It’s never too early to teach your children the basics of financial literacy and the importance of saving responsibly. What better time to begin this essential education than National Teach Children to Save Day? As part of Financial Literacy Month, this is an opportunity to help your kids create a lifelong roadmap so they can achieve financial goals and build financial security. Here are four tips to get started.

1) Discuss Spending and Saving

Spending and saving are the most basic facets of money management. Your children need to recognize two simple facts: most items and experiences cost money and money is a limited resource.

When it comes to spending, start by teaching them about budgeting and tracking, which helps create positive lifelong habits. Explain that saving is a major factor in getting the items or experiences they want and show how creating (and sticking to) financial goals is key.

2) Set a Good Example

Your children are more likely to take your message to heart if they see you practicing what you preach. Let them notice you regularly putting funds into a jar or piggy bank, while making note of the money adding up. If you take them shopping, show your children differing prices to explain why buying one item makes more sense than another. Each time you receive a paycheck, reiterate the message that part of that money will be put away to prepare for the future. Your children look up to you; setting a good example with your savings will go a long way!

3) Open a Moola^® Savings Account

Let children see that saving money doesn't have to be boring! Find creative ways to turn financial literacy into an exciting and engaging activity, such as opening a Moola^® Savings Account.Specifically designed for children, we make the process of building savings fun and rewarding. Start your kids on a path of financial literacy and we’ll reward them with points they can redeem for cool prizes. This account will also help your child track every deposit, see the interest they earn, and keep track of their points, right in their passbook! Bring your child to any of our branches to get started.

4) Continue the Education

Once your children master the basics of financial literacy, continue to educate them using evolving techniques and lessons. Expand to other topics like the three-jar method,

which distributes their allowance into saving, spending, and giving groups. Or try the 50/30/20 rule, which divvies up after-tax income or allowance, into 50% needs, 30% wants and 20% long-term savings. No matter what approach you take, the idea is to keep the conversation going.

Ready to Help You Save

We can assist you and your children in building a foundation for financial security. We frequently provide financial literacy education presentations throughout Central Massachusetts. Contact us to set up a program in your community.

Amid the ever-rising cost of food products, utilities, and more, many of us are giving our expenses a second look to identify ways of building up cash reserves. We know it can be hard to know where to start, so we’re sharing four ways you can save during a recession.

1) Create a Viable Budget

Your financial wellness relies on income and expenses—making sure the money coming in supports the money going out. Creating an organized system is the first step you can take toward accumulating savings. Make a list of your monthly debts, payment due dates, and the timeframe in which you want to make those payments. Check out our interactive budget calculator to get started.

2) Trim Subscriptions and Recurring Payments

To “live within your means” might be easier said than done, but most of us have some extraneous payments we’ve forgotten or could live without. Do you know how many streaming services you’re subscribed to? What about automatic deliveries or online memberships? While creating and trimming your budget, you can list and aggregate these payments to determine which can be cut from your monthly payments.

3) Focus on Your Health Expenses

Unforeseen health care payments can cause a financial crisis—especially when money is tight—but there are ways you can mitigate a potential issue. Take the time to reevaluate your existing health insurance. Have your needs changed over the past year? Are there elements of your coverage that you no longer need? You could also open a Health Savings Account (HSA), which allows you to pay for medical expenses with pre-tax money.

4) Control Your Housing Costs

Your mortgage or rent is likely the most expensive element of your budget. But that doesn’t mean you need to downsize your home, since a recession isn’t necessarily synonymous with a slow housing market. Instead, schedule a home energy audit, which can provide you with a roadmap to achieving big savings on your energy bills.

We’re Ready to Help You Save

At Cornerstone Bank, we’re always working to provide ongoing financial literacy education to the Central Massachusetts community. To support this initiative, we offered more than 100 literacy programs throughout the region in 2022. Additionally, our team is diligently working to offer the most complete line of flexible personal banking services and products to help our customers save as much as possible, especially in times of need. Interested in learning more? Contact us to start saving today.

Its January—time for you to slow down and take a breather! Since the holidays are over, your wallet may feel a little lighter. Cornerstone Bank is ready to help by providing three ways you can recover from holiday spending and better plan for the year ahead.

1) Organize Your Payments

Your first step is simple: get organized. Did you make holiday purchases with credit? Before doing anything else, determine how much you spent over the holidays using credit cards. Make a list of these debts, payment due dates, and the timeframe in which you want to make the payments. Prioritize paying off those with the highest interest rates first. Visit the credit card payoff calculator  for guidance.

Look at these amounts alongside your other necessary payments (vehicle, public transport, gas, groceries, and other bills) to get a full understanding of your finances and create a plan that incorporates holiday spending. Looking ahead is the key to success. And remember, while the holidays may be the season of giving, never make purchases that you simply can’t afford!

2) Shop Early and Start Saving for 2023

The primary reason many people struggle with finances during the holidays is because of the lump-sum payments that fall over the span of a month or two. By spreading your holiday shopping throughout the year, you can offset the cost of holiday gifts and keep your credit card bills to a minimum. Create a holiday budget  to keep spending in check.

Alternatively, you can set aside money each month that is specifically dedicated to holiday shopping. Using our Holiday Savings Plan, if you put away just $40 a month between January and October, you will have $400 banked for the holidays. And come December, you can tap into this stash and rely less on credit.

3) Determine the Best Time For Big-Ticket Purchases

If you plan to purchase big-ticket items for anyone, research the best time of the year to make the purchase. For example, many appliance and furniture stores offer big savings on holiday weekends like
Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, or Black Friday. Sports equipment is generally cheaper when that sport is out of season, so you’ll likely find the best deals on skiing equipment in March and April as the season ends. If you will travel for the 2023 holidays, you may find the cheapest flights in August or September. Timing is everything—no matter the purchase.

Let Us Help with the Cornerstone Holiday Savings Plan

We’re always looking to provide you with the best savings account rates, and that’s especially true during the holidays. Similar to our Statement Savings Account, our Holiday Savings Plan earns interest but is specifically designed for you to save for the holidays. At the end of the term, we’ll mail you a check for the balance plus any interest earned on the account! Want to learn more? Contact us today to start saving for the 2023 holiday season.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Americans lost $5.8 billion to phishing and other fraud in 2021. Don’t let yourself be a part of this statistic in 2022 and beyond. October may be National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but we take your security seriously all year long. In this blog, we describe the team effort behind cyber security, including both our role and yours.

What We Do

We have solutions for both individuals and businesses to help deter scams and fraud. For example, our online banking and bill pay allows you to automatically pay your bills online directly from your account, so you know your payments are legit. For our commercial customers, we offer Debit MasterCard^® SecureCode™ to protect your card against unauthorized use when you shop online at participating merchants.

Our team is constantly updating our security efforts to counteract the latest scams. For example, we:

• Review our online banking controls and adjust them at least once a year, if necessary.
• Frequently review the current fraud trends to determine if changes are required to current security controls. We then alert you to these changes.
• Monitor ACH, wire transfer, ATM and bill pay transactions for suspicious activity on your account.
• Block all foreign ATM transactions from countries specifically noted through fraud trend analysis.

What You Can Do

Please be aware that despite our best efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. That’s where you come in.

Here are steps you can take to protect yourself from fraud:

• Think before you click. We will never text or email you with an urgent payment request. If something feels suspicious, give us a call before taking any action.
• Improve your defenses. Make sure you change your passwords often (at least quarterly) and only give out your personal information to trusted sources.

• If you see something, say something. Report scams to the FTC and file a police report if you were personally impacted.

To assist your efforts, we provide an array of resources on our website including:

• Tips to avoid and deal with identity theft.
• Business banking security safeguarding measures.
• Educational videos from the FTC detailing the latest scams.

Working Together to Keep You Safe

Don’t become a victim. Let us work together to protect your money. Contact us to hear more about our security measures or to open an account today.

College is a pivotal time in your life. The combination of independence and responsibility can be invigorating, yet overwhelming for some. It’s good to have someone in your corner to help you prepare for life’s little hurdles—Cornerstone Bank can be that support system when you need it the most. In this blog, we explain the top 3 benefits of Cornerstone Plus as you navigate your college experience and strive to create a solid financial foundation for your future.

What is Cornerstone Plus?

Moving outside the box of online banking, Cornerstone Plus is a banking app that instantly turns your RITE Premium or RITE Extra checking account into a cost-saving, life-simplifying, all-around digital hero. All you have to do is open one of our two RITE Checking accounts to start reaping the rewards. Here’s how it can help you on campus and everywhere:

1) ATM Reimbursement

ATM fees can be a nightmare for college students, especially for underclassmen who aren’t yet allowed to have a car on campus. If you need cash and your bank doesn’t have any nearby ATMs, what do you do? With Cornerstone Plus, you don’t have to worry about paying those exorbitant fees, because we offer unlimited ATM rebates. You can feel free to use any ATM you want at any time, and get your money back.

2) Roadside Assistance

For students who do have a car on campus, we already know how painful parking fees can be. The last thing in the world you want is for your car to break down and force you to dig into your savings for roadside assistance. Why pay for a separate roadside service when your banking app can do it for you? Available 24/7 and free to use, Roadside Assistance provides up to $80 in covered service charges, so you never have to worry about car troubles when you’re away from home.

3) Cell Phone Protection^1,2

In today’s age, we’re all lost without our phones. Are you covered in the event that you break or lose your device? If you pay your cell phone bill with your RITE Checking account, you don’t have to worry about it. We’ll pay to have it repaired or replaced, up to $400 per claim (maximum of $800 per year).

We’re Ready To Help

As you can see, Cornerstone Plus is more than just a banking app—it can be an all-around digital helper for your life on campus. It’s just part of our effort to provide all the features a college student needs in a bank, including conveniently located branches and ATMs across Central Massachusetts. Contact us to learn more.

_{1 Subject to the terms and conditions detailed in the Guide to Benefits.}

_{2 Insurance products are: NOT A DEPOSIT. NOT FDIC-INSURED. NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY. NOT GUARANTEED BY THE BANK.}

From depositing checks to transferring cash to paying bills—your checking account is likely the primary method by which you control and monitor all of your finances. The right checking account can be one of the most important tools in your financial arsenal, but you need to ensure you pick the best account for you (and use it correctly) to reap all the possible benefits. With that in mind, here’s how we can help you avoid five common checking account mistakes.

1) Paying ATM Fees

ATM fees may seem small in the grand scheme of things, but they can certainly add up quickly. With us, you don’t need to go out of your way to find in-network ATMs because our RITE Checking Accounts will reimburse any charges you experience. Not only can we provide you with unlimited ATM surcharge reimbursements, but there are no minimum qualifications needed to automatically receive these rebates.

2) Not Taking Security Seriously

Almost everyone shops online, but not everyone does it safely. For example, you need to be careful when paying for a transaction online with your debit card. Make sure you’re on a network you trust, or use a secure third-party payment app

We can also help on our end: with Cornerstone Plus, you’ll receive ID Theft Aid^1,2, which offers payment care fraud resolution, $2,500 in personal identity theft benefits, and identity resolution. Our website can help you learn more about safe banking practices, and these FTC videos can help you stay up to date on FTC laws and regulations.

3) Ignoring Your Balance

It’s always a good idea to stay on top of what payments are being deducted from your checking account. If you aren’t tracking your transactions on a regular basis, there is a decent chance you could miss duplicate or fraudulent transactions. To receive notifications when there are withdrawals from your account, set up a push notification, text, or email alert within online banking. To learn more about our online banking features, visit our online banking FAQs.

4) Not Understanding Checking vs. Savings

Do you manage all your finances through a single checking account? If so, you could be losing money. Checking accounts are great for daily use as well as a variety of transactions, but your money will grow at a faster rate if you set some aside in one of our savings accounts.

5) Not Using Special Banking Perks

You work hard for your money; your checking account should work hard for you. With Cornerstone Plus, a plethora of perks are available directly at your fingertips, including:

• Roadside Assistance: available 24/7 and free to use, this benefit provides up to $80 in covered service charges.
• Health Savings Card: usually an optional supplement to your employer’s health care plan, now you can make this must-have benefit part of your RITE Checking account. You’ll save on prescriptions, eye exams, lenses and frames, hearing services, and more.
• Cell Phone Protection^1,2: if you pay your cell phone bill with your RITE Checking account, we’ll pay to have it repaired or replaced if it’s damaged or stolen, up to $400 per claim (maximum of $800 per year).
• Shop Local, Save Local*: you can experience a wide variety of discounts from local establishments and deals from national retailers.

Choose a Checking Account Today

We offer three distinct checking account options: RITE Premium Checking, RITE Extra Checking, or Basic Checking. Both of our RITE Checking options are accompanied by our Cornerstone Plus app, which provides the tools you need to avoid the common checking account mistakes listed above.

At Cornerstone Bank, we’re committed to helping you save money! That’s why our checking accounts offer an array of options and features to fit your specific needs. Contact us today to discover a better way to bank.

_{¹Subject to the terms and conditions detailed in the Guide to Benefits.
²Insurance products are: NOT A DEPOSIT. NOT FDIC-INSURED. NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY. NOT GUARANTEED BY THE BANK.}

_{*Participating merchants on BaZing are not sponsors of the program, are subject to change without notice, may not be available in all regions, and may choose to limit deals.}