Highlands Blog

Join us in giving our 2019 graduates a big congratulations! This year, Brandon Caldwell and Kristin Nicely completed the School of Bank Management at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and Daniel Lawson completed the Graduate School of Banking program at Louisiana State University. We are so grateful for all of their hard work and dedication!

At Highlands Community Bank, our number one goal is to be the kind of people you can count on to provide the best banking solutions and financial advice possible. To do that, we’re always keeping up with industry standards through continued education and modern services. These programs help us serve you better. It’s our hope that by bringing nationally accredited education into your local banks, we can provide you with the products and services you need to thrive. When you thrive, the local economy thrives.

School of Bank Management

Each year, we send individuals from our branches to the Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. This challenging program is designed to provide a multi-faceted educational experience for a wide variety of areas of expertise in banking. Over the course of three years, participants attend a week long seminar and complete eight at home studies. Each year, the topics get more focused on specific elements of superior bank management – ranging from foundational concepts of ethics and marketing to more complex topics like compliance and asset/liability management. We’re proud to say these team members have completed this valuable program:

• Sally Gilbert – 2006
• Bryan Thompson – 2008
• Joy Fridley – 2010
• Leslie Nicely – 2015
• Donna Craft – 2017
• Brandon Caldwell – 2019
• Kristin Nicely – 2019

Graduate School of Banking

Louisiana State University has been building expert banking executives since 1950 through their Graduate School of Banking. The three-year curriculum is designed to equip leaders in financial institutions with the advanced knowledge and experience necessary to excel in their positions. Topics range from interpreting economic change to rural and small business lending. We’re proud to say these team members have completed this valuable program:

• Bryan Thompson – 2011
• Joy Fridley – 2013
• Daniel Lawson – 2019

It’s All for You

“We’ve learned some really valuable insights that make us better bankers and better advisors to our customers,” says Caldwell. “We look forward to seeing that translate in the level of banking services that we’re able to provide for our customers.”

It’s our hope that by bringing nationally accredited education into  your local banks, we can provide you with the products and services you need to thrive. When you thrive, the local economy thrives. 

Love is in the air! It’s almost Valentine’s Day and your special someone isn’t the only person you should be showing some love. How about some local business owners, too?! Have the best date night by supporting one of these local small businesses!

Find a Special Gift

If you’re looking for the right thoughtful gift, look no further than our local florists and bakeries! Clifton Forge’s The Flower Center and Country Garden Florist are two great choices to find their favorite flowers. This year, The Flower Center is raising funds for Valley View Animal Rescue by donating all delivery fees for Valentine’s Day! 

If your loved one has more of a sweet tooth, Cakes Your Way is the only way. Grab some coffee and a cupcake in the cafe or order a tray of chocolate covered strawberries ahead of time.

Try Something New

There’s plenty to do around town if you prefer an activity over a dinner date. See a movie in the Highlands Community Bank Film Series at the Historic Masonic Theatre or grab tickets for “Music is Love at the Virginia Opry” on the 15th. 

If you’re a coffee fanatic, stop by the newly opened Caffee Museo, a museum full of antique coffee mills with a coffee bar! Don’t forget about bowling at Thunder Valley in Covington! 

A Fancy Feast

Nobody can resist a fancy feast with good company. There are plenty of places in the Highlands to enjoy a delightful meal in a great atmosphere. While The Homestead may be the first place you think of for a fancy dinner, there’s a lot of great local cuisine you should consider instead.

Café Michel in Clifton Forge has the best balance of casual and contemporary, paired with an amazing menu. Chef Michel sources much of his produce and fresh fish locally! 

If you’re in Hot Springs, Snead’s 1912 Steak is a great option for any meat lover. Opened by American pro golfer and local celebrity, Sam Snead, this restaurant is the perfect place to spend a romantic evening. 

Whether or not you make a big to-do about Valentine’s Day, we hope you’ll show your love to these businesses year round! There’s so many more wonderful small businesses beyond this list that deserve our support. 

What’s your favorite spot to spend a special evening?

Highlands Community Bank was created to provide a support system for a strong economy in the Alleghany Highlands. We sought to be more than a place where people make deposits and withdrawals by providing more than the basics for individuals and businesses. Our Merchant Services is just one of the many ways we add value to banking locally. 

What is Merchant Services?

Businesses can access a variety of debit and credit card processing technologies to provide a seamless experience from swipe to deposit through Highlands Community Bank. That means never missing out on an opportunity to accept payment for your business’s products or services, all while knowing that your funds will be easily accessed when you need them. 

We have partnered with one of the leading merchant services providers, First Data, to provide our business customers with payment processing solutions that fit their business model. You won’t have to worry about complex payment structures, contracts, or surprise fees. You’ll be able to enjoy secure and compliant payment processing anytime, anywhere.

Reasons to Use a Bank-Sponsored Merchant Services Vendor 

While most “merchants” are thought of a retailers or wholesalers, any business seeking to process transactions could benefit from merchant services. Our merchant services platform can do more than set you up with the right payment processing technology. A merchant services platform will help you keep track of your cashflow, comply with payment processing regulations, and customized solutions. 

Through First Data, you have access to the top technologies in credit card processing, POS solutions, eCommerce, Gift Card Management, data security, and more. When you sign up through Highlands Community Bank, you have all the perks and convenience of working with a local bank. 

If you’d like to learn more about how Highlands Community Bank can take your payment processing to the next level, give us a call! 

Whether you’ve been budgeting for a few months, or a few decades, everyone knows that all it takes is one surprise expense to throw off your whole balance sheet. 

Maybe it was something simple like needing an exam from a specialist, or maybe it was something more difficult to tackle like a broken down vehicle. It’s impossible to plan for every little thing, but if you save for some things, you just may be able to keep up. 

Identifying Hidden Costs

When it comes to getting proactive about surprise costs, it’s important to think through different types of things that could pop up. Some of the top sources of surprise costs include:

• Home Ownership
• Car Maintenance
• Family Health
• Special Occasions

Every homeowner accepts responsibility for replacing a leaky roof or running toilet when they sign the deed. 20- and 30-somethings can expect at least one wedding invitation a year. Buying a wedding gift, getting the right outfit, and booking a hotel can add up! 

Take stock of where you are in life and what could be coming around the bend. This will help you get an idea of how much you should be saving out of your budget to turn those surprise costs into planned costs. 

Build Out Your Budget

After laying out your overlooked expenses, it’s time to break it down into your budget.  After using past experiences and general guesses to estimate that unexpected cost, simply divide by 12 to get a clear picture of how much you should save each month. If you know a cost may be more immediate than that, adjust the equation to achieve your savings in fewer months. 

Of course some things, you simply can’t save for. Keep in mind that every little bit helps! Adjust your budget as much as you can comfortably adjust. You can keep your emergency fund in your regular savings account or even open a separate account just for that.  

Need some help getting your budget started? Try one of three proven techniques to get you on track!

People who like talking about their personal finances are few and far between. It’s not a comfortable subject for many people, often because many of us are burdened with debt that makes having healthy finances seem impossible.

Drowning in Debt

In fact, two in ten adults say they roll over $2,500 or more a month in credit card debt. Not to mention student loans, which totaled $1.524 trillion in 2018, add up to a monthly payment of $393 on average. It may be hard to imagine hundreds of dollars each month going to paying off debt, but that’s a fact of life for many people. To then think of savings and retirement, healthy finances can quickly feel like a pipe dream.

But there are some simple things you can do to get your finances on the right track:

Start a Budget

Budgeting can sound like such a drag, and it can take a little bit of work to figure it out. But putting in a little bit of time to decide on a monthly budget and sticking to it is the first step to knowing what you’re spending money on and how you can make your money work for you better.

Money experts suggest starting a budget by looking at your past month’s spending. Go through every transaction and add up totals for groceries, power bill, eating out, etc. Then create a budget for the next month based off of reasonable projections from the month before.

It may take a few adjustments, though. If you spent 40% of your monthly income eating out and don’t have money to allocate to rent, then it’s obvious which category should be reduced. Keep shuffling the amounts until you have budgeted every single dollar of your paycheck.

There are several great apps available to do this. A personal favorite of ours is You Need a Budget, which essentially functions as Quickbooks but for your personal finances.

Have an Emergency Fund

Once you’ve looked over your transactions and started deciding on your budget categories, add in another category called “Emergency Fund.” An emergency fund is crucial to avoiding more debt. For example, if you need to replace the alternator in your car, you can use the money in your emergency fund to pay it right away instead of putting that charge on your credit card (to then pay interest on it). Though you’ll eventually want to save more, first try to save up $1,000 to cover these unforeseen expenses.

Pay off Debt

Now that you have a budget and an emergency fund, it’s time to start paying off that debt! Start with credit card debt first because the interest tends to be the highest. Even though it can be painful for your budget, you’ll thank yourself when it’s paid off. And think twice before adding more debt onto your plate. If you can wait to buy a car, for example, wait until you’ve taken care of your other debt responsibilities. The goal is to get as much debt paid off as quickly as possible so you can put hundreds of dollars a month back into your wallet instead of contributing to credit card companies’ bottom line.

Save for Retirement (even if you don’t want to!)

Retirement can feel so far off to many people. It’s true that most of us will work for decades before being able to call it quits, but the truth is that saving for retirement early is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your overall financial health into the future.

In fact, $1 contributed at age 20 can grow to $5.84 by the time you’re 65. That same $1 contributed at age 40 will only be worth $2.67 at age 65, less than half the value! Use time to your advantage as much as possible and put all the money that you can into your retirement account. The goal would be to aim for 15% of your income. If that’s simply not doable based off your income and debt, at least put in the amount that your company matches. Though small, it can start to add up, and you’ll thank yourself in a few years that you did it.

Have Money for Big Purchases Ahead of Time

If you can’t tell, debt is one the most important things to avoid for financial health. Not all debt is bad, by any means, but Americans are overloaded with it. 

Instead of making a purchase before you have the money for it, start budgeting to save for it ahead of time. For example, if you know that you want to go on a vacation every year in July, start saving the previous August for the vacation. Saving up just $150 per month will give you $1800 by the following July. This is so much better than putting $1800 on your credit card and getting charged interest until you pay it off. The same concept applies for Christmas gifts.

Once you realize the things you can start saving for in advance, it’s quite freeing to experience vacations or give Christmas gifts without that pit in your stomach. You’re freed up to enjoy everything more because your hard work of saving up over the course of the year pays off!

Know Where you Stand 

All of this probably feels daunting, but change doesn’t have to happen overnight. It simply means taking the first step toward examining your finances and over time, making changes to get on the right track. Once you do, you’ll feel better for it.

Make 2020 the year that you look back and see all that you accomplished for your financial wellness. If you have questions or need help along the way, the staff at your local Highlands Community Bank is happy to help guide you toward healthy finances this year.

Let’s face it, everyone dreads tax season. Whether you owe on your return or expect to get money back, the process of preparing and filing your taxes can be a grueling process. Consider these tips to get you mentally and financially prepared for filing day. 

[Read more…] about Preparing for Tax Season: Mentally & Financially