Top Floor

Good Credit is the key to a solid financial future, which is by tips to build good credit is critically important. When establishing financial fitness goals it’s easier to build a credit score than to repair a bad one.

Having a good credit history is key to any financial plan. Credit scores take into consideration years of past behavior, so it’s important to establish a history of responsible credit practices and build your score by maintaining good habits.

Here are 7 of the best ways to improve your credit score.

• If you are just beginning to establish your credit history, open a checking account and keep careful track of your balance.
• Use debit and credit cards for convenience and safety, but not to overspend. Missed or late payments damage your credit and hurt your credit score.
• A good mix of credit (i.e., a revolving credit line and an installment loan) also boosts your credit score and further demonstrates that you can manage different types of credit.
• Demonstrate stability in the three to six months before a major purchase. Avoid opening or closing accounts or moving large amounts of money around.
• Build an emergency fund equal to at least six months of living expenses. If the unexpected happens, you will still be able to pay fixed expenses instead of falling behind.  
• Alter your credit focus as you approach lifecycle stages. As you near retirement, for example, start paying down major purchases (such as a mortgage).
• Monitor your credit regularly so you can correct any errors and detect any potential signs of identity theft. Order a copy of your credit report annually from www.annualcreditreport.com.

Source: Independent Community Bankers of America

Saving money is kind of like eating a healthy diet. You know you should do more of it, but it’s hard to resist making spur-of-the-moment choices that make you happier now but worse off later. A tax refund marks a great chance to set yourself in a better position for the future. If you’re getting a windfall from the IRS, here are a dozen great ways to make sure your money continues to work for you.

1. Create an emergency fund
   Many Americans don’t have an adequate savings account accessible in case of a sudden financial need. A lack of savings leaves you vulnerable to a job loss, medical emergency or major repair and can force you to seek out short-term loans at high interest rates or carry credit card balances for an extended period. Using your refund to start or augment an emergency fund could leave you breathing easier should one of those events arise.
2. Send it to savings
   The IRS allows you to split up your refund in up to three accounts via direct deposit. That’s a perfect opportunity to stash some funds in a savings account that’s inconvenient for you to access, assuring that the money stays out of sight and out of mind until you really need it. If you maintain an account at a bank near a former residence without a branch nearby, augmenting your balance there can keep it safe from impulse buys.
3. Pay off debt
   If you are carrying a credit card balance, consider using your tax refund to pay that off. It doesn’t make much financial sense to put the IRS check for $3,000 in a fund yielding 1% interest and maintain a $3,000 balance on a credit card account charging 18% interest. Going this route allows you to put more money in the bank every month once those minimum payments vanish from your list of bills.
4. Fund your retirement
   What better way to sock money away for retirement than by using funds that aren’t a part of your paycheck anyway? You can use the funds to purchase or augment a ROTH or traditional IRA, which sequesters your money away for when you’re no longer on the job. At that point, you’ll probably be grateful that you had the foresight to save for retirement rather than spend it on something you’d have long since forgotten about.
5. Look to the future
   You’re not the only one who needs to prepare for retirement. Your kids can also start to plan now. Given the power of compounded interest, starting young is the best approach for well-funded golden years. Your children are allowed to contribute up to $6,500 for an IRA in 2023, or $7,000 in 2024, as long as they have that much earned income. Moreover, you can be the one funding the account as long as your child is the one who earned the money – a win-win for any kid.
6. Seed the college fund
   If you have children or grandchildren, you’d be doing them a huge favor by saving your refund in a college fund for their benefit. Setting up a 529 plan can help them afford a higher education in an era where rising costs leave many saddled with massive debt along with the diploma. In some cases, you may even be able to pick up a deduction on your state income taxes for your trouble.
7. Invest in the stock market
   Historically, the stock market has offered greater return on investment than savings accounts, CDs or bonds. While its fluctuations make it a risky choice for money you’ll likely need in the coming months, the long-term outlook makes it a better option if you don’t have an immediate financial need. Pick individual stocks or select an index fund that moves up and down along with the market.
8. Kickstart your career
   A tax refund can be the tool you need to take your career prospects to the next level. If you’re noticing that those co-workers getting promoted all seem to have programming skills or experience working with databases, the refund check can go toward tuition for courses in those subjects. By taking advantage of the Lifetime Learning credit, you may be able to use the costs of the course to take money off your taxes again next year.
9. Prepay your mortgage
   Making extra payments on your mortgage can be a great way to save money over the long term. Because so much of your payment on a long-term note goes to pay off the interest, reducing the principal can have an exponential effect over the life of the loan. Even an extra payment or two now can make a big difference in your future obligation to the bank.
10. Start a business
    You don’t have to quit your current job to start your own business. If you’ve always wanted to your knack for finding treasures at yard sales into a business selling the finds online, or you want to take advantage of your woodworking talent to craft and sell handmade furniture, a tax refund can provide the seed money to build up inventory, design a website or online store, or otherwise allow you to turn a hobby into a money-making enterprise.
11. Make home improvements
    If you live in an older home, spending some that refund around the house can lower energy bills. Replacing old windows can improve the efficiency of your air conditioning in the summer and reduce your electric bill. Old appliances can be replaced by models that use less energy. If your kitchen or bathroom is out of date a remodeling project can improve the functionality of your house now and also make it more attractive when you decide to sell.
12. Buy life insurance
    Life insurance can be easy to overlook, particularly for younger workers confident that they have plenty of time to worry about that. But particularly for those who are married with families, a term life policy can provide protection for loved ones at a relatively low cost. For the cost of a few hundred dollars, your tax refund can allow your family to maintain its standard of living if the unthinkable happens.

_{The above article is intended to provide generalized financial information designed to educate a broad segment of the public; it does not give personalized tax, investment, legal, or other business and professional advice. Before taking any action, you should always seek the assistance of a professional who knows your particular situation for advice on taxes, your investments, the law, or any other business and professional matters that affect you and/or your business.}

Sources:
1. Intuit Turbotax

How to Find Your Check Routing Number

Finding your 9-digit check routing number is useful when you’re setting up direct deposits or automatic payments.

At the bottom of your check are 3 groups of numbers: your routing number, account number and check number.

Routing number

The bank’s routing number is the first set of numbers in the lower left corner of your check. Routing numbers (or sometimes also called an ABA number) are 9-digits that are used to identify the financial institution associated with your account.

The character symbol around the numbers is not part of the routing number on a check. Routing numbers are public. Bank Five Nine’s routing number is 075902421
You can also find our routing number at the bottom of our website in the right hand corner.

Account number

You’ll find your account number on your check immediately after the routing number. It’s the longer of the last 2 groups of numbers.  You can see it by looking at your personal checks or signing in to your account online. Your account number is private and unique to your bank account.

Check number

The check number is usually the last set of numbers on your personal check. It’s also the shortest set of numbers on the check, typically 3 or 4 digits long. Your check number helps you keep track of which check you’re writing. This number it is also listed on the top right of your check.

*This is a sample check.

Sometimes, due to layoffs, business failures, miscalculations or even fraud, some people’s credit ratings can fall. They may miss payments, the major credit rating agencies take note of this, and it goes on their records — typically for seven years.

The net effect is to lower their FICO credit scores. This is a combination of 49 individual ratings to form a simple score from 300 to 850. Banks and credit agencies generally use it to decide if you are worthy of a loan — and what interest rate you’ll pay. People with higher scores pay lower rates and get quicker approvals, so scores are important.

Verify Your Credit Rating

The first thing a borrower would want to do upon learning they have a “credit problem,” or lower score, is to check it out for oneself. There are a number of services available to provide you with credit reports at little or no charge, and you can write to the three major credit agencies once a year to get a credit report under U.S. law. Checking your credit rating actually lowers it slightly, so you don’t want to check too often.  

Your first concern is to make sure that your credit is accurate. Mistakes happen. Sometimes you pay a bill and the wrong account is credited. There may be negative reports on your credit card that may not belong there, hurting your score.

Pros and Cons of Credit Fixing Agencies

Many people pay a service to fix their credit report by encouraging companies to remove their negative reports by contesting them. But these systems often charge very high fees and make huge claims to their effectiveness that may not be borne out by reality, according to the U.S. government.

There are times when these services do make sense, particularly if you are looking to make a very major investment, like trying to close on a million-dollar home. Your interest rate could have serious impact on your cash flow — thus justifying extraordinary means to fix your score — but select a vendor carefully.

Do-It-Yourself Credit Fixes

Essentially, when it comes to fixing bad credit, you hold the power to help yourself, but it takes time, effort and patience. Once you identify a mistake on your credit report, you should call the company you allegedly owe, and try to straighten things out.

Typically these will not be satisfied with one call. You will likely have to mail them documents supporting your case, showing either that you are not the person who incurred the debt, or that you have made the payment in question. It is important to have dated copies of all correspondence in a file in case you need to refer back to them later.

Most companies are reasonable if presented with proof that an error has been made; however, there are times when legal assistance becomes necessary. This need and your cost varies by the complexity of the case, severity of the error and amount of money at stake.

Getting Back On The Road To Good Credit

In addition to physically correcting mistakes on your financial records, you may badly need to clean up your act financially. Here a bankruptcy attorney may be able to help you restructure your debt and protect yourself from creditors, and retired accountants in your area may be willing to advise you as you work to negotiate on your own with individual vendors to whom you owe money. Be cautious of debt consolidation companies, as not all have your (best) interests in mind.

Many vendors will allow you to make small payments over a longer period of time. Some, notably hospitals, may have special programs for those who cannot afford to pay their bills, but you have to apply to these and follow through on your agreements.

The easiest way to improve your credit rating is to start paying your bills on time. In fact, opening one credit card, using it, and paying it on time EVERY MONTH is a great way to re-establish credit. Of course, building up a new pile of debt is a big mistake.

Essentially you want to start making your payments on time, and you want to lower your credit card debt substantially by making regular payments over time. Some say to pay down the credit card with the highest interest rate first to save the most money. Alternately, if you pay off the card with the smallest balance first, you will remove one monthly minimum payment as soon as possible. Do the math yourself and see what saves you the most money.

Feel free to cut up credit cards so you won’t be tempted to use them (be sure you won’t need it). However, don’t close the credit card account because that too lowers your score. The length of time you hold a card is used to calculate your score, so keep the account.

When you deposit money in a bank at a branch, you need to fill out a deposit slip to direct the funds to the right account. 

The process of filling out parts of a deposit slip varies depending on what you’re doing. For example, cash and checks go in different sections, and getting cashback from your deposit requires an additional step.  The good news is that how to fill out a bank deposit slip is pretty easy, and the steps are below!

Steps on How to Fill Out a Bank Deposit Slip:

1. Provide personal information, including your name and your account number.
2. Fill in additional details such as the date.
3. If you are cashing the check or any part of the check, it is also required you sign the signature line.
4. List the cash amount of your deposit, if any. This is the total amount of currency (paper bills and coins) that you’ve brought for depositing into your account. You’ll notice separate boxes for each entry. The box on the far right is for the decimal (or “cents”) portion, and the next box to the left is for the full dollar amount. If you don’t have anything to deposit, leave this section blank.
5. List checks individually, including the check number and amount of each check.  Each individual check gets its own line. There’s space for you to enter the check number next to the dollar amount of each check, which helps you and your bank keep track of each item.  (If you need additional room or have several checks, you can continue this on the section on the back of the slip).  If you don’t have anything to deposit, leave this section blank.
6. If you are depositing money but also would like some of the cashback, list the amount of cashback you want to receive in the Less Cash Received section.
7. Add up deposits for a subtotal. This is the total amount of cash and checks that you want to deposit.

Mobile Deposits

If you’re making a remote deposit with your mobile device, you don’t need to know the parts of a deposit slip.
Typically you’ll just confirm the dollar amount and review the account and routing information from the check. Click here to learn more about Bank Five Nine’s Mobile Banking.

Funds Availability

When can you actually spend the money you deposit?  All banks have a funds availability policy, which explains how long you need to wait to spend the money. Click here to read Bank Five Nine’s fund’s availability policy.

Generally, Bank Five Nine makes funds from your deposit available to you on the first business day after the day we receive your deposit. Electronic direct deposits will be available on the day we receive the deposit. Once the funds are available, you may withdraw the funds in cash and we will use the funds to paychecks you have written. Exceptions for this occur during weekends (Saturdays and Sundays), Federal Holidays, and during other delays.  Another great way to know how much you can spend is to check your available balance or ask a Bank Five Nine teller when the funds will become available.

Find yourself at a Bank Five Nine branch with questions? We are happy to help with any questions regarding how to fill out a bank deposit slip! We welcome any questions you may have, big or small.