Author Archives: TimberwoodBanks Blogger

7 Tips to Save Quick for a Family Trip

Hurry! There is still time to go on a vacation this summer by using these helpful tips to save quick.

Hurry! There is still time to go on a vacation this summer by using these helpful tips to save quick.

 

As the summer progresses, you’ve seen your friends and family take off and return home telling stories of how much fun they had on their summer vacation. As what’s left of summer turns into weeks rather than months, you may just now be realizing that you want to take a summer vacation of your own! Continue reading →

Inexpensive Date Ideas for the Summer

Have fun this summer with inexpensive dates and activities.

Have fun this summer with inexpensive dates and activities.

 

At Timberwood Bank, we are always looking for ways to help save you money.  Now that it is summertime, we want you and your special someone to get out and enjoy the warm summer months without spending lots of extra cash.  Here are few inexpensive date ideas that we put together to help you enjoy dating in the summertime while on a budget:

Have a picnic!  Tomah is fortunate enough to offer multiple beautiful parks.  Take a walk with your sweetie through one of Tomah’s many parks and have yourself a picnic!  Not only will you be able to get out and enjoy the weather, but preparing and having a meal with your significant other is always a great bonding experience.

Game night!  Whether you two are avid card players or board gamers, set up a night with your favorite games.  Make a wager and whoever loses has to clean the dishes!

Hit the lake!  Here in Wisconsin, we are fortunate enough to have lakes all around us.  Spend a day out fishing or floating on any available and safe lake near you.

Go for a ride! Take to the trails throughout Tomah on your bike, roller blades, or simply go for a walk.  Taking in the sites together will be a fun way to get some exercise and enjoy the summer sights.

Check for local fairs and events!  Summer is the time for fairs, parades and all sorts of events.  Check in your surrounding areas for event dates and schedules.

There is nothing better than a Wisconsin summer filled with fun activities spent with the one you love. These ideas are opportunities for having a great time without spending a lot of money on entertainment. Timberwood Bank wants your summertime to be cost effective, yet unforgettable with inexpensive dates and enjoyable outings.

 

Timberwood Bank

Member FDIC

Equal Housing Lender

Outside the Box Father’s Day Gift Ideas

Get your Dad a gift this Father's Day that he will love and won't be expecting!

Get your Dad a gift this Father’s Day that he will love and won’t be expecting!

 

Father’s Day is coming up on June 21 and you still need to get your dad that perfect gift.  We know you don’t want to break the bank getting your dad his gift, so it would be great if you could find him something he would love that is reasonable and unexpected.

Timberwood Bank wants to help you find that perfect gift for your dad.  From the “game-day” dad to the outdoorsman, we have a few ideas that any dad would enjoy receiving this Father’s Day:

  • It is safe to say that most dads have a passion for a certain sport or certain sports team. No matter what sport or team he loves, dads always appreciate receiving new fan apparel.  With football season only two months away, how about a new cheesehead for our all Packer fan dads out there?  If you and your dad share the same favorite team, you could get matching shirts to wear together on the next game day.
  • For the high-tech dad, think about some gadgets or games that he has been eyeing or has never heard of before. Perhaps you could find him a game from his past – from Pac Man to jacks, many dads have a childhood game that is near and dear to their heart.
  • For the outdoorsman, consider some of his favorite summer time activities such as fishing or grilling – is there anything that needs to be replaced? This would be a great time to get him some new grilling/meat rubs or some new fishing lures.  For the die-hard fisherman dad, consider some new gadgets for his fishing boat such as a depth finder or new anchor.

At Timberwood Bank, we hope that you and your family have a great Father’s Day.  As your friend and neighbor, we are always here to help you and your family with your banking needs!

Timberwood Bank

Member FDIC

Equal Housing Lender

Securing Your Smartphone

Practicing safe smartphone security habits can protect you and your personal mobile information.

Practicing safe smartphone security habits can protect you and your personal mobile information.

 

Whether we like it or not, Americans and people all across the world are becoming more and more dependent on smartphones every day.  With an app for just about anything you could ever need, from online banking and to shopping, smartphones are here to stay.

For many folks, with the ease of smartphone use brings the fear of smartphone security.  Many companies build in multiple security features with their online services and apps, but there are a few things you can do to protect yourself from smartphone criminals as well.

Do’s and Don’ts of Smartphone Security:

  1. Do set PINs and passwords- take advantage of your security setting that allows you to set up a passcode. You should also enable any settings that lock your phone after a certain period of idle time.
  2. Do backup and secure all data- whether it’s to your computer, the cloud(if you understand how it works!) or an external hard drive, be sure to backup all of your data in the event you lose your phone or it is stolen.
  3. Don’t buy or download questionable apps- read reviews and confirm that the app is legitimate before downloading. Criminals can create apps that contain malware to steal information, plant viruses and cause harm to your phone.
  4. Do understand app permissions- many apps may request access to your privacy settings to get your location or to send you notifications. Be sure you know full well what each app is doing, and change the apps security settings to what you feel most comfortable with.
  5. Don’t ignore your phones software updates- this ensures security patches are in in place to cover any spots that could be vulnerable.
  6. Do look for apps that allow wiping and remote location- such as Find my iPhone, these apps allow you to either completely wipe data from your smartphone if it is stolen, or locate your phone if you lost it.
  7. Don’t always be checking to use public Wi-Fi- use public Wi-Fi as little as possible. When you do, be wary of doing tasks that require personal information, such as logging in to Online Banking or submitting applications.

While these aren’t “fail-safes,” the above items will reduce the chances of your smartphone being compromised.  When it comes down to it, if you aren’t sure if you should download or do something unfamiliar with your smartphone, don’t do it!  Here at Timberwood Bank, we are always ready to provide you with more information regarding online and mobile banking security.

 

Timberwood Bank

Member FDIC

Equal Housing Lender

Curbing Summer Spending

Follow these tips to keep your family happy and fiscally sound throughout the summer months.

Follow these tips to keep your family happy and fiscally sound throughout the summer months.

 

The warm summer months bring lighter days, busier schedules and maybe even a summer vacation or two. With your summer calendar filling up, it’s hard to not get excited for all of the season’s fun activities!

However, all these great things about summer can work against your wallet. In addition to bigger expenses like a summer vacation and increased utility bills, evenings out, entertainment and spur-of-the-moment spending can add up quickly. The best way to get ahead of the spending curve is to focus on saving money and reducing spending.

Here are some tips to keep your family fiscally sound throughout the summer:

  1. Clear out your mind and your home- kick off your savings quest with a spring cleaning session, recommends financial writer Kali Hawlk. Not only will this help you in selling things you need and finding things you forgot you had, but it will also help you re-tune your wants.
  2. Do more cooking at home- it’s so easy to “grab a quick bite to eat” somewhere or to take the kids out for dessert on long summer evenings. Instead, produce more meals at home. They are generally healthier, in smaller portions and more satisfying than a pricey a restaurant.
  3. Look for budget-friendly activities- church camps, library events and other activities put on by community organizations are often low in cost, so be on the watch for those. There are also plenty of festivals, markets, outdoor parties and other events during the summer that may cost little or nothing for an evening of family fun.
  4. Try out “no-spends”- build up your savings account by trying out a days, weeks, or, if you can, months of no spending. While you may not hit your goal of spending nothing, focusing on spending less will help.

Don’t let the costs of the season ruin your summer fun. Keep control of your finances throughout the summer to enjoy all that the season has to offer. If you do these things, your summer should be full of fun and financial freedom!

Timberwood Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender

Keeping Seniors Safe

Senior citizens are often made victim to these forms of financial fraud.

Senior citizens are often made victim to these forms of financial fraud.

We’ve all heard the stories about senior citizens being scammed, and we would never want it to happen to our own loved ones. But, why senior citizens? What makes them more vulnerable?

The Federal Bureau of Investigation offers a few reasons why. Some of them include:

  • Their manners. Back in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, you just didn’t hang up on someone. It was very rude. People who grew up in these decades have a hard time disconnecting a call, even when it is a stranger trying to entice them into a financial decision
  • They’ve had a long time to save up their money and build a nest egg. This means they’re all the more attractive to con artists, who target them specifically.
  • Older Americans often don’t report fraud because they are either ashamed or else they don’t know who they can turn to.
  • It’s harder for them to act as a witness. Sometimes age brings a decline in memory. It will often be weeks and months after the senior’s last contact with the con artist before they realize what happened. By then, some of their memory will be less sharp, which can be difficult when they’re trying to give a statement to law enforcement.
  • New medical breakthroughs happen every day, and scamsters prey upon this fact when talking to seniors. They promise a medical cure to any number of ailments– often playing the part of the modern-day snake oil salesman. But, because there is so much scientific progress with medicine, it’s a little bit easier for the senior to believe and thus be taken in.

If you or a loved one have been swindled by a con artist, take action now. Stop all payments going out of your bank accounts, and contact law enforcement. You can find out more about the right steps to take and common types of scams targeted at seniors using the FBI’s Common Fraud Schemes section of their website.

 

Timberwood Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender

 Tips to improve the value of your home

Home improvements may seem expensive, but they often will pay off in the future.

Home improvements may seem expensive, but they often will pay off in the future.

Your home has been good to you. It gave you the space you needed to start a family, but now you have outgrown that space. You want to sell, but you want to make sure you get enough out of your house for a decent down payment on the next one.

The good news is, with a little sprucing up, you can do just that. Here are some things to consider upgrading on your home before putting it on the market:

  • Adding a bathroom or bedroom. Attic spaces are some of the easier places to turn into bedrooms. So are dens. Sometimes, the only thing that keeps a den from being a bedroom is the lack of a closet. If you are handy with tools, you can do it yourself, or hire a contractor. For a bathroom, typically the easiest places are in the basement, near the pipes. Or, you can try turning a walk-in closet into a bathroom.
  • Sprucing up existing bathrooms. If adding a bathroom isn’t an option, try sprucing up the bathrooms you do have. Update that boring old floor with some newer sheet vinyl or vinyl tiles, which are easy to replace. Even changing out the toilet seat can make a difference.
  • Upgrade the kitchen. This is one place where you might not want to go overboard. Many buyers want to customize the kitchen, so throwing a lot of money into this room might not be the most prudent thing to do. But, there are a couple cheap fixes to make it more attractive. For instance, you can add new handles to the cabinets and drawers. You can paint the outside of the cabinet and drawers as well. Updating the light fixture is another way to give it a modern feel.

Common maintenance items, such as fixing leaks in the roof, sealing cracks in the foundation and other tasks can also help boost the value of your home.

You should also do your research as to what the homes around you offer. For example, if most homes have two-and-a-half bathrooms and your home only has one-and-a-half, it may be worth it to add another full bathroom.

When you are ready to move on to your next home, Timberwood Bank can help with the financial side of things. Our mortgage lenders keep things simple to allow more time to focus on moving your family. Get in touch with any of our mortgage lenders today to get started!

 

Timberwood Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender

4 Financial Tips for Recent or Soon-to-Be Graduates

Financial advice for our area graduates

You’ve completed your last class, you have your cap and gown, and you are ready to finally hit the real world! Graduation can mark the transition between youth and adulthood, and as such, it carries a lot of unknowns. Timberwood Bank would like to take time in today’s blog to cover some financial dos and don’ts this year’s high school and college seniors should be aware of:

Continue reading →