Celebrating Financial Literacy Month

Establishing and maintaining healthy financial habits is an important part of daily life, but collectively, American knowledge of the subject has been severely lacking. Multiple studies and surveys found that kids, teenagers, and young adults were not being taught how to manage personal finances, credit cards, retirement funds, or debt by their parents or by the education system. A study Bank of America conducted showed that only 16% of Americans ages 18-26 feel optimistic about their financial future.^[1]

Valentine’s Day Spending Trends

Consumer behavior is an important economic driving force. Although holidays are never about gift-giving or spending money, these cultural norms are still major factors for the economy. V Day is a staple day for retail industries like floral, candy, and jewelry. To get a deeper look at just how much we are spending, who is spending it, and what we are spending it on, we turned to NRF (National Retail Federation), who has surveyed consumers about Valentine’s Day plans annually for almost 20 years. 

Entrepreneurship Increasing During the Pandemic

While the economic effects of coronavirus have led to business closures, job losses, and a drop in GDP, some are taking this as an opportunity to pursue passions and take risks. That’s right, entrepreneurship is on the rise. Americans are starting businesses at the fastest rate in more than a decade. As of September 2020, applications for EIN numbers had surpassed 3.2 million for the year¹, with over 500,000 of said applications occurring from mid-Mach to the end of May alone². This number is, unironically, up 500,000 compared to the year prior¹.

Is there still marketplace demand for Christmas Club accounts?

Christmas Club accounts (or Holiday Club accounts) are short-term savings accounts offered by financial institutions to help consumers set aside money for holiday expenditures. These accounts take a designated amount from each paycheck throughout the year and set it aside in the holiday account. This amount could be as small as 5 or 10 dollars per paycheck.

Black Friday 2020 Spending Trends

Thanksgiving and Black Friday are just around the corner! Traditional Black Friday proceedings will undoubtedly be different this year, however, research from Periscope by McKinsey reveals that Black Friday will still be the most popular shopping event this holiday season.

Teslar Software Predicts Next Steps, Opportunities for Business Lending in 2021

Teslar Software, a provider of automated workflow and portfolio management tools designed to help community financial institutions thrive, today shined a light on predictions and opportunities for community bankers to develop their business relationships in 2021.

Veteran's Day 2020

Today we honor those who have served and continue to serve our country. Words cannot begin to express our gratitude for the repeated sacrifices veterans have made on our behalf.

In this post, we would like to honor the veterans within our company, Jason McKenzie and Donny Drummonds who both served in the United States Army.

PPP Fraud Continues

While the number still remains small, the amount of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud cases continues to rise.

PPP loans have provided a much-needed lifeline to many small businesses, non-profits, and sole proprietors during the Coronavirus pandemic, however the rushed creation of this program is starting to show its negative side effects. Just this week, we’ve seen two new arrests in relation to PPP fraud.

Why you might not be eligible for PPP loan forgiveness

The coverage of the Paycheck Protection Program and PPP forgiveness has been so vast that many of the additional loans, grants, and other aid given since Coronavirus shutdowns began in March have been brushed to the side. With such a focus on the forgiveness of PPP loans, many loan recipients who received additional government aid may be in for a shock when they determine their forgiveness amount.

Should You Wait to Apply for PPP Forgiveness?

The Paycheck Protection Program is top of mind for many small businesses, CPAs, and lenders. Understandably, many loan recipients are chomping at the bit to begin the forgiveness process and have some certainty regarding their payback amount. While the eagerness to get the PPP forgiveness process started is not unfounded, experts are advising against getting in a rush to apply. There are many reasons waiting might be the best option.