This blog post was published by Chris O’Shea from SavvyMoney. Practical tips that help you manage debt. Getting out of debt can feel overwhelming—but it doesn’t have to be stressful or all-consuming. With a clear plan and a few intentional changes, you can make steady progress without adding more stress to your life. Here are some steps to take. Start with Awareness Before you can fix the problem, you need to understand it. The first step to getting rid of debt is to
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For many business owners, financing becomes a priority only when an opportunity or need is right in front of them. Maybe new equipment is needed for a particular job, or a dealer is offering attractive pricing to move inventory. Or perhaps cash flow becomes tight because a receivable you expected to collect remains on the books and has not yet been converted to cash. This reinforces a common theme advocated by many community bankers: talk to us before you need the money. By planning ahead, your
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The U.S. Department of Treasury originally published this article on December 23, 2025. The following recommendations are non-binding guidance. All must comply with otherwise applicable restrictions. Frequently Asked Questions: Businesses Why is penny production being suspended? Over the past 10 years, the total production cost of the penny has risen from 1.3 cents to 3.69 cents per penny. These production costs include materials, facilities, and overhead. The U.S. Mint projects an immediate
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This article was published by Freddie Mac and last reviewed on January 13, 2026. As a homeowner, maintaining your home is an important responsibility. Timely maintenance, repairs and improvements help protect your home, provide your family with greater comfort and even enhance your home's value. Maintaining your home can also help you avoid costly problems later on. Once you move in, it's a good idea to set aside part of your monthly budget toward savings that could go to your home
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If you’ve owned your home for several years, you may have built more equity than you realize. That equity can be a valuable financial tool, helping you consolidate debt, improve cash flow, or achieve other important financial goals while making the most of your investment in your home. When many people think about a Home Equity Loan or Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC), they often associate it with remodeling a kitchen or completing a major renovation. While that is one common use, it is
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Agentic AI. Maybe you’ve heard this new buzzword, maybe you haven’t. Either way, it’s a term you’ll likely be hearing more often in the years ahead. What is Agentic AI? Unlike traditional AI that simply answers your questions or generates content, Agentic AI is Artificial Intelligence that is designed to take action on your behalf. It can perform tasks, make decisions (within defined limits), and even complete multi-step processes with little or no human interaction. For
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Most people reuse the same handful of passwords across dozens of accounts. It’s easy to fall into the habit, but it also happens to be one of the most dangerous habits in online security today. Think about how many online accounts you have: email, online banking, social media, shopping sites, streaming services, medical portals, utility providers, and more. Recent studies suggest the average person manages between 75 and 110 online accounts. How Unique are Your Passwords Now consider
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Financial abuse targeting older adults causes significant losses for people over 60 each year. True losses from elder financial abuse could be even more as many go unreported, and of those that are reported, nearly half of adults say they were either victims or intended victims of financial exploitation. Community banks are in a unique position to help shield our elderly customers against such abuses. Through employee training and the use of technology to spot red flags and report suspicious activity
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This article was written by GoodTrust and published on May 6, 2026. When you think of estate planning, you probably think of wills and trusts, first. Maybe you also think of power of attorneys and medical directives. And that’s a great start, but thinking about your estate plan holistically, how all the pieces fit together to make the whole process as easy as possible for your family is the right next step. Whether you’re planning for the first time, already have documents in place,
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This article summarizes key findings from the NFIB Small Business Economic Trends Report for April 2026, released on May 12, 2026. To explore the data and analysis in greater depth, download the entire report here. If you've felt like running your business is harder than usual lately, the numbers back you up. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) — the country's largest small business advocacy organization — released its April 2026 Small Business Economic Trends
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