We understand. Here’s what you need to know about these communications and how to prevent them. Have you ever gotten a call, text, or email from a random business shortly after applying for a loan or credit? Was the message along the lines of: “Hi (YOUR NAME)!  I wanted to send you a quick update. Right now at Fill-In-The-Blank Financial, our mortgage rates in your area just dropped to a new low. If you’ve been thinking of buying a home, now may be the perfect...

  Within this past week, many individuals have unfortunately had to ask themselves this question. With the failure of two large and highly specialized institutions, you may be concerned about the strength of your financial institution, as well as the security of your deposits. Rest assured, Community Bank of Parkersburg maintains strong capital ratios and access to ample liquidity; however, you may still have some lingering questions on the security of your deposits. Let’s...

  Vacations are meant to be relaxing, but underplanning and overspending can lead to financial stressors. Consider the following tips to reduce travel-related anxiety and help you make the most out of your time away – whether journeying across state lines or overseas.   Create a travel budget. A budget can help you make well-informed financial decisions while away without compromising your long-term savings goals. Also, ask us about our Vacation Club savings account!...

  Who wouldn’t want to make their home more comfortable, attractive and valuable? The good news is that there are a lot of ways to do just that, and we have plenty of ideas to help.   If you’re on a tight budget A coat of fresh paint in an updated color can brighten any room in the house. And, if you’re willing to invest in the modest equipment needed, you can DIY the job to save the cost of hiring it done. Painting can help more than your walls....

  The idea of “sustainability” is linked to a lot of local activities these days – whether it’s reusing or recycling products, sampling culinary delights from a local bakery, or choosing to buy American-made products to support our national economy. There are plenty of reasons why eating, dining, and banking locally makes good economic sense. If you’ve ever wondered if it matters where you deposit your hard-earned money, let me assure you it does. Not...

  For many small business owners, reading – and understanding – a financial statement can be intimidating. Most entrepreneurs are not financial specialists, and it may seem like this is something that should be left to financial professionals, and for the line-item details, that’s true. But knowing how to identify 3 or 4 key items can give you important information at a glance about the health of your company. For example, a financial statement will tell you: If your...

  Budgeting.  Who else cringes when they hear the word? Our emotional response to the word budget conjures visions of denying yourself something tangible as a result of painfully grinding through your expenses and spending. Why do we give the word budget so much emotional power? I suggest that instead of dreading the word, we should find ways to embrace it. So if the name budget is the issue, change it! Just forget the first 3 letters and call it your GET Plan, as in how to GET the resources...

As parents and grandparents, the issue of keeping children safe is always top of mind. There are a few basic, but important things parents and grandparents can do to keep their kids safe online: Kids are trusting. And naïve. They need rules that are non-negotiable. For example, create strong passwords: Ie3ponS! is an example (an abbreviation of “I eat 3 pancakes on Sunday!”) of one that’s easy to remember and unique. Change it every three months. Don’t use the same...