Money Rules Of Thumb From Our Staff

When our members are in need of financial products, they often speak with their loan officer or one of our Member Service Representatives, but when seeking financial advice, our staff likewise can provide words of wisdom. We recently asked some of our staff to offer us their financial planning suggestions that they use to guide their own finance – words that they would likewise share with a friend, neighbor or a member who asked for guidance in developing financial plans.

Budgeting often forms the basis of our staff’s two cents worth, from creating one, to sticking with it, which we know can be easier said than done.

As old-fashioned as it may seem in the modern age of online accounts, Lindsey in our Grenora branch suggests, “Always write down your transactions in a register and balance your account regularly.” Doing so helps you more easily recognize when you’ve exceeded your budget.

Dennis in Watford City agrees. “Balance your checkbook every month when you get the statement – makes you monitor your account for fraud or unusual charges.” Keeping tabs on your dollars and cents alerts you to transaction errors, duplicate charges, and charges and credits from online purchases and refunds.

In addition to what you allocate for spending, consider where you divide your incoming funds. Todd in our Washburn branch recommends, “The 50/30/20 rule. Fifty percent of after tax income for needs, thirty percent for wants, and twenty percent for savings (additional retirement, investments, cash). Best rule a wage earning person can live by for long run financial solvency.”

If watching your account penny-for-penny is not your style, Khadero (New Town) recommends an estimating approach. “Over budget expenses and under budget income.”

To find out what approach works best for your present and future financial goals, we encourage you to visit with one of our loan officers and discover how Dakota West can help you put together short- and long-term plans based on your personal needs and what we can build together to help you live, dream, and achieve.

Celebrating Retirement

It’s National Retirement Security Week. What are you doing to celebrate?

You may think retirement is too far off to celebrate, or perhaps even too far away to think about, but this week is to bring attention to the fact that saving for the future should already be a part of your here and now. At Dakota West, we have options available to making your later-in-life security a priority, even if you’re still decades away from your actual retirement plans.

When we are just starting out as adults, our budgets may not offer the flexibility of a large contribution to our futures, but every little bit adds to your long-term goals, but only if you make it a priority. As our partners at Kasasa® suggest, the best way to start working towards your retirement goal is to start early. Planning long-term helps you see the big picture, and remembering in the short-term of the importance of saving as part of your weekly or monthly budget work together to help you reach a big goal through consistent contributions over time.

As you watch your investments grow, you can celebrate your retirement, even if it is still decades away, because your contributions to your own future are the real cause for celebration. Whether you want to move your current nest egg into an IRA or certificate of deposit, or even just get started on your road to your retirement, Dakota West wants to help you Grow West for years to come.

College Finances On A Budget

Are you a college student for the first time? Maybe you’re taking classes towards a degree while working? Are you considering going back to school for an advanced degree? Managing money becomes one more responsibility that adds to the burden of work, studies, planning, and scheduling during college life. Our partners at Kasasa® offer some useful tips for college students, whether in person or online, to help keep your dollars and cents a part of your success.

Distinguishing needs from wants sounds like a simple way to manage money, but when streaming movies online while waiting at the laundromat reminds students that clean clothes may take priority over entertainment expenses. Try measuring the cost of a desired purchase in quarters – how much laundry can you get done when you choose to save rather than spend?

Take advantage of library services that may be available either in person or digitally. A library card comes with all kinds of extra services that cost a lot less than a purchase. Likewise, take the time to research services provided on campus or in the community where you live to find additional cost-effective alternatives, including entertainment.

Lastly, in a time of social distancing, those rare moments we can spend with family and friends are worth a lot more than the cost of an outing. Use your social time to connect with folks back home, or a friend at another campus. Whether Zoom, or Facetime, or just a call to Mom and Dad can rejuvenate you and provide a healthy break between classes and studying, and also keep your expenses low.

Most importantly, rest and work hard – those same voice and faces back home are here to support and encourage you. Don’t forget to stop in to your local branch and say, “Hello,” every once in a while. We’re here to help you, too.

It’s A Whole Big World Out There

Kim Eriksmoen is preparing for her son to start college and offers her thoughts on how she prepares to send him out into the world.

Classes start on August 27^th at Bismarck State College. Charlie’s very excited, but I’m trying to think of everything I need to tell him before he is living on his own. He wrote the check for the deposit on his apartment – he’s moving in with another classmate – and I explained to him how to use his register to track his spending.

I know he’ll be responsible. He’ll start his first year away as a sophomore. He completed most of his general education classes and even made the Dean’s List at Bottineau State College while also attending high school, so he knows what to expect in his classes. He’ll have much more hands-on classwork once he begins studying Farm and Ranch Management.

We’ve been walking him through how to use the mobile app to upload checks, transfer funds, and monitor the use of his debit card. For the debit card, I printed off the Shared Branch ATM locations in the area. We’re also offering him more high-level financial tips, like how to watch his spending, limiting the transfers from his savings account, and paying his bills first. Budgeting is a big part of his college experience. He has scholarships, but he still has to know how to watch his account.

I’m spending our last couple months together trying to offer him practical suggestions, as well as life advice. My biggest advice to him: think before you do something. I’m not nervous, though, as we have extended family in the Bismarck area, so he will have plenty of friends around, and eyes to keep watch on him. I suggest he hang out for a month and get his routine down.

He hopes to get a job once he gets settled. During high school he worked caring for livestock and he now has half a dozen calves of his own. He’s going to be studying what he already knows he loves.

I don’t know what to expect when Charles comes home after his first semester or his first year. Maybe he’ll be a little more responsible in caring for his room and his apartment and appreciate the efforts necessary in having your own space. I stress upon him the importance of smart decisions. Think before you do something. It’s a whole big world out there.