advantage of the match.  For example, your employer may offer to match 50% of employee contributions up to 6% of your salary which means that if you earn $60,000 a year and contribute $3,600 to your plan, your employer would add in another $1,800 at no cost to you.  You should also consider opening an individual retirement account (IRA).  First Federal Savings Bank offers two options: a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA.  You can find out more details on both here.

National Financial Awareness Day is the perfect time to get control of your finances.  Ask your banker how we can help today!

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Traveling?

At First Federal, we take extra precautions to protect your account. We monitor ATM and debit card transactions to protect you from fraud. Therefore, we may call you to verify transactions and ask questions about your account. If you plan on using your ATM or debit card, please be sure to create a travel exemption through our mobile banking application by selecting My Cards.  *Certain travel destinations may require additional approval from First Federal/Home Building Savings Bank.  If you do not see the country you are traveling to listed, please contact First Federal/Home Building Savings Bank’s eBanking team at (812) 492-8123 or via email at ebanking@fbei.net.  If you need assistance outside of business hours, contact (866) 960-2290.

Lost or Stolen ATM/Debit Card?

Please contact us Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST at (812) 492-8123, if your ATM or Visa Debit card is lost or stolen. After normal business hours, call (800) 554-8969. 

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