Author: Chelsea Culp

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and FNB wants to bring you valuable weekly tips and information that will help you protect your good name.  Your accounts, social security number, and personal identification information doesn’t come with a built-in alarm, so we’re bringing you a variety of weekly tips to help keep your money and identity safe.  We encourage you to stay tuned to GrowWithFNB.com throughout October and let’s #BeCyberSmart.

Welcome to Week 1 of FNB’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month Tips.  Our first focus is bringing you a Cybersecurity Awareness overview that you can apply at home and at work.  There’s a common misconception that individuals and small businesses in rural America are immune to cybersecurity attacks.  The statistics are staggering and prove quite the opposite.

Phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending emails claiming to be from reputable companies and people in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.  Here’s the scary part.  To protect yourself from a Phishing attempt, you must be correct 100% of the time.  It’s always best to be cautious.  By simply clicking on a link in a phishing attempt, you can instantly have malware deployed on your computer.

Malware is software that is specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system.  Out of all the phishing attempts, 94%+ malware is delivered via email.  The best rule of thumb when protecting yourself from phishing attacks is to look before you leap.  Do not click on any links or open attachments contained in the suspicious email.  Do not enter personal information in a pop-up screen, as legitimate companies do not use this method for collecting information.  From there, you can delete or not respond to the suspicious e-mail.

At FNB, we encourage you to utilize free resources that help protect you against cybercrime.  We encourage you to check out the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team’s (US-CERT) website.  You can sign up to receive text and e-mail security tips, alerts, and bulletins, as well as information and training for home and small business users.  We recommend you to check out the following links to access the large variety of resources: https://us-cert.cisa.gov/home-and-business and https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/tips.

It’s always the right time to create a saving and spending plan (aka a budget). It’s also a good idea to revisit that plan annually or when a major shift occurs in your income or expenses.

We’ve created an easy to use, but thorough, Spending and Saving Plan tool to use. Before you get started, here are some tips to help you #ThinkLikeASaver, ensuring that your money is working smarter and harder for you.

Step 1. Determine your income.

To create an effective budget, you need to know exactly how much money you’re bringing in each month. Calculate your monthly income by adding your paychecks and any other source of income that you receive regularly. Be sure to use your net pay rather than your gross pay. Your net pay is the amount you receive after taxes and other allocations, like retirement savings, are deducted.

Step 2. Track both your expenses and your spending.

This step is essential. It’s not enough to write out your actual expenses, like rent or mortgage, food, and auto insurance, you must also track what you are spending.

If you’ve ever felt like your money “just disappears,” you’re not the only one. Tracking your spending is a great way to find out exactly where your money goes. Spending $10 a day on parking or $5 every morning for coffee doesn’t sound like much until you calculate the total cost per month.

Tracking your spending will help you pinpoint the areas you may be overspending and help you quickly identify where you can make cost-efficient cuts.

Once you’ve written out your expenses and tracked your spending habits, you’re ready for the next step.

Step 3. Set your financial goals.

Now you get to look at your present financial situation and habits and decide what you want your future to look like. Ask yourself what’s most important to you right now? What financial goals do you want to achieve?

Some common goals include building an emergency fund, paying down debt, purchasing a home or car, saving for education, and retirement.

Step 4. Decrease your spending or increase your income.

What if you set your financial goals and realize there’s not enough money left at the end of the month to save for the things you want?

You essentially have two choices. You can either change the way you manage your current income or add a new source of income. In today’s gig economy, it’s easier than ever to add a stream of income, but we know that everyone’s situation is different, and that’s not always an option.

Even if you can add income, you may have identified some spending habits you’d like to change by decreasing how much you spend.

Take a look back at your expense tracking. For the nonessential items, consider reducing your spending. For example, if you find that you are spending quite a bit on entertainment, like movies or dining out, reduce the number of times you go per month.

Then apply the money that’s been freed up to your savings goals.

For more ideas on how to increase your savings, read 54 Ways to Save.

Step 5. Stick to your plan.

Make sure you stick to your spending and savings plan. To make saving more efficient, set up automatic savings so that you can set it and forget it! Saving automatically is the easiest way to save.

Reassess and adjust your plan whenever you have life changes such as marriage, a new baby, a move, or a promotion.

Following your plan ensures that you’re financially stable, are ‘thinking like a saver,’ and better prepared for those unexpected emergencies.

Want a savings accountability partner? Take the America Saves Pledge or re-pledge and commit to saving successfully. America Saves will support you by being your “Savings Accountability Partner” with tips, resources, nudges, and email and text communications to help you stay on track of your savings goal.

Written by Kia Young, AmericaSaves.org/blog

We start kids young with almost everything— sports, school, so why not saving? We are always looking for new ways to #ThinkLikeASaver in the America Saves community. The earlier that you have a positive mindset around saving, the easier it is to save successfully as an adult.

The idea of saving doesn’t always have to be tangible. There are definitely ways to save around your home that aren’t as black and white as putting money in a piggy bank or opening up a youth savings account.

Those small things that we expect our children to do around the home are contributing to saving as a family. This is important to communicate with them for several reasons, mainly as it can be a great motivator for them if your family is saving for a vacation or some other fun family gift or experience.

Here are some ideas of ways your children can save around the home:

1. Teach them to turn off the water.

Did you know using a (newer) dishwasher saves more water than hand washing dishes? Small adjustments like turning off the water while brushing your teeth, and ensuring a ‘full’ load of laundry during washing can save you big on your water bill.

2. Teach them to conserve energy.

This may seem like a no brainer, but turning off the lights and TV are one of the easiest things to forget when headed into another room or rushing out the door. Kids thrive when they feel like they’re the leader. Assign them the role of ‘Energy Saver’ and make it their responsibility to turn off all the lights, keep the refrigerator door closed, or checking to make sure the television is off if not being watched. Explain to them that they are helping the family save by keeping a lower electricity bill. You could even sweeten the deal by having an enticing Family Savings Goal, like visiting a local play place or even a more significant vacation. Equating saving with something they love will make it easier for them to understand the importance.

3. Teach them to enjoy cooking at home.

Eating out may be convenient, but cooking at home can be just as satisfying, especially when you get your kids involved. Try making their favorite pizza from scratch. They may enjoy the process and the taste way more than your usual take out order.

4. Teach them to grow their food.

Like cooking at home, when children have ownership of something, they’re more likely to enjoy it. Can you imagine how much more eager they’ll be to eat their broccoli and carrots if they grow it themselves? Not to mention, you will save quite a bit by growing your own fruits and veggies.

5. Have at-home family nights.

Get creative by having low-cost family fun activities such as family game nights, card games, (indoor or outdoor) movie nights, backyard campouts, and more. You’ll find it very easy to have fun and bond as a family, from the comfort of your home. A one-time investment for these activities can save you so much and keep the fun going for years to come.

By making these tips a habit, you’ll save on utility bills and entertainment. More importantly, you’ll be setting the foundation of positive saving habits with your children, which will last a lifetime and is priceless

If you have a goal of saving successfully, be sure to take the America Saves Pledge, choose your savings goal, and get support and great tips!

Written by Kia Young, AmericaSaves.org/blog