Your child has just graduated from high school this May, and in August or September they will set off into a brand new world full of excitement. They’ll need the right clothes to fit in at school, the right textbooks for their classes, and the right…credit card? Yes, it may be a good idea for your new college student to head to campus equipped with a credit card. However, it must be the right kind of credit card, and they have to be taught how to use the card responsibly. 

When used responsibly, credit cards are a great resource for college students

Sure, there is the possible pitfall of having your child rack up credit card debt in addition to the debt they will undoubtedly have when they graduate. So why risk it? Here are a few reasons:

• Responsibility- having a credit card can teach your child how to spend money wisely. They need to realize a card, like most great things in life, is not “free money”; it does need to be paid back, a great life lesson.
• Build credit- paying off the balance of the card every month allows a good credit score to be established before they even leave college. This can help them buy a car or rent/buy a house after graduation.
• Emergencies- bad things happen, so having a credit card provides a safety net just in case of an expensive disaster.
• Rewards- most student cards come with rewards of some kind. These can be used for purchasing items like textbooks, school supplies or gas to drive home.

Lincoln Savings Bank offers both the College Visa® Card and the Young Adult Visa® Card to help students and young adults make necessary purchases and build credit for a better future. If you have a recently graduated son or daughter and are interested in how we can help them, feel free to contact the Lincoln Savings Bank location nearest you today!

It’s funny the way life is sometimes. You can have everything figured out, a plan in place and be coasting when suddenly something changes. Maybe you meet someone, date for awhile and decide to get married. Perhaps you need a new house because your family is expecting an addition. Or maybe you or your child is getting to a certain age and you realize you need to start planning for the future.

Whatever your life brings, Lincoln Savings Bank can be there to work with you in figuring out the best path for your financial growth and success. The LSB Plus program allows us to look at your current financial state and help you find the best path to meet your goals. And now it’s even easier with the LSB Plus Online Portal that allows you to complete certain aspects of the process from the comfort of your own home.

LSB Plus uses phases of assessment, review, goal definition, contact and follow-up to ensure that you not only get started on the right path, but remain on it as time goes on.

We begin with an assessment of your current financial situation. Your LSB Plus Coordinator then takes the time to review any important financial documents. After the review, you work with the Coordinator to define your financial goals, which are taken into account by the Coordinator when they put you in contact with various financial experts at Lincoln Savings Bank.

And just as life tends to bring change, we are available for periodic reviews if your financial situation changes.

When it comes to your finances and future, going it alone is like trying to navigate a cluttered room in the dark: you may make it to your bed, but there will have been some painful experiences along the way, and you’ll be in worse shape than if you turned the lights on. Turn on the light by contacting your Lincoln Savings Bank branch today!

With all the expenses in life and how the economy has been the last couple of years, you want to be sure that you limit the expenses that are within your control. If you’re looking to refinance or buy a new home, the mortgage rate you get is surprisingly one of them. Here are three things that can affect your mortgage rate that you have some control over.

Getting a great mortgage rate is more in your hands than you think!

Your Credit Score- the higher your credit score, the better chance you have of scoring a lower mortgage rate. If your score is low, you need to do better when it comes to repaying student loans or other debts.

Your Job History- having the same job or being in the same industry for at least two years is a great start. Lenders want to see a stable job history. If you’ve been a victim of the economy and have had to change jobs or were unemployed for a time, work the two years and then begin the home search if it can wait.

Your Assets and Savings- lenders are aware that sometimes the world conspires against you. That’s why they want to see that you have four to six months of expenses saved up for emergencies. This shows that should the universe stop going your way, you still have a means of paying your mortgage. Not there yet? Try saving ten percent or more of each paycheck with an LSB savings account.

At Lincoln Savings Bank, we offer our customers the Mortgage 100 Percent Guarantee for conventional and FHA Fixed Rate residential mortgages. Through this offer, if we don’t meet the closing date we set for your mortgage, we’ll make the first payment for you! Certain limitations apply, so be sure to call your LSB Mortgage professional for all the details.

We look forward to helping many of you with refinancing or getting a mortgage as the spring home purchasing season continues. If you need a friend when it comes to your mortgage needs, look no further than Lincoln Savings Bank!

Anyone who’s lived in Iowa or even just driven through our state can see how important agriculture is to our economy. As a national leader in the production of corn and soybeans, Iowa and its farmers help feed and supply not just Iowans, but the nation as a whole. To put it simply, agriculture is the backbone of our state.

Iowa produces more sweet corn than any other state each year.

Lincoln Savings Bank is proud to be able to help farmers and their families in and around the communities we serve manage their finances, purchase new equipment and keep their crops protected from natural disasters or bad weather.

The importance of crop insurance for farming families can’t be understated. Last year’s drought in Iowa and throughout the Midwest hit many farming operations hard. For those that don’t know, crop insurance protects agricultural producers and farmers against loss of crop yields due to natural disasters such as hail, drought or flooding. There are also other insurance options available from Lincoln Savings Bank to help Iowa farmers succeed and strengthen our state’s economy.

For anyone who knows farmers or who puts in the long hours as part of an agricultural operation, you know how hard the work is and the dedication it takes. We would like to remind everyone to watch for farming equipment on the roads this season. If you see farming equipment on the road ahead, be sure to do these three things:

• Take proper action to give them plenty of space
• Remember that they are working hard and having huge impact on our economy, AND
• Honk and give them a smile and wave, because they’ve definitely earned it! 

We hope that all of our agricultural customers have success during this planting and growing season and that they weather stays favorable! If you have any questions as to how Lincoln Savings Bank can help you and your farming operation, don’t hesitate to contact the branch nearest you!

The best part about spring is a toss up: the fresh scent in the air, the blooming flowers, budding trees or the warm feeling of sun on your face are all wonderful aspects of the season. Unfortunately, we have yet to really experience any of those things regularly here in Iowa, but there is perhaps no season that better connects us to nature than spring. That’s why we at Lincoln Savings Bank would like to offer up a few tips to help you be environmentally savvy AND save money at the same time! 

How can you go green and save money?

Enroll in Online Banking- by enrolling in LSB’s Online Banking program, you can check account balances, transfer funds, check for cleared checks and do other transactions from home. Though we love seeing all of our customers, think about it this way: less driving to the bank means less gas used, equaling less carbon dioxide in the air, more gas in your tank and more money in your bank account.

Sign up for Estatements- using less paper is a huge aspect of being environmentally conscious, and our Estatements allow you to do just that. By eliminating paper statements in favor of being able to view these documents online, you allow LSB to cut down on paper use. These statements also give you the benefit of viewing account information so that you can create a more efficient financial plan and be smarter with your money.

Think green at home- unplug your “vampire devices” when they aren’t being used: TVs, stereos, computers, phone chargers (or turn off the power strips they use). Also use rechargeable batteries. While they cost more initially, most of them can be charged around 1000 times! That, and you’ll be throwing away less used batteries, keeping landfills free of battery acid.

Through using Lincoln Savings Bank’s Online Banking and Estatements you can easily have a positive impact on the outdoors while staying on top of your finances. What other ways can you think of to help the environment while saving money? Comment on our blog or post them to our Facebook page! We look forward to getting some great ideas!

Our new site is easier to use and provides more benefits to users.

As we touched on in our last blog post, our real estate division shares a connection with worldwide real estate giant Century 21. As a franchisee, our real estate division operates as Century 21 LSB Real Estate with two offices serving the Cedar Valley in an effort to become the leading real estate provider in the area.

We wanted to take a few minutes to discuss the features of the new Century 21 LSB website that can help you to find available homes and other real estate smoothly and easily. To take a look at the features as we discuss them, go to http://www.century21lsb.com/.

• The “Advice” tab on the home page is full of helpful tips for those looking to buy or sell their home. When it comes to home buying or selling, you can never have too much free advice! You can also find help in determining the value of your home, a mortgage calculator and a way to receive a relocation packet.
• You can easily search available homes in our “Listings” section using various search criteria and locations. You can also learn more about the various communities we serve to see which area is right for you.
• You can also find out how to join the Century 21 LSB team by clicking on the “Join our Team” button. There you can learn about what it takes to be a Century 21 LSB agent and how we help you become a high quality real estate agent.
• The Home Hunter feature searches properties for you 24/7 and helps you keep track of any you like based on your search criteria. Be sure to create an account today!

There are many other great tools and resources available on the new Century 21 website as well for you to discover. If you’re going to be selling or buying a home any time soon, be sure to visit the website or contact either of our Century 21 LSB Real Estate offices for professional real estate services.

Century 21 LSB Real Estate agents provide superior service in finding you a home.

As a community bank serving Central and Northeast Iowa, we are proud to help our neighbors and others in our communities work toward purchasing a new home. Through a partnership between Lincoln Savings Bank and real estate company Century 21, we are also able to help people find the home that is perfect for them and their family.

Operating as a franchisee, Century 21 LSB Real Estate manages two different offices in the Cedar Valley in an effort to help people find the home of their dreams. We are continually growing our services to become the leader in the Cedar Valley real estate market.

As a Century 21 franchisee, we always enjoy taking some time to point out sponsorships and other public highlights of our real estate partner. The most noticeable and exciting development for Century 21 has been the sponsorship of the no. 21 Indy Racing League car that will be driven by Josef Newgarden in the 2013 Indianapolis 500 on May 26.

“Our sponsorship of the No. 21 car in the Indianapolis 500 provides another outstanding opportunity to highlight our Smarter. Bolder. Faster. campaign,” said Bev Thorne, chief marketing officer, Century 21 Real Estate LLC.  “Whether it’s the Super Bowl, the Olympics, U.S. Soccer or the Indy 500, we want to showcase the capabilities of our sales professionals in front of the largest audience possible.”

Not only are we excited about how this marketing showcases the abilities of the Century 21 LSB Real Estate agents, but it also goes to show the type of resources that are available to them through Century 21.

We can’t wait to see Newgarden and the no. 21 Century 21 Indy car flying around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 26! We also look forward to helping you find a home that suits you and your family, so be sure to contact us today!