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New Online Tools Help Simplify
Personal Financial Management
Following the recent recession, cutting back on spending and becoming more budget conscious has become a routine for many of you. Managing your finances - especially if you have multiple bank accounts, mutual funds, credit cards or loans - can take a great deal of time. In addition to time, you often have to remember many logins and passwords to access your various online accounts.
When dealing with multiple financial providers, viewing your full financial picture becomes more challenging and time consuming. How simple and convenient would it be for you to have just one place to monitor balances, track spending and pay bills?
 Personal financial management tools aggregate or "pool" your account information online from various financial institutions - banks, credit card companies and investment firms to name a few. Your account balances are updated each time you sign-in. Therefore, you know where your finances stand at any given time. With a single password you are able to access multiple accounts and simplify money management.
Using data from different accounts, personal financial management tools provide you with a 360-degree view of your finances that can be customized according to your needs and goals. For example, you can quickly view your monthly or annual entertainment spending by pooling data from multiple checking accounts and credit cards.
Finance Works, the financial management tool available to you from The Peoples Community Bank, allows you to perform a number of helpful tasks including:
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Categorizing income and expenses. Understand your spending habits by assigning categories to payments such as automotive, home repair, daycare, utilities and more.
- Performing advanced searches. Search your transaction history by category, description, date and dollar amount.
- Receiving transaction-based alerts. Know when a particular check clears, when a deposit over a certain amount is made or when a transaction posts from a particular store.
- Creating and viewing reports. See where you are spending your money with bar and pie chart reports that are generated from your personal data.
Finance Works also helps you save time and money at tax time. Instead of saving receipts in a shoebox throughout the year, you can login to Finance Works and create reports. These reports can list expenses by amount, date and payee to streamline the process of adding up deductions for your tax return.
Finance Works can also provide an educational tool for your children. By allowing for various ways to organize and view financial data, kids have a user-friendly platform to monitor their funds and spending habits.
As a consumer, your financial needs change and evolve. As a bank, we continue to change with products and services that make your banking experience as simple, convenient and practical as possible.
Finance Works provides you with an interactive online presentation of your financial life. It's free and requires only an Online Banking account. We invite you to experience the simplicity and convenience of Finance Works today. |
Reviewing Beneficiaries Ensures
That Your Wishes Are Met
 When was the last time you reviewed the beneficiary designations on your retirement accounts and life insurance policies? For most of us, the answer is "I can't remember."
Reviewing your beneficiaries can help ensure that your money is left with family members, close friends or organizations that you choose to inherit your assets. Stale beneficiary designations can create significant expense and heartache if left undetected; and become irrevocable once a death has occurred.
Life insurance policies require a named beneficiary. In that these policies may have been purchased decades prior to the eventual benefit payment, they can easily become lost or misplaced over the years. You should take the time now to locate these documents and file them in a secure place, either a safe deposit box or a fireproof safe. You should also take time to confirm that the contact information for the insurance carrier is current as it is not uncommon for the policy to be serviced by a new company. Additionally, you may find policies that have expired or matured.
Like life insurance policies, retirement accounts also require the naming of a beneficiary. In the event that a prior employer still has a retirement or pension plan in place with obligations to you, take the time to contact them. If one exists, it may be time to consolidate that plan with current retirement accounts if permitted by the plan. If consolidation is not feasible, make certain that your beneficiary information still reflects your wishes.
You should also review other personal retirement accounts or plans that you have an interest in. These include Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP, 401k, and 403b accounts. Each of these plans has one or more named beneficiaries.
Other insurance contracts, such as annuities, can have beneficiary designations. While these contracts can be established as retirement accounts, they can also be purchased with after-tax dollars. Either requires a named beneficiary. Policies such as disability or long-term care may also have beneficiary designations for residual benefits.
Once you have reviewed your beneficiary designations to ensure that they reflect your wishes, you should share that information and the location of policies with your financial advisor, attorney and/or a close family member.
Taking time now to make necessary corrections will assure your loved ones that your wishes are being met. For a free, no obligation review, contact Mike Peterson or Nancy Cullen in our Investment Center to review your beneficiary designations and make certain that they are up-to-date. |
Grand Prize Drawing Winner
Congratulations to Tom Wick, our final Grand Prize Winner for 2009! Tom is the lucky winner of a prepaid, $250 VISA gift card! We will continue to draw a customer's name, once per quarter, from our list of E-Alert Program subscribers. If you subscribe to this free service, we thank you for keeping in touch with your friends at the bank.
Also, remember that when you receive, hear about or are victim to possible identity theft attempts, please contact your personal banker or any representative at the bank. We will help spread the word as quickly as possible. The team approach to identity protection -- Simply Good Banking. |
Cut-Off Time Extended -
Bank Hours Adjusted
As you know, advances in technology have changed the way that many of us now conduct banking transactions. Recognizing these changing preferences, we are making several changes, which are designed to improve your banking experience or that reflect changing demands on bank lobbies and drive-ups.
Starting April 1, the daily cut-off time extends one hour, from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm. This affords you one additional hour each day to get that deposit in before your check clears.
In addition, lobby and drive-up hours adjust as follows:
Lobby Hours (all locations):
Monday - Friday, 8:30-5:00
Saturday, 8:30-Noon
Drive-Up Hours*:
Monday - Friday, 8:00-6:00
Saturday, 8:00-Noon
*The Mazomanie drive-up is open
Monday - Friday, 7:00-6:00. |
New Call Center
Starting April 1, a new call center is open to handle your telephone calls more efficiently. Staffed by a group of specialists, your calls to all bank offices are fielded by employees who are able to respond to anything from balance inquiries, password resets, product or service inquiries, or detailed questions concerning online banking. Should you wish to speak to a specific individual, we'll simply transfer your call. |
Reverse Mortgages Can Provide Additional
Financial Relief During Retirement Years
Today, people are living longer, market corrections have decreased net worth and health care costs are skyrocketing. Retirees, many of whom have taken great pride in keeping up with their financial obligations throughout life, are finding fewer options to create cash-flow.
Although typically used as a last resort, reverse mortgages can provide additional financial relief and security for some people during retirement years.
 A reverse mortgage is a tool for homeowners age 62 or better that allows them to draw on the accumulated equity in their homes. With a traditional mortgage, you make payments to the lender. With a reverse mortgage, the lender can make payments to you. Payments can be customized according to your needs. For example, you can choose to receive payments monthly, get a lump sum payment up-front, open a line of credit, or combine these three options to suit you best.
To qualify for a reverse mortgage you must be living in the home. There are no credit qualifications, down payment requirements or income restrictions for applicants. The amount you can borrow depends on the value of your home, your age and the prevailing interest rate.
You can use the money you receive for any purpose you choose. Typically, those with reverse mortgages use the money to supplement retirement income, pay off debt, or help pay for a grandchild's college tuition. Money received is generally considered a loan from the lender so the proceeds are not taxable. However, those receiving Medicaid and Social Security income may be affected under certain conditions. (Please check with your financial advisor for details).
With a reverse mortgage, you remain in your home as long as you choose to do so. When you and/or your spouse no longer live in the home, the property is sold and the loan is repaid.
If you are age 62 or better, learning more about reverse mortgages can provide you with another option to create additional cash flow and financial security during your retirement years. Contact any of our mortgage lenders to learn more about reverse mortgage options available to you. |
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Jean Days Help Local Charities
The Peoples Community Bank salutes staff for doing the simple things that help raise funds for local charities. For the past several years, one particular program, "Jean Days," has raised more than $1,000 annually for organizations in the communities we serve.
Here's how the program works. Each year, we designate a set number of Fridays as "Jean Days," which means employees can wear blue jeans to work. The only requirement is that they donate $5 into a pool of funds. At the end of the day, these funds are packaged for delivery to an organization, in one of our communities, selected by our staff. An average Jean Day raises more than $200 and we have fun in the process! |
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New Website Coming Soon
This Summer, we will be unveiling a new website design that will offer easier navigation to help you locate specific information or contact the bank more quickly. Please stay tuned! | |
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THE PEOPLES COMMUNITY BANK - 222 W. Commercial St., Mazomanie, WI 53560 Toll free: 800-795-2151 Phone: 608-795-2120 Fax: 608-795-2133 www.thepeoplescommunitybank.com This newsletter does not constitute tax, legal, accounting or other professional advice. We attempt to be accurate, but neither we nor any other party shall be held liable for loss or damages resulting from reliance upon or use of this material.
© 2009 The Peoples Community Bank | |
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