Students!!

Happy Thursday Readers!

I wanted to take this Thursday to let you know about an awesome back-to-school offering we have here at Systematic Savings Bank. It’s for a limited time though, so hurry in!

We know the first week of school is hectic. Summer comes to an end; you get last minute supplies and then all of the sudden you dive into textbooks, classes, and studying on top of part-time jobs or extracurricular activities.

Systematic Savings Bank has got your back. We know just what you need to help make this semester’s transition a little smoother: espresso.

Now when you open a checking account with us, we’ll give you a $10 gift card to Springfield’s downtown coffee shop, The Mud House. Limit one per person. Offer ends December 31, 2012. Never been to the Mud House? Now’s the perfect time to check it out! For starters, here’s their website: http://www.mudhousecoffee.com/.  Their lobby is just about as cool and comfortable a space as ours. Get your gift card from us, get a free coffee from them, and find yourself a weekly study spot on one of their couches or even one of ours!



Inside the Mud House!



For more information, call us at 417-862-5036 or stop by our 318 South Avenue location and grab yourself some of our chocolate chip cookies, baked daily!

Choosing an account that works best for you

Choosing the right bank account takes knowing your own financial habits and doing a little bit of research. Once you have done so though, you may find that you save yourself money by avoiding unnecessary fees on certain accounts – like we talked about in last week’s blog (http://mysystematic.blogspot.com/2012/08/bank-fees.html). There are abundant options for you to choose from in accounts, you just have to know where and how to look. Or come by and discuss your needs with us, we’d love to help. Don’t limit yourself to a standard checking or savings account, check out certificates of deposit or money market accounts. Also, make sure you research credit unions or other alternative financial institutions. You don’t have to stick with a traditional bank, but you should stick with a business you trust and have an account that serves you and your needs, rather than having to serve the account or institution. It’s all about being well informed. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC,  wrote a short article on 10 questions you need to ask yourself before choosing an account and tips to help you narrow down the choices. I’ve provided the informational link below. I think it contains some useful information to help you get started:

http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnsum12/chooseaccount.html

If you have any additional questions about finding the right account for you, or have questions about any of our accounts here at Systematic Savings Bank, don’t hesitate to give us a call or stop by our 318 South Avenue location and help yourself to some fresh coffee or cookies. We’d love to chat with you. Our number is 417-862-5036. Some of our information is online at www.MySystematic.com, check that out too!

Bank fees

Do you know what bank fees you’re paying? Knowing that banks may charge fees for certain behaviors and transactions on your account and understanding specifically what you can do to avoid those fees at your bank, can save you money. Nessa Feddis, vice president and senior counsel at the American Bankers Association, says that the fees banks impose are created because banks now offer their customers more services than ever before – like ATMs and online banking – services that cost the banks money. Many of the fees you’ll find though are unnecessary and avoidable. There may be charges for returned mail, foreign transactions, receiving paper statements, using over the maximum allotted electronic funds transfers, or more. Don’t pay your bank more than you need to, and don’t bank with a financial institution you don’t trust to keep you informed of these fees.

U.S. News spoke to banking experts to shed light on lesser-known bank fees and provide ways to avoid them. I’ve posted a few below:

1.       Early account closure fee.

Many banks require you to have your account open for a certain amount of time before closing it, or else you will get slapped with a fee. To avoid that early closure fee, make sure your keep your account open past the minimum period.

2.       Monthly or annual maintenance fee.

A number of banks charge monthly or annual maintenance fees for certain accounts. For example, a regular checking account at Bank of America comes with a $12 monthly maintenance fee. However, if you fulfill any number of requirements, such as maintain a minimum daily balance in checking of $750 or more; you can get the fee waived. Check your bank's policy to see if you're being charged a maintenance fee and to find out ways to avoid it.

3.       Minimum Balance Fee.

Some banks charge a monthly fee for customers with low account balances. To avoid a minimum balance fee, review your bank’s policy to see what amount you need to maintain.

4.       Returned Deposit Fee.

If you deposit a check that bounces, your bank could charge a fee. Some banks will charge 12 or 15 dollars per returned deposit item (or bounced check)! Many small banks and credit unions don’t tag on a returned deposit fee; you might want to look into changing your bank if you think you’re going to encounter a lot of bounced checks.

5.       Lost debit card fee.

Most banks charge you to get a replacement card, and if you’ve misplaced your debit card, the fee may be unavoidable. To lessen the blow, you don’t have to request expedited delivery on your new card – some banks charge extra for rush orders – you can simply use cash for payments or a different card while you’re waiting for the new one. 

6.       Paper statement fee.

Receiving paper statements could be costing you. A lot of banks say that paper statements are expensive to produce and they are not environmentally friendly, so banks will try to dissuade people from getting them by placing a fee. U.S. Bank charges customers up to $2 a month on some checking accounts for paper statements. You have the option to search for a bank that doesn’t charge a fee for paper statements or signing up for electronic statements. Most banks provide electronic statements free of charge.

7.       Returned mail fee.

When you move, a mail forwarding request with your post office may not be good enough for your bank. Many banks print "return service requested" on their envelopes, so your mail gets sent back to the bank if it can't be delivered, upon which a number of banks charge a fee. U.S. Bank, for example, charges a $5 fee for the second and subsequent months that a statement is undeliverable. Make sure you update your address with your bank upon moving.

8.       Human teller fee.

Some banks even charge a fee for using a person to handle certain transactions. For a Bank of America checking account, there's no fee when you choose online paperless statements and make your deposits and withdrawals online or with an ATM. However, if you use a teller, you have to pay the monthly maintenance fee of $8.95. To avoid this, make sure you seek out bank accounts that don’t levy this charge. Also, choose an account that aligns with your behavior.

It’s a goal here at Systematic to keep our friends and customers informed on all important banking policies, so that you can make informed decisions about your financial needs. We’re not hiding anything.

If you have any questions about this blog or suggestions for next week, don’t hesitate to comment below!  

All about community

With the London 2012 Olympics well underway, communities are banding together to watch and support Team USA. It is events like these that really make us proud of the country we call home. As important as it is to support our country, it is also important to support our individual communities. For instance, I’ve learned about several advantages to community banks from icba.org that I’d like to share with you. According to the Independent Community Bankers of America:

• Community banks focus attention on the needs of local families, businesses and farmers. Conversely, many of the nation's megabanks are structured to place a priority on serving large corporations.
• Unlike many larger banks that may take deposits in one state and lend in others, community banks channel most of their loans to the neighborhoods where their depositors live and work, helping to keep local communities vibrant and growing.
• Community bank officers are generally accessible to their customers on-site. CEOs at megabanks are often headquartered in office suites, away from daily customer dealings.
• Community bank officers are typically deeply involved in local community affairs, while large-bank officers are likely to be detached physically and emotionally from the communities where their branches are located.
• Many community banks are willing to consider character, family history and discretionary spending in making loans. Megabanks, on the other hand, often apply impersonal qualification criteria, such as credit scoring, to all loan decisions without regard to individual circumstances.
• Community banks offer nimble decision-making on business loans because decisions are made locally. Megabanks must often convene loan-approval committees in another state.
• Because community banks are themselves small businesses, they understand the needs of small-business owners. Their core concern is lending to small businesses and farms. The core concern of the mega banks is corporate America.

Systematic Savings Bank is Springfield’s home town bank and a member FDIC. Stop by for a cup of hot coffee or cookies, made daily! We're here for you.

Keeping Balance

Nowadays people have greater access to their financial records than ever before, whether through mobile apps, online banking or text banking. Yet as I learned through internet research, many people still struggle to keep track of their checking account balance and it makes since why. It seems silly to have to record your spending in a paper checkbook or on an Excel spreadsheet when you can check your funds virtually anywhere and at anytime, but it’s important, probably more now than ever, to keep track of your accounts and their balances.

Why? Here are a few good reasons:

·         Balancing your checkbook verifies that your records match the financial institution’s records.

·         The financial institution could make mistakes. It’s important to double-check all work, even your own!

·         If you make a mistake or forget to post a transaction in your register, you may start bouncing checks and incurring fees.

·         If there is a problem and you already balance your checkbook weekly or monthly, you won't need to wade through months of transactions to figure it out.

·         Even if you use your debit card for a purchase, the first amount that is held on your account may not be the full amount. Many tips aren’t added to the purchase price until the merchant settlement process is finished, which may not occur until a few days after the pending item first appears. You may then be caught with less in your account than your online balance shows.

In order to keep your balance in check, follow these simple steps:

1.      Record your purchases and withdrawals even when using your debit card.

2.      Record deposits

3.      Calculate your balance

Need help starting the process? Try http://quicken.intuit.com/personal-finance-software/mint-online-money-management.jsp. It’s a personal finance site that helps you organize your money and stay on top of your cash flow. By using a program like Quicken and self-balancing your transactions, you can triple-check your accounts’ balance against the figures in your online or mobile financial records.