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True to form, fraudsters never let a big news story go to waste! These bad actors stay on alert for opportunities to prey on the public for their own financial gain, and lately, they are impersonating banks and banking regulators to get your bank account information.
March is Credit Education Month and NDBT’s Director of Credit Operations, Allie Wadley, has prepared a series of videos with topics aimed to help you protect your credit. The four-part series will be released with an episode each week covering topics including how to maintain a healthy credit score, learn how to review your credit report for free, how to lock or freeze your credit report and provide secure, free resources to learn about credit in general.
February is National Heart Awareness month which brings attention to the community partners that support heart health and awareness. One such organization is Living for Zachary (L4Z). Living for Zachary’s mission is to raise awareness and prevent sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in youth. The organization was founded in honor of Zachary Schrah, who was only 16 years old when he collapsed without warning during a high school football practice in Plano on April 2, 2009. After Zachary’s death, his mother Karen founded Living for Zachary, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, in June of 2009.
New Year’s resolutions are typically created to help us focus on areas of our own personal improvement. It’s no wonder January is National Financial Wellness Month! Our financial experts share a variety of tips and steps you can take to help with that focus – from estate planning to personal financial statements and more – in this video series.
As NDBT pauses business along with many other great companies throughout the United States to observe, honor and celebrate Veterans Day, we’d like to share some thoughts from one of our own whose experiences, along with fellow NDBT professionals Lorie Swayze and Kelly Green, are just a few of the reasons we should be doing more than just “taking a day off.”
Cyber threats are more prevalent today then ever before. Being aware of the threats and how to identify them to protect your identity and the financial ramifications of a cyber-attack are all part of what is learned and shared annually during October’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
A small business owner recently approached with the question of whether the business could use the current market conditions to its’ advantage. As we explored options, refinancing their current debt made little sense, as rates are appreciably higher than when the debt was acquired. However, the time period following the debt acquisition allowed the company to experience significant growth and an enhanced cash flow.
While the temperatures continue to climb, so does the excitement around our NDBT Cares Program. This year, our banking professionals have already dedicated 118 hours of service to enrich the communities of Dallas and Collin counties. Serving our neighbors can take on many forms, from our canned food drive initiatives in Las Colinas/Irving to our bi-lingual budgeting classes in Frisco. NDBT Cares is just getting started!
The Federal Reserve‘s 12-member Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) took action on Wednesday, May 4th to increase the Fed Funds Rate by 50 basis points and reduce the Federal Reserve‘s bond holdings. The Fed Funds Rate is the interest rate at which overnight funds are lent between banks. The increase to the Fed Funds Rate was a response by the FOMC to what most of the population is already experiencing, higher prices. This response is one of the tools the Federal Reserve uses to influence the direction of interest rates in the US economy. The ½% increase in the Fed Funds rate was the largest move since 2000, and suggests the Fed is serious about bringing inflation under control.
The 25th annual National Teach Children to Save Day, sponsored by the American Bankers Association, falls on April 28 this year and it's a whole day dedicated to encouraging children to develop good money-saving habits. With an early start to saving and an understanding of budgeting their money, children will build life skills as they head into adulthood. In honor of a quarter-century of financial education, here are some tips and tricks you can use to get your little ones excited about personal finance.
If you have a tax refund coming your way this tax season, it's important to put that money to good use. However, there are a lot of options when it comes to spending it or saving it. It may be tempting to blow the extra paycheck all at once, but a tax refund is a great way to set yourself up for a brighter financial future. Check out these ways you can navigate that pile of cash wisely.
The recent war in Ukraine has gathered a lot of attention. Unfortunately, cybercriminals often take advantage of world events to prey on people’s emotions. Now more than ever, it’s important to watch out for phishing attacks and disinformation campaigns.
The holiday season is wrapping up and you may be facing some financial stress, but don’t let it follow you into the new year. Here are some tips and tricks to get you back on track financially in 2022 and prevent you from overspending when the holidays roll around again next year.
While the holiday season is a time full of surprises, don’t let financial stress be one of them. So sit back and relax with a warm cup of hot chocolate as we share advice to get you all the way to the new year with a heavy wallet.
The Holiday Season is just around the corner. Are you ready? If your initial response was ‘no,’ and your next thought was overwhelming dread toward the hoard of holiday-crazed shoppers not practicing proper social distancing, perhaps you need to think of alternative, moneywise gift options! In order to keep your budget, your sanity, and your immune system safe, we have compiled a list of some financial gift ideas that can benefit your loved ones for decades.
In less than six months, COVID-19 has transformed the world as we knew it, and its impact has been devastating. Sadly, scammers are using it to their advantage by taking opportunities to contact vulnerable consumers and attempting to steal personal banking and credit card information. Being proactive and informed is the most efficient way to combat the rise in these “COVID-19 scams.”
We here at NDBT have always held the belief that our customer’s cyber safety is paramount. Education and awareness of cyber fraud is more than important than ever due to the unfortunately growing industry. October is National Cybersecurity Awareness month, and in that spirit, we would like to familiarize you with a scam called Business Email Compromise.
Top Financial Scams
Grandparent/ Family Member Scam - Scammers target seniors posing as a grandchild or other family member and claim they have been in an accident, arrested, hospitalized or other urgent issues. The circumstances require money to be sent immediately to resolve the situation. You will probably be told not to talk to anyone regarding this emergency.
More Americans have turned to online shopping than ever before due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Even high-cost purchases that most people would typically buy in-person – like furniture, appliances, and even cars – are now purchased in high-demand online. To make sure your hard-earned money is well-spent, we’ve compiled our top 6 strategies for saving big when shopping online:
It’s no secret that we’re living in a tough economy. With businesses failing and jobs being lost due to COVID-19, it’s important now more than ever to implement smart spending strategies in your day-to-day life. Applying these small changes will not only save you money, but will also instill long-term financial habits that’ll have you more than prepared for the next pandemic, emergency or natural disaster.
Embarking on the road to homeownership can be an overwhelming prospect for first-time homebuyers, especially when answers to questions like, “Am I financially ready to purchase a home?” and “How do I know what I can and cannot afford?” linger in homebuyers’ minds. The following five tips explain how to make purchasing your first home an exciting, well-thought out, and enjoyable experience.
While budgeting is recommended for all who wish to stay on top of their money and avoid overspending, it is especially important for those who do not know what number will appear on their next paycheck. Whether you have been balancing a fluctuating income for years or are experiencing a financial impact from COVID-19, there are five steps you can take to ensure that your spending habits are stable, even if your income is not.
With the global pandemic COVID-19 disrupting economies and jobs around the world, there has never been a more urgent time to assess the state of your emergency savings fund, or build one if you have not already. Emergency funds function like a shock absorber, easing the effects of whatever bumps life might throw at you. Whether or not your income has been impacted in the recent weeks, having emergency savings set aside is essential to preventing the accumulation of debt. Follow the four tips below to quickly build on an existing emergency fund or start a new one, and lessen or prevent the weight of financial burden.
Balancing a credit score is just that, a balancing act. Being aware of all of the factors that affect your credit score can lead you toward achieving the score of your dreams, but letting a payment slip through the cracks or closing an unused credit card can negatively affect your score in a significant way. Paying your bills on time is perhaps the most influential factor in increasing your credit score, but, like the best things in life, achieving great credit takes time. In addition to paying your bills on time, implement these 5 tips to fast-track your journey toward excellent credit.
Remember the saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?” In an age where many industries are moving toward technology over people, thus, eliminating the need for human interaction, traditional banking methods have fallen by the wayside. Banking is a relationship that should be nurtured between individual and bank, rather than between an individual and their mobile device. These everyday-transactions mean more than just depositing checks and getting your hard-earned cash out of the bank -- it’s about personalized relationships that allow bankers to help customers’ ever-changing needs during every season of life.
As parents, most of our financial goals revolve around providing support and stability for our families. Of course, we all want our children to live comfortable lives, but it’s just as important to raise them to become financially stable adults when they leave the nest. Here are four tips to encourage your teenager to be money-wise before they head off to college.
Starting your own business is a challenge in itself, and this is especially true for younger professionals who may not be as established in their careers. In order to get your new venture off the ground, be proactive about building a strong financial strategy from the start. Here are some factors to consider before taking that next step.
By Allen Hudson, president of the Dallas Banking Center at NDBT.
Here are some simple and easy-to-follow tips from the Texas Bankers Association & Texas Department of Banking to help keep your online accounts secure.